Airbnb is a fairly recent phenomenon that has been growing within the property market for a number of years now. Increasingly it is being sought out by holidaymakers in order to have a more authentic and comfortable experience when staying on holiday abroad. Overall so far it has been a massive success with the majority of people enjoying their stay and encouraging others to do the same. The business was set up by a group of students who were tired of the high rental prices where they were staying in San Francisco.
An Overview Of Airbnb
Airbnb itself is essentially a hosting platform through which people who own properties can list their properties on and let them out to either holiday makers of people wishing to stay over a short term period. The company makes a profit by charging commission to those who use the site meaning they make a percentage of each sale made. To this date hundreds of millions of people have booked through the site and the business continues to grow. Several high profile travel companies have been acquired by Airbnb in recent months.
One of the main reasons why Airbnb is so popular is what it offers people visiting different cities. Often competitive pricing can be found for properties which wouldn’t normally be able to rent in the city. Often these are priced lower than hotels and bed and breakfasts. A popular catchphrase is to “live like a local” and in essence you can with these types of properties as they are often located within the hearts of cities/neighbourhoods.
Where Are Hotels And Bed And Breakfasts Going Wrong?
When it comes to competing in this market there are a number of things that both hotels and bed and breakfast properties are falling behind on that they may need to change, improve in order to encourage people to book with them. One major factor that is drawing people towards airbnb is price. Airbnb offers some of the best value deals for short stays and this is pushing some competitors slowly but surely out of the market. In order to compete with Airbnb hotels and B and B’s may need to lower their prices or start running more frequent promotions in order to attract more custom.
Other factors that these businesses should consider when trying to compete with airbnb is SEO. SEO stands for search engine optimisation and this is essential in the property market in order to be seen by larger audiences. SEO can be improved by building links across different websites as well as publishing informative and interesting blog post articles which link back to their web pages.
Conclusion
Overall to conclude it is apparent that there is much competition in the property and holiday rentals market thanks to increased global tourism. It is clear that a combination of both online and offline methods is needed in order to make progress within this industry. Airbnb is only likely to grow further in the coming years so businesses such as hotels need to take swift action in order to prevent falling profits or being swept out of the market.