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Hotels Expand Home-Sharing Platforms
Airbnb has five million listings on its site, whereas Marriott has 1.3 million rooms, and while both have grown over the past year, each are taking steps to compete with one another. When it comes to travel accommodation, it’s not so much about the quantity of rooms as it is the quality, convenience, and location of finding the right place to stay.
That’s why Marriott and other hoteliers are trying their hand at home-sharing. While Hilton has tried and given up on the front, Marriott has a pilot program called Tribute Portfolio Homes, which it’s expanding from London to Paris, Rome and Lisbon. All in all, it will include 340 homes.
The hotels have found that these programs attract the same customers as Airbnb, but can beat the home-sharing site with perks like loyalty programs, fully-vetted homes, and clean, white towels providing for the hotel experience, but all in a home where they can charge more per night based on the size of the real estate. Home-sharing customers also tend to stay longer than hotel guests typically do, too.
At the same time, Airbnb is collaborating with the hotel market. In Thailand, it has added rooms from 50 boutique hotels, and also created a new designation called Airbnb Plus for its properties that pass a quality inspection.
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Daniella Soloway
