The above screen shot is from an email sent out recently to a number of AirBnB "guests" and it speaks to recent controversies as it relates to the effect AirBnb (and other websites like them) are having on the hotel industry.
Regardless of where you, your business or political beliefs fall on the spectrum, it's an interesting junction for the hospitality industry.
I can't help but think if our industry calls the police every time a new crop of competition appears we're going to spending a lot of time on the phone...and not taking reservations.
Then again, there's no reason your hotel (if you have one), can't just join the AirBnB revolution and list some of your inventory on their site. Truth is, the system is pretty host friendly, exposes your property to a market that it otherwise may have never met and costs less than most other channels of customer acquisition like GDS, Hotwire.com, etc, not to mention how much it saves when compared to the sometimes ruinous Daily Deal method.
When you look at the extortion committed daily on certain review sites it seems a little friendly competition would be a good thing. Maybe even a protected thing according to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act - not to mention much less harmful than the anonymous online bullying, bashing and blackmail some online review sites create.
We have clients that market rooms, excess inventory and special packages, weddings, events and more on sites like AirBnB, VRBO, Flipkey, and even eBay and Craigslist.
Let's hear your thoughts on the issue.
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