Google eventually will monetize its vacation rental listings, but paid advertisements in its Things To Do vertical will happen sooner. Conscientious objectors Airbnb, Expedia/Vrbo and Booking, which aren't participating with Google in vacation rentals for now, will likely have something to say about the shape of that money grab.
Both Airbnb and Expedia.com are leaning into U.S. TV advertising in their biggest campaigns in years. Many millennials may not watch traditional TV these days, but the medium is still an important part of brands' advertising mix.
Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are increasingly reliant on professional property managers to provide quality inventory. This considerably closes the gaps of service standards and reliability between the rental and hotel industries, which brings key opportunities for rental operators.
New U.S. spending data suggests that some brands, such as Enterprise, Vrbo, and JetBlue, had a better first half of 2021 than their rivals. The travel industry as a whole should be grateful for the U.S. federal stimulus checks to consumers.
Does the reorganization and leadership shuffle make Expedia Group a proverbial lean, mean fighting machine to better compete? As with all these things, it will all depend on the execution.
The relative stability found in the U.S. will help companies in the online travel agency and vacation rental orbit fuel growth for the next few years — but don’t completely write off Asia and Europe. Most major hotel companies see those regions as the way to continue adding thousands of hotels to their portfolios.
Optimism about recovery, a wariness about the tricky nuances of each sector, and suppliers demanding respect from online brands were among the themes at the Skift Short-Term Rental and Outdoor Summit. Plus: the past year's boom isn't a one-off.
It's a dire warning from one of the sector's most experienced founders and investors — but just don’t talk about trends until 2023, HomeAway's Carl Shepherd made a point to add.