Articles tagged “vacation rentals”

With the likes of Airbnb playing up the sheer number of properties available, it makes sense for Wyndham to make a point of some of the advantages you get when booking direct with a company.

Metasearch sites such as Kayak, Hipmunk, Trivago, TripAdvisor and Tripping have a lot of heavy lifting to do because consumers will increasingly be demanding better ways to comparison-shop for alternative accommodations that are often unique and difficult to define. All things being equal -- and they aren't -- that's a big market opportunity for these sites.

Priceline Group Interim CEO Jeffery Boyd is too much of a gentleman and a professional to get into a public shouting match with his hotel-chain partners. Still, behind the scenes, he doesn't intend to sit back and let hotel chains withhold their lowest rates without taking retaliatory steps.

There’s more opportunity than ever in the fast-growing vacation rental business, but staying competitive now takes much more than providing a great property — owners and managers must continually upgrade everything from their technology to their guest experience.

Don't miss the forest for the trees: TripAdvisor is evolving into a well-rounded travel planning AND booking site. If hotel bookings on TripAdvisor eventually fall short of expectations it would be a big blow, but then tours and activities, restaurant reservations, vacation rentals, hotel metasearch and reviews can all play a role in taking up some of the slack.

As the vacation rental industry grows up, the gap between those players embracing modern ways of operating and the rest is widening. Given the high expectations of today’s travelers and the leg up provided by digital tools, this divide will widen and the savvier operators will quickly dominate.

The $100 billion industry vacation rental sector could be going into over-drive as it attracts growing interest from investors, major hospitality brands and travelers seeking alternate accommodations.

The Priceline Group is looking for a CEO who can handle disruption and big changes in technology and market conditions in coming years. Just look at the changes in the Group's accommodations mix as lodging alternatives are approaching half of the company's roster of properties.

The vacation rental sector is highly fragmented, which provides many opportunities for funded startups that can make themselves indispensable to owners by providing services and efficiencies.

Just when we thought this would be a done deal ... Even so, it's business as usual, and as long as the Vistana spinoff closes before the Marriott one does, there shouldn't be any problems for Starwood.