Skift Take
The short-term rental market is a long-term growth sector. Yet its dynamics are being upended as professional management becomes popular and online travel companies seek smarter ways to sell the lodging. Here are several takeaways from Skift's first event to focus on the sector's opportunities.
The largest and richest companies in travel seek a slice of the short-term rental market, yet they can sometimes seem as uncertain about the future as the smallest players are. Everyone seems to be grappling with how to cope with seismic changes.
From the stage and in conversations among attendees, top leaders from a cross-section of the industry shared what's on their minds at Skift Short-Term Rental Summit in New York on Thursday. The following are key takeaways:
Convergence Is Taking Place
Fewer and fewer companies are purely playing in only short-term rentals or only traditional hotels. Many companies are pursuing blended approaches, though with somewhat mixed results.
"We are a hotel operator in addition to being an STR [short-term rental] operator," said Sonder CEO Francis Davidson, noting how his company began with short-term rentals but that now runs 26 licensed hotels, too.
Jennifer Hsieh, vice president of Marriott's Homes & Villas unit, told Skift Hospitality Editor Nancy Trejos that Marriott is learning from the rentals business and applying the lessons to its hotel business, and vice versa.
The leading U.S. hotel lobby, which has long challenged the rise of short-term rentals, seems under increasing pressure to admit professionally managed short-term rental brands as equal brands. Brian Crawford, executive vice president of government affairs for AHLA [American Hotel and Lodging Association], said that he recognizes there's now a "connective tissue" in hospitality and that the situation is fluid and dynamic.
As we noted in our recent Skift Research Report on short-term rentals, the sector's impact go
