(12-09-2020, 06:31 AM)crimsonghost747 Wrote: The airbnb IPO might be a good short term trade. The way the market is now, anything tech or even tech related is bound do double for no reason.
But long term? meh.
I used to stay at airbnb's all the time around 5 years ago. It was a refreshing change. It was cheap. And you know the money you paid was fair and went towards the host's rent or mortgage. You were essentially using someone elses home and helping them cover the costs while they weren't using it themselves. Great concept.
Now? It feels much more like a fully commercial thing. Except that it's more hassle than hotels. The prices, especially for short stays, usually come out more expensive than a hotel in the same area. And you can bet that the majority of those who run a professional accomodation business through airbnb don't go through the same regulation and taxes, fees, etc. that hotels do. Which is quite unfair since you are offering the same service. (and some cities are starting to look into enforcing these rules for professional airbnb hosts too)
Long story short. I travel a lot. All over the planet. 5 years ago airbnb was my default option. Now? I might use airbnb a couple of times a year. My rough estimate would be 90% hotels and 10% airbnb.
What we (me, wife, friends we travel with during non-pandemic years) like about Airbnb is the broad geographic footprint, the filters that allow us to customize what we want in accommodations (hot tub, parking, laundry facilities, etc.), and the fact that it is not a hotel.
For example, on the geographic footprint point, there are no major hotel chains that have franchisees across areas where we typically like to travel. Want to stay in parts of The Azores that aren't just Sao Miguel? Akureyri, Iceland? Franschhoek, South Africa? Chile's Lake District? Nevada's Ruby Mountains? Ecuador's altiplano? Good luck finding a hotel chain that covers all those bases (there aren't any). So, at best, you'll be selecting small local chains or mixing up hotel chains. That can be fine, and we sometimes book hotels when it makes sense (proximity to an airport for an early morning departure, or a place with a particular appeal or local hook, like its restaurant or a built-in museum). But, unlike the business travel I used to undertake, which tended to be to major markets with chain hotel loyalty programs (upgrades, free breakfast, gym, business center), the vacation travel doesn't fit into that mold. The benefits of major hotel chains, to me, are not outweighed by the drawbacks (limited locations, huge numbers of other people sharing the space). I am ok with Airbnbs being commercial in nature, and offering a a slightly different stay experience than typical hotels.
As to the stay experience/customization, we can typically pick the exact neighborhood we want to stay in. Mexico City has tons of luxury hotels in Polanco, which is a great neighborhood. However, if our group wants to focus more on foodie stops in La Roma, or spending a day on the lake in Xochimilco, hotel options are either limited or nonexistent. Airbnb has tons of properties to choose from. Also, we can filter accommodation listings by exactly what we want. Rather than share a hotel pool or hot tub with hundreds of other guests, we can enjoy our own by ensuring that we look at only listings with that option. Having a kitchen is also a fantastic element to the stay, as we like to cook. Also, our travel group is typically 3-4 couples, so when splitting the price of a 4BR+ home, the pricing is typically similar per couple to a decent hotel room, with a large and spacious home (with all the amenities that entails) to show for it. Most hotels cannot replicate that (suites typically top out at 2BR, and those are exorbitantly expensive). The hotels that do have similar 3BR+ villas (Aman Resorts come to mind) are astronomically expensive, and tend to have a very limited geographic footprint (beach destinations, which are fine, but not our primary interest).
Our travel group has gotten heavy into Airbnb in the past five years, and it really works for how we like to vacation, due to the high degree of customization that is possible.
Edited to add - just a few examples of the types of properties that Airbnb can offer, that I don't think publicly traded hotel chains are well placed to match:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/12784435 (villa in the Ecuadorean highlands near Cotopaxi National Park);
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23190006 (villa on the shore of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala);
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/35612283 (a yurt nearly 10,000ft up in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada);
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4977248 (house on a Faroese Fjord near a Michelin-starred restaurant).