Airbnb News

More real estate developers could start building office-grade homes, but will they factor in the bigger spaces that are so desperately needed?

A theory made the rounds several years ago that Tripadvisor would be the next Booking.com. OK, that didn't happen, but dealt a bad hand by Google, Tripadvisor has been busy remaking itself. It's been a very long and uneven slog.

Expedia Group's mission statement updated from "The World's Travel Platform" to a more modest blurb may be sending a message to its employees. If any were complacent under the old regime, they'd better be full of hustle to tackle a changing competitive landscape.

Amazon bowed out of the hotel business a couple of times, is dabbling with flight bookings in India, and seems to have found a sweet spot in cheap, virtual experiences. With all of those tour operator partners now in the fold, post-pandemic, in-person tours and activities is likely on the to-do list.

Will it suffice for TUI Musement to focus on the partnership side of its business, as it does with Booking.com and major cruise lines, or does it need to master the uphill task of becoming a breakout consumer brand beyond TUI's existing customer base? Acquisitions could be part of the mix when the pandemic dust settles.

With Chinese travelers staying within the country, destinations and tour groups are wooing Indian vacationers. In other top travel stories this week, Klook raised $200 million in funding, Alaska Airlines made commitments to the 737 MAX, and tourism groups can't agree on testing and vaccination policies.

Airbnb is smart to focus on its core accommodations' business, if that is indeed what it is really doing. The company has time to deal with all of the other stuff, from flights to hotels and experiences, once a real-life travel recovery has a pulse.

Sell Disneyland tickets or retain its curated Experiences offerings? Things are already beginning to change, but that's a dilemma for Airbnb as it tries to build a profitable tours and activities business in a rough-and-tumble and highly competitive market.

One plus one can equal three sometimes when it comes to spinoffs, especially during the current era where there appears to be an IPO and valuation bubble. Expedia Group seems to be resisting an impulse to spin off Vrbo, let alone Egencia, for now, but the pressure could be substantial.

Whether it is Alaska Airlines putting unruly passengers on no-fly lists, Marriott defunding politicians who sought to decertify a fair presidential election, or Airbnb kicking hate group members off its platform, parts of the travel industry are trying to fight back against right-wing terror.