Criticism vs Brainstorming
Some may think I am criticizing Airbnb. That would be a mistake. Airbnb is a big ship sailing toward where it believes the future is.
I am here for the hosts and for myself.
With head to head competition in mind, we still have to think about what we can do that hotels cannot. How to differentiate. Where to open new Airbnb properties and where not to waste our efforts.
Price: if you are not hosting to make a profit but as a hobby, out of a love for meeting people, maybe even to find your next partner, or simply for the energy it brings, that is wonderful. You can compete against hotels. Lower your prices and let them fill your calendar with guests from all over the world. I know of an 85 year old host who rents a room in her house. She loves every minute of it.
If you are hosting for profit:
Location: open where there are no hotels at all. A very basic business concept. Monopoly.
Size: offer space for 4 or more people so families and groups of friends can stay together under one roof. Credit for this insight goes to a fellow host in this community.
Garden. Nature. Many hotels cannot offer a private space with a tree and some grass.
Kitchen: a real kitchen for actual cooking. Not a kitchenette, hotels already have those. A full kitchen where guests can shop locally and cook their own meals is something guests specifically look for, and hotels with real kitchens are significantly more expensive.
Pets and service animals: many hotels do not accept them. A host who welcomes animals has an immediate and loyal niche. I would charge minimally for pets. We need pets to drive reservations.
There are more ideas and it would be great to hear yours. Think outside the box and make it special. These are the kinds of individual homes that hotels simply cannot beat.
Or grow to the size of a small hotel and offer breakfast yourself.
Personally, I am going to close my smaller suites, merge them into larger listings, and rewrite my listing descriptions to make sure guests understand that here they will find something hotels cannot offer.
Hosts who do not adapt will not have reservations.
