Airbnb News

Marriott's strategy for becoming part of a customer's entire travel journey, from booking to checkout, is tied heavily to its Bonvoy loyalty program. The more kinds of products the company offers, the more likely it will get what it wants.

This promotional tour from Airbnb to tout Airbnb Adventures clearly backfired because of traveler outrage and difficulties in booking and paying for the one-time trip. It's not an opportune start for Airbnb's tour initiative, which may be a tad more complex than Airbnb anticipates.

We don't know much about Airbnb's thinking about launching a flights product, but an unrelated acquisition by Etraveli Group shines a light on some of the business issues Airbnb needs to consider as it crafts a strategy.

There’s now a wellness-themed trip out there for almost every traveler’s wants, whether that’s an ultra-exclusive self-care summit or an intense hiking tour in a remote locale. So it comes as no surprise that the already booming wellness industry is now benefiting from people hitting the road.

Until Airbnb becomes more forthcoming about the information in its listings, which would enable cities to enforce their local regulations, the company will continue to face opposition from municipalities that want to limit its growth.

The Vietnamese are known for their entrepreneurial spirit. A growth spurt in homesharing listings shows how eagerly they have sought a share of the tourism boom. But yields are falling even as the supply of homes and hotels are continuing to increase. Crunch time is near or perhaps even here.

Big-name tour operators aren't losing sleep over Airbnb Adventures. But some are indeed paying close attention, which is prudent. Just ask European airlines, which underestimated the emergence of Ryanair and EasyJet, and would love to have a do-over.

Give Airbnb credit for sticking to its blueprint by offering Airbnb Adventures in its own image, avoiding typical mainstream expeditions. Whether this will develop into a reliable service and big business for the homesharing company will be proven on Colorado cliffs and at Galapagos coffee farms.

There’s a lot of money to be made in wellness travel. Big tech is smartly capitalizing on this growing sector by creating services that cater to travelers with personal well-being in mind, whether they’re slogging through a work trip or enjoying a DNA-based tourism trek.

It will be tremendously complex for Airbnb to transition from an alternative accommodations site into one that also offers lots of hotels. The coming business model changes and technology challenges will get sorted out, but it will be rocky for quite some time.