Articles tagged “short-term rentals”

Airbnb's proposed December timing for an initial public offering could be dicey because the U.S. presidential election and its aftermath is such a wild card at this point. Still, a $3 billion funding infusion could help Airbnb pay down the high-interest private equity debt that it raised earlier this year.

Airbnb banned one-night stays, but only around Halloween in the U.S. and Canada. An outright ban, as is the policy at Vrbo, would be harder for Airbnb because that would hurt its corporate travel business. Still, house parties are a problem that may keep on creating ugly headlines.

In the school of online travel hard knocks, new entrants have learned that barriers to entry can be substantial. Amazon, Google, and Airbnb should realize that the devil is in the details, and the complexities.

Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern is waging a simplicity campaign. Turning the Expedia and Hotels.com loyalty programs into a single plan might make sense. But one thing definitely on the agenda is trimming marketing through Google, a company Kern characterized as a "shark."

Despite Brian Chesky’s rhetoric about Airbnb needing to return to its local connections mission and roots, the economics point to Airbnb needing Domio- and Sonder-like listings. Even if it means negative publicity pre-IPO.

Alternative accommodations aren't very alternative anymore. It's time for the sector to get the ad tech tools it deserves.

Airbnb has bigger concerns than the scenario of one more big city, Chicago, that is potentially tightening its short-term rental restrictions. But such an action certainly wouldn't help.

The Skift Health Score ranked Booking Holdings as the overall leader in August among 100 public travel companies but the entire travel industry faces grave uncertainties. Then there's that little search engine Google, which has an even larger travel business than Booking.

Message delivered: If Airbnb is concerned about the market's rollercoaster ride and the timing of its going public, then Bill Ackman's Pershing — and other special purpose acquisition companies — could take a little of the anxiety out of the process.

Short-term rentals may be outperforming the hotel industry through the peak summer leisure season, but a fall downturn in family vacations could extend the drag on performance to platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo.