Articles tagged “short-term rentals”

JetBlue has a strong brand and plans to curate the short-term rental inventory it offers with the backing of its own customer service abilities rather than relegating that to a partner. This expansion is worth a try, but will come with brand risks.

Has Tripadvisor finally come up with a subscription plan for consumers that would enable it to differentiate itself from competitors and to more effectively compete with consumers? One challenge would be to get hotels to offer perks when many may see Tripadvisor's offering as clashing with their own loyalty efforts.

With the recent launch of flights for its U.S. point of sale, and development of a payments platform, Booking.com continues to work on CEO Glenn Fogel's signature connected trip strategy. It's probably tough to learn too much so far about flights when hardly anyone is flying, but the initiative looks to be proceeding apace under the covers.

Four Seasons isn't straying too far from the traditional hotel model when it comes to finding revenue during the pandemic, but Private Retreats is a smart tool to appeal to changing traveler demands surrounding complete control of a stay.

Oasis is yet another example of how the travel sector has been testing the subscription model this year. But the company's on-again, off-again investment history with Accor, Hyatt, and Vacasa hints at a broader story. Blended hospitality with leisure travelers is difficult to do at scale.

Venture capitalists rarely bet on Mexico's travel startups. But Casai's 80 percent average occupancy rates in August and September must've helped it woo top-tier investor Andreessen Horowitz.

With thousands of hotels going out of business and up for sale, and vacation rentals business booming in certain destinations, there will be a ton of disruption and convergence in hospitality. Savvy short-term rental operators can pick off some direct bookings, but the mega online travel agencies will hardly notice.

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.