Following its announcement that all of the 7 million rental listings on its platform will be verified over the next year, Airbnb has announced new guidelines for its Experiences programme, including more screening for risky experiences. All will be “100 percent verified”, and hosts of technically specialised experiences will need to provide proof of permits, …
Airbnb plans to let hosts pay to fast-track physical inspections and verification of their listings, and receive certification badging more quickly. This follows last week’s pledge by the platform that all seven million-plus listings would be verified, after a series of fraud investigations and deaths in properties. Commentators pointed out that physically checking millions of …
This article by professional blogger Larry Alton discusses corporate housing as a way for businesses to temporarily house clients, employees, and contractors, and how that landscape has changed in terms of easy searchability; ownership by increasing numbers of individual homeowners and real estate investors; perceptions and terminology changing from ‘corporate housing’ towards ‘extended stay’; the …
Hyatt is joining Marriott, Hilton and IHG in eliminating single-use plastic toiletries, transitioning from “small bottles of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and lotion,” to “large-format” containers across its 896 hotels and 219,308 rooms, by mid-2021. The brand says there will be different solutions by brand, with a mix of containers that can be refilled, and …
There’s less than 4 weeks to go until the ASAP Convention – there’s still time to secure your place at the event with special rate tickets available for members and non-member serviced apartment operators (saving up to £250 per person!) as well as supplier and non-member opportunities to be there! We continue the countdown to …
Investors have sold shares in a number of major US travel sites following downbeat quarterly results, affected by fading demand and competition from the likes of Airbnb. Expedia and TripAdvisor widely missed Q3 earnings forecasts this week, citing weak online search and advertising trends, with shares in Expedia down 25%, its worst single-day loss in …
Wyndham’s economy hotel brand Super 8 is launching ROOM8, a shared room to “accommodate a new generation of road trippers who thrive in communal spaces” offering up to four individual beds sharing dining and entertaining space, including fridge and microwave, arcade and football games and streaming-ready 65-inch wall-mounted TV. Marriott International also recently introduced Studio …
The Finance Professional Show last week saw discussion of investment and funding of Purpose Built Student Accommodation schemes, hotels and serviced apartments, with developers, lenders and service providers talking through the risks and rewards associated with developing property in these growing sectors. PBSAs, hotels and serviced apartments were described as currently offering high yields, but …
The Professional Host Alliance, a trade body for Airbnb hosts and property managers, has been launched, claiming to rebuild confidence in the sector by promoting professionalism among the hosts. Information about the alliance shows why the sector needs more professionalisation so badly, following reports of properties being used as party houses and as bases for …
As we often report here, there is a worldwide movement towards co-living, due to rising costs and shortages of independent housing, especially in cities. There are already tens of thousands of co-living bed spaces in many major cities, including Amsterdam, New York and Bengaluru, and the trend is growing most rapidly in India, where the …
