4 ms·

It is interesting, nonetheless, that the past two years have been the best on record for hotels, as far as their occupancy rate is concerned. (http://www.calcul

by MaysonL 10y ago

It is interesting, nonetheless, that the past two years have been the best on record for hotels, as far as their occupancy rate is concerned. (http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2016/10/hotels-occupancy-rate-on-track-to-be_17.html http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2016/10/hotels-occupancy-r...)

sametmax 10y ago
Except I'm on one of the biggest touristic area in France, and hotels here a loosing customers. We got less tourists than before, and I can see many people using RBNB. In the mean time, some people close to me are talking about being fired from their hotel because of the economy. While I know my situation is not a representative sample, I do travel a lot and observed the same thing in various places, including other countries. I discussed it with other travelers, and they reported the same. So I wouldn't conclude that everything is ok for hotels. The story needs more data.
- ghaff 10y ago
  US tourist travel to much of Europe was down this summer [1] with the drop attributed to the terrorist attacks. Anecdotally, tourist travel in areas of the Northeast US was up considerably (double digits) this summer. I'm sure there are a number of reasons for this--low gas prices but not especially cheap airfares, the general air travel experience, etc.--but reluctance to visit Europe (in spite of a strong dollar) does seem to be real based on conversations with a number of restaurant owners for example. [1] http://www.wsj.com/articles/terror-attacks-weigh-on-europes-travel-companies-1469372313 http://www.wsj.com/articles/terror-attacks-weigh-on-europes-...
exclusiv 10y ago
Good point. We'll see how it shakes out when they aren't having record years. Hotels typically have about a 5 year cycle. Families can get a more memorable experience and usually a more economical one with a home rental. My property has even been getting small corporate retreats. There's a lot of people that have never tried the hospitality sharing economy. Only 6% have [1]. It's kind of intimidating and unknown the first time but once you do it you realize it's pretty awesome. Also - hotels will be hurting when businesses adopt home share credit card rewards. You'll see a shift from business travelers. Many have Marriott rewards cards as an example like they used to have Blackberries. They'll demand a more flexible option which will be a game changer. Example: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/airbnb/ https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/airbnb/ Hotels are definitely worried - they're just not putting that out there because most of the large brands are public franchises. [1] https://www.pwc.com/us/en/technology/publications/assets/pwc-consumer-intelligence-series-the-sharing-economy.pdf https://www.pwc.com/us/en/technology/publications/assets/pwc...
- ghaff 10y ago
  >You'll see a shift from business travelers We'll see. I'm a frequent business traveler who often prefers smaller and more local when I travel on vacation and, indeed, will often favor "boutique hotels" when I'm on business; I keep an eye on hotel rewards but aren't a slave to them. But, when traveling on business, I really do want a predictable experience, 24 hour desk, etc. I'm not looking for travel experiences from the hotel perspective at all.
  - exclusiv 10y ago
    Yeah predictability is a definite concern. However, many AirBnBs are more convenient in many ways. My place is accessed by touchscreen code and I let visitors check in whenever they want and usually let them check out late at no charge if requested. 50M internet. Killer kitchen, tons of work space, grill, new hot tub. AirBnB is pushing more hosts toward instant book which will make it easier for business travel. They also prioritize hosts that respond quickly because booking has to be easy to convert, especially for last minute bookings and biz travel. It may not be for you, but many on business don't necessarily look for an experience - they just want amenities and features they have at home. Younger people are generally more excited about AirBnB too so that will drive more growth and adoption as they become the traveling warriors. AirBnB and others need not take huge market share from hotels that cater to business travelers to cause them to hurt. Expenses are on the rise for hotels and changes in the minimum wage and labor laws will have a big impact too. The industry pays very little and demands a lot from their employees.
    - ghaff 10y ago
      That sounds great. And I definitely would be more than happy to latch onto a repeat experience that was like that. It's just that as a business traveler I'm just not that open to experimenting to finding the exceptional. I'm not even necessarily a particularly representative business traveler. I like my points but I don't organize trips around them. I don't need or use a lot of traditional hotel amenities like fitness centers. I don't need concierges. I just don't want complications when my plane is delayed 5 hours that involve calling some guy to coordinate getting a key.

by MaysonL 10y ago

sametmax 10y ago

Except I'm on one of the biggest touristic area in France, and hotels here a loosing customers. We got less tourists than before, and I can see many people using RBNB. In the mean time, some people close to me are talking about being fired from their hotel because of the economy. While I know my situation is not a representative sample, I do travel a lot and observed the same thing in various places, including other countries. I discussed it with other travelers, and they reported the same. So I wouldn't conclude that everything is ok for hotels. The story needs more data.

ghaff 10y ago
US tourist travel to much of Europe was down this summer [1] with the drop attributed to the terrorist attacks. Anecdotally, tourist travel in areas of the Northeast US was up considerably (double digits) this summer. I'm sure there are a number of reasons for this--low gas prices but not especially cheap airfares, the general air travel experience, etc.--but reluctance to visit Europe (in spite of a strong dollar) does seem to be real based on conversations with a number of restaurant owners for example. [1] http://www.wsj.com/articles/terror-attacks-weigh-on-europes-travel-companies-1469372313 http://www.wsj.com/articles/terror-attacks-weigh-on-europes-...

exclusiv 10y ago

Good point. We'll see how it shakes out when they aren't having record years. Hotels typically have about a 5 year cycle. Families can get a more memorable experience and usually a more economical one with a home rental. My property has even been getting small corporate retreats. There's a lot of people that have never tried the hospitality sharing economy. Only 6% have [1]. It's kind of intimidating and unknown the first time but once you do it you realize it's pretty awesome. Also - hotels will be hurting when businesses adopt home share credit card rewards. You'll see a shift from business travelers. Many have Marriott rewards cards as an example like they used to have Blackberries. They'll demand a more flexible option which will be a game changer. Example: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/airbnb/ https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/airbnb/ Hotels are definitely worried - they're just not putting that out there because most of the large brands are public franchises. [1] https://www.pwc.com/us/en/technology/publications/assets/pwc-consumer-intelligence-series-the-sharing-economy.pdf https://www.pwc.com/us/en/technology/publications/assets/pwc...

ghaff 10y ago
>You'll see a shift from business travelers We'll see. I'm a frequent business traveler who often prefers smaller and more local when I travel on vacation and, indeed, will often favor "boutique hotels" when I'm on business; I keep an eye on hotel rewards but aren't a slave to them. But, when traveling on business, I really do want a predictable experience, 24 hour desk, etc. I'm not looking for travel experiences from the hotel perspective at all.
- exclusiv 10y ago
  Yeah predictability is a definite concern. However, many AirBnBs are more convenient in many ways. My place is accessed by touchscreen code and I let visitors check in whenever they want and usually let them check out late at no charge if requested. 50M internet. Killer kitchen, tons of work space, grill, new hot tub. AirBnB is pushing more hosts toward instant book which will make it easier for business travel. They also prioritize hosts that respond quickly because booking has to be easy to convert, especially for last minute bookings and biz travel. It may not be for you, but many on business don't necessarily look for an experience - they just want amenities and features they have at home. Younger people are generally more excited about AirBnB too so that will drive more growth and adoption as they become the traveling warriors. AirBnB and others need not take huge market share from hotels that cater to business travelers to cause them to hurt. Expenses are on the rise for hotels and changes in the minimum wage and labor laws will have a big impact too. The industry pays very little and demands a lot from their employees.
  - ghaff 10y ago
    That sounds great. And I definitely would be more than happy to latch onto a repeat experience that was like that. It's just that as a business traveler I'm just not that open to experimenting to finding the exceptional. I'm not even necessarily a particularly representative business traveler. I like my points but I don't organize trips around them. I don't need or use a lot of traditional hotel amenities like fitness centers. I don't need concierges. I just don't want complications when my plane is delayed 5 hours that involve calling some guy to coordinate getting a key.