Airbnb and the Traditional Lodging Industry

Currently, Airbnb has more than 2 million listings in 34,000 cities in 190 countries, among which 1,400 are castles. More than 60 million travelers have stayed in an Airbnb before. The company is now valued at $25.5 billion, as suggested by The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, the world's largest lodging company (Marriott and Starwood combined) only has 5,500 owned or franchised hotels with 1.1 million rooms around the world, according to The New York Times. It is thus not a surprise to hear hoteliers sharing their concerns about the threat created by room-sharing websites such as Airbnb and Homeaway.

So, is Airbnb a threat to the traditional lodging industry? It is probably not a threat yet, as suggested in my earlier discussion - "Is Airbnb really a threat to the traditional lodging industry?" Then, how much impact does Airbnb have on the lodging industry? I did some research, which suggests the growth of multiunit and full-time operators on Airbnb could become a real threat to hotels. What do you see Airbnb? Is it a threat? Why or why not?

#Airbnb #Hotel #Lodging +MultiBriefs

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