NYT Article: Airbnb is Driving Hosts Elsewhere with Costly Pandemic Policies

[Alexandra316]

Airbnb Is Driving Hosts Elsewhere With Costly Pandemic Policies - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

This article was on my LinkedIn feed today, and I thought it was an interesting read. 

I'm wondering if the policies around Covid cancellations and the customer service layoffs have caused hosts here on the board to diversify. 

For me, it has not. I previously tried other channels, including VRBO/Canada Stays and Booking, and I didn't like them at all.  If you have diversified, how do you feel about the alternatives?

[Brian2036]

@Alexandra316 @Elaine701 @Dk2 @Emilia42 

A few days ago I listed with TravelAdvisor.

It was quite easy to create a listing and it was published in about 12 hours.

One problem I can see already is that their listings for private rentals are hard to find. When someone is searching for accommodations they are first subjected to a barrage of hotel listings and might not realize that there are alternatives.

 I have not received any bookings or enquiries and there’s no way to know if anyone has even looked at my listing.

[Elaine701]

Platforms like VRBO need to get really aggressive in their marketing. And particularly target both Airbnb guests and hosts.

VRBO's problem is that they appear too common. Nothing special. Just another booking platform. In any practical, functional sense, Airbnb and VRBO are pretty similar.. But Airbnb literally runs circles around them with marketing and branding perception. They're like the Apple of STRs. So chic. Even shabby chic... But at the end of the day, it's just a booking platform. 

[Emilia42]

@Alexandra316 Interesting. I think there are many hosts (myself included) that still have no alternatives available. Airbnb is really my only option in terms of putting myself out there on a wide scale and expecting many customers in return. If/when other platforms become available that can compete on the same level as Airbnb in rural/non-touristy areas, I think there will be an even greater shift.

[Alexandra316]

@Emilia42 I agree: for me, there really is no good alternative. 

The article really doesn't give any information on the number of hosts who have diversified, so it's hard to say what kind of loss they're talking about. Airbnb is obviously very agressively recruiting new hosts: is it because they're concered about host lost, or because they feel that there will be an uptick in local tourism once things open back up, or a bit of both, I wonder? I would be interested to know how many hosts have thrown in the towel or migrated to other platforms.