0:00 Intro 1:22 Hotel Operating Model 2:19 Seasonal Business 3:11 Main Hotel Categories 3:38 Hilton (Overview, Portfolio, Performance) 4:55 Marriott (Overview, Portfolio, Performance) 5:44 IHG (Overview, Portfolio, Performance) 6:14 Hyatt (Overview, Portfolio, Performance) 7:01 Wyndham (Overview, Portfolio, Performance) 7:50 Rise of Airbnb & Industry Response 13:02 Supply-side Innovation 15:09 Outperforming at Scale 16:38 Why Hotels Don't Fear Airbnb 17:12 The Traditional Owner-Operated Model 19:52 Misconceptions & Historical Tradition 22:46 Relic of the Past 24:24 The Platforms of Future Past 25:09 Quantity is not Quality

airbnb isn't messing with the hotel industry, they are messing with the housing prices,

That Marriott guy nailed it. At one point maybe AirBNB was a threat when it was someone’s house, a personal unit where you were staying and it had its charm so you put up with the lack of service. But now most AirBNBs are purpose built, soulless units which still have inadequate service compared to a hotel. And now they aren’t even cheaper than the hotels with their absurd cleaning fees.

It went from "I'll rent out my house while I'm gone for some extra cash" to "I'm basically a landlord running a hotel service but without the service"

The magic of the airBnB model died the moment people shifted from using it as a way to get a little extra value out of a vacation home or duplex and started seeing it as a primary source of revenue. It was pretty cheap and homey initially. Once people got into making it a full-time source of income they just became property managers with usually zero of the skills and experience someone in hospitality would normally need to get anywhere near the master keyring.

I think the key thing is reliability, after taking a 12 hr flight I don't want to figure out how to get there and how to check in. And sometimes get ghosted by the host

It was fun when it started. Empty-nesters with spare bedrooms in nice, clean houses. Then the people who really shouldn’t be hosts heard it was a quick way to make a buck.

I was in Mexico few months ago and had a host come in and steal my stuff while i was away. Then he tried to Airbnb saying i stole stuff. Huge nightmare and what ensues was literally dozens of calls to Airbnb explaining the situation to numerous reps in the phillipines and now dealing with multiple insurence adjusters. It's been 3 months, my stuff is still stolen and the claims are still pending being arbitrated by a 3rd party insurance company. Never again.

My friends had a 2 bedroom apartment in downtown Nashville for around 2200 a month. It got jacked up to 5,700 a month. They forced everyone out to turn it into an Air BnB style hotel. The “apartment building” is now 95% Air BnB usage. That’s a hotel, not an apartment building. This in turn messed with all the pricing algorithms used to price other apartments in the area.

In my experience, Airbnb's "quality control" (or lack thereof) is incredibly subpar. Many hosts charge ridiculous cleaning fees and obviously don't clean the spaces either. I only trust super hosts at this point.

Airbnb is much more of a threat to the housing/rental market than it is to the hotel market, and by that I mean a threat to the people who rely those markets for residential accommodation, rather than being a threat to investors merely seeking to make a profit. There are plenty of career landlords buying houses to put on Airbnb and depriving owner-occupiers or tenants from access to those houses, because having Airbnb guests in the house for 60% of the time is often more profitable than having a tenant in there for 100% of the time. Even during the pandemic and its lockdowns, when travel restrictions meant that the tourist market ostensibly dried up (the theoretical risk of renting out your property on Airbnb), in reality all that happened was that the tourists who were now stuck required extended stays and many Airbnb landlords were easily able to pivot into temporarily providing residential accommodation in order to keep revenue coming in at the rate of market rent (or near to it) for a tenancy. Then, once there were more short-term guests available, they could easily return to high-value short-term guests. The threat of Airbnb is that it's increasingly forcing long-term tenants and prospective home buyers to compete with the higher cash holdings and spending capacity of tourists on holiday when it comes to who gets to stay in a given house. This wouldn't be such a problem if houses were plentiful and buyers/tenants could just look elsewhere, but many of the hottest destinations are in the middle of a housing crisis, and Airbnb is exacerbating the issue by removing houses from the residential for tourists who could otherwise be staying at high-density hotels designed and zoned specifically to cater for and accommodate them. The video is absolutely correct in describing how existing hotel chains and Airbnb operate on functionally the same model and thus the latter isn't as much of a disruptor or threat so much as it's an ordinary competitor, but an important difference between conventional hotel chains and the Airbnb property network is the amount of land and real estate that they consume. Cities don't allow hotels to be built in limitless locations or numbers, and this along with operating expediency means that hotel franchisees are motivated to maximise the number of rooms a hotel provides in order to maximise the amount of profit they can make from that landspace. Moreover, nearly all of the time a franchisee is having to purpose-build the hotel, which provides new (or densified) accommodation to the city that typically has little impact on existing housing. But the landlord "franchisees" of Airbnb don't operate under the same constraints, because they merely cannibalise properties from the rental/homeowner market and then integrate them into the hotel market. They can buy whatever and wherever with better capital and loan security than prospective home buyers (who already have to compete against rental investors), and every time a new listing for a full residence goes on Airbnb, that's another house gone that could be serving an actual tenant or owner-occupier rather than a short-term guest who could be staying at a hotel. And there's little reason for these landlords not to behave in this way because without regulation it's often so much more profitable to put houses on Airbnb (and then let them languish without occupants half the time) than it is to actually rent them out. So, overall, while Airbnb isn't a threat to the hotel industry, it's certainly a threat to tenants and prospective home buyers so long as it remains unregulated. And unfortunately, most of the regulation that Airbnb has faced so far has all been about levelling the playing field with the hotel market that they compete with rather than with the housing market that they cannibalise in order to uphold and maintain their business model.

Super interesting - as a woman who often travels alone for work or to visit friends, I prefer staying in a hotel (usually mid- or upscale) over Airbnb for safety reasons... especially if I'm overseas. Hotels have cameras, security guards, and 24hr concierge/staff if there's a medical emergency. While staying at an upscale boutique hotel in London, I realized the added benefit of just being friendly and greeting the concierge every morning (same man and woman duo worked the desk every morning) - my schedule changed one day and they asked me if I was ok when they saw me later; they realized my "normal" schedule and checked to make sure I was still checked in when they didn't see me; they were going to send someone check on me if they didn't see me at some point that day. I really appreciated their concern/service. I also heard enough Airbnb horror stories (there don't need to be a lot to make one worry) to make me worry about who has access to an Airbnb property, whether there are illicit cameras, and if there are allergy concerns (pets, cleaning products, laundry detergent, fabric fillers...etc). That said, I have stayed in Airbnbs in the past, but with friends - never alone.

Not only did the last Airbnb I stayed at have a huge cleaning fee, but the owner also wanted us to do the dishes and the laundry. There were also a bunch of signs posted everywhere telling us what we could and couldn’t do. After that, I decided we would never do Airbnb again.

All I know is Airbnb is no longer “cheap” or affordable. I’m going on a trip in about 3 weeks to a major west coast city. I did heavy comparisons on hotels and airbnbs in the area and there were actually pretty comparable. I’m not sure about the whole economics of it, but Airbnb has definitely gotten more expensive over the years. Especially those services fees and cleaning fees. I’d say the playing field is pretty even these days..

Airbnb was supposed to be a way for people having a spare room, like a guest room or the old bedroom of your kid now in college campus, make some money on the side. It turned quickly into people renting their whole side houses at the same price as many motels for a few days instead of months, messing with, say, people wanting to go to college in another town.

The last 6 ABB experiences I’ve had were horrible; from bait and switches, to properties that literally don’t exist, to booking an ABB only to find out it belongs to an unsuspecting family, and having to walk 2.7 miles to the nearest hotel…I’m 1000% finished with ABB. The prices can be much higher too, when you see all the tacked on fees.

I never felt 100% safe when staying at an airbnb and trust me, i had my share of really bad hotels & hostels. But the reality is that you can never be sure who else has access to your apartment. At least when you're in a hotel or a hostel, there's a reception, security guards and cameras.

Video pretty much nailed it in the last 3 minutes or so: airBnB was popular because you used to be able to rent a room or apt or guest house or whatever for often 1/2 or 1/3 of what a midrange or even a cheap hotel would be. Well supply and demand is a bitch. Hosts realize this and raise their prices. Hotels realize this and find ways to offer cheaper rooms. The result is an AirBnB is rare cheaper these days unless your renting a sketch room in someone's house or apt. Yeah they've got that market, but let them. That's fine.

Was definitely thinking about how my next trip would be a hotel booking rather than an Airbnb because of the simplicity of a hotel. (Also free breakfast)

I used to stay at Airbnb’s religiously before the pandemic. There are so many reasons why I absolutely refused to stay at an Airbnb today. First and foremost, driving up rent cost in local markets doesn’t sit right with me. Local should not have to suffer because I am on a trip. Second reason, their customer service is the worst I have dealt with with any company, ever. They have no respect for their consumers. If an issue comes up of any kind, they will always always side with the host because they are interested in keeping their money rather than address issues. I’ve had countless horror stories happen to me and friends. Bear in mind that I refuse to stay at any place that was below 4.95.. Once had a scorpion in an apartment, a lizard, a host post fake pictures of their view, a host barge into the home while I was in the shower, bed bugs, I could go on. The hospitality industry requires training and experience, and many people do not naturally have this talent. Especially when they are motivated by money rather than being an actual host. Airbnb used to be a way to experience local living at a lower cost. These days, the prices are no longer lower. I’d much rather stay at a five-star hotel and have all the amenities, safety, and daily cleaning it offers. With Airbnb, you never know what could go wrong. It’s a huge risk, and I’d much rather have the security of a hotel. The fees are atrocious, and so are the rules. It’s also incredibly misleading when you have no idea what the cost of a place is from your initial search. The cost typically changes drastically after all fees are calculated. With hotels, it’s certainly not so drastic. Why would I pay so much for a place to stay, comparable price to a high-end hotel, and then have to pay hundreds of dollars in cleaning fees? Hotels value their customers. If there is an issue, they will fix it. They will put you in another room. With Airbnb, I could literally have wildlife in my room, the host will deny it, and Airbnb rules and policies will result in essentially The consumer being screwed over. No thanks. There are so many reasons to not use Airbnb, and I’m so glad that folks are realizing this.

Fun fact (may not be related): During COVID in India the government paid money to Hotels to host government doctors, this way the doctors would feel comfortable working under those stressful conditions and the hotels could afford to sustain operations.

Airbnb's greatest enemy is themselves; terrible hosts, inconsistencies, and all the other infamous problems that they have (especially spycams). There is no way any of these things happen in a big chain hotel and guests don't have to worry about anything when they arrive, the hotels have a name and reputation to uphold. Not to mention they usually have membership programs or included credit card points. The only way I see Airbnb as a good alternative is when it's somewhere you're already quite familiar with.

i worked in a hotel last summer and let me tell you: people are still definitely willing to pay for overpriced hotel rooms. why? well the customer service is a big part of it, people at the front desk and staff that cleans and tends to the room is sometimes overlooked but it can for sure make or break a stay. we were consistently fully booked on saturdays with rooms double the price they should be, only because of the services offered

I’m probably in the minority here but I hate Airbnb I love hotels I love the anonymity of hotels I love that they come in and they clean up for you I love that it’s easy and simple to check in to check out I don’t have to worry about stuff for the most part. And I like that they are convenient and you can always find a room. There’s something about sleeping in somebody’s home that just bothers me if I don’t know you personally or if this is not a cabin I don’t wanna be in someone’s home sorry.

They actually disrupted hotel industry for a while during the 1st -3rd year of air bnb start. But because of the poor quality assurance and absurd variations to deal with (from both sides), people gradually went back to hotels. For existing air bnbs, the rise in the use of social media meant they get most of their bookings direct nowadays. I give Airbnb another 5 years and they will be gone or morph into other entities Dealing with other business

I used to love airbnb but over the years the quality has gone down. What used to be a rent my house while im gone and feeling at home is now investors trying to make a quick buck with ikea furniture and missing things like paper towels and ghosting tenants when you text the hosts until like 5 hours later. The prices also used to be so much better than hotels which is why people used them more. But now hosts are charging 100$ cleaning fees for a 2 day stay where you wont even be in the room most of the time and higher rental prices. Now i only use airbnb if our travel party prefer a house bc the group is big or if its like a ski trip

My experiences with Airbnb last summer: the host (some days after CONFIRMING the reservation) decided to increase price, and asked me if I agree. I did not obiously, as it has been a done deal in my head, and they just canceleed. Airbnb support: we have no power over hosts, we can only fine them... I used to work in a hostel (not even hotel) and if for some reason we could not host someone we had to provide them with nearest accomodation (with no extra charge) in the same or better standard + taxi to move them there...

It's funny because I made that exact same argument when I was in hospitality. They were assured that Airbnb would be a huge threat to boutique hotels. I understood how they were more vulnerable because of the type of guests, but like many silicon valley hype companies, a lot of their valuation comes from skirting rules and profitability until they are no longer able to. There's definitely a place for an AirBnB. In fact I can see them really playing into the extended stay market by teaming up with apartment complexes that have excess inventory. Not everyone is going to want a permanent address when your work is remote.

I recently had a TERRIBLE experience where an airb&b was misrepresented and in a VERY unsafe area. We didn’t even stop the car upon viewing the property and ended up at best western. Lesson learned.

In a way arbnb has existed for a long time as people would sometimes rent a room to a traveler. But Airbnb is being disruptive, but with housing supply, not the hotel industry.

Because: 1 security. 2 no hidden peep cams. 3. Guaranteed booking no crazy greedy hosts who will last minute cancel your booking. 4. Customer service. 5 amenities. 6. Location. 7. Creepy hosts.

The part about feeling like a burden is spot on. I’ve never done Airbnb but hearing about how rude hosts can be and how they charge crazy cleaning fees makes me not want to stay there. I’d rather stay at a hotel/motel for their consistency. I know what I’m getting, usually and there’s more professionalism there than I’d imagine at a Airbnb that doesn’t know much about customer service, just someone trying to make quick money and renting out their house or rooms.

I work for a company similar to Airbnb and just want on vacation and stayed in a hotel. I've heard so many horror stories about Airbnbs and I don't want to worry about it when I'm on vacation. I just want to go in and have a clean room with toiletries, and I want my bed made everyday. I don't want to worry about my room not being clean or a rude host.

It's cheaper if you go to a hotel. Airbnb has all those fees which ends up being the same or more plus you have an annoying temporary landlord.

I’ve done quite a few cross-country trips and always think I’ll use some airbnbs but almost never do. They are often more expensive anyway, and with a hotel, you don’t have to worry about not finding the location, paying for parking, the key-code not working or completing the host’s check-out list. Airbnb is great for a unique experience but not when you just need somewhere to sleep or work.

My grandmother and aunt were charged 400$ for wine that was "missing" at an air bnb. Neither drink alcohol at all. When they arrived the sink had dirty dishes in it and the place wasn't clean. When they brought this to the owner's attention and told him that they don't drink... the owner told them the only person staying there was his brother in law and he wouldn't have done it. Likewise, I stayed at a place was dirty, didn't have enough towels and wash cloths, had a broken hot tub and then accused me of stealing a fake plant and breaking the hot tub that was already broken.... even after I brought all of this to their attention. Air bnb didn't make me pay for anything, but did pay to fix the hot tub for the owner... luckily I took photos of most everything when we arrived because of how poorly maintained the place was. It was nothing like the photos. Still air bnb took care of everything and wouldn't let me leave them a bad review because they felt that maintenence items weren't fair to judge the place on... nevermind that they lied and tried to hit me with an 800$ bill for their old, broken hot tub that smelled like mold. I deleted my account after that and will NEVER use air bnb again. Total scam.

Man, this video was so great on so many levels

Just got an email last night... Marriott Bonvoy now offers a 'curated listing' of private homes and villas as part of their lodging offering. It's only a matter of time before the other hotel majors take note.

I find Airbnb useful when there's a need to travel in large groups. Most of my Airbnb bookings are for groups of 10+ people which is a lot more convenient than being separated in hotel rooms. My experience with it has been positive so far (likely because I only book from verified hosts with good ratings). That said, I still prefer hotels for smaller groups because it's cheaper.

Air bnb is so weird, I thought I was renting a house, there was a family living there during my stay, that they did not clearly outline in the listing. It was expensive, especially as the room I had to stay in was obviously the little girls bedroom as all of her toys and personal effects were in the room. My first and last air bnb

Using AirBnB is a bit of an adventure. The accommodation is part of the travel experience because there's so much variety in what's offered, rather than just another identical room used just as a place to rest in between seeing the sights. It's clearly for a markedly different customer base, so there's no reason it would significantly hurt hotels.

Traveled to Europe recently and drove across the country. We wanted to stay in AirBnb's but after cleaning fees for a 1-2 night stay in different locations, it was less expensive for me and my mates to get two rooms in 4 star hotels. Plus it's reliable, click, book, chick-in, and you know you'll have a clean bed and fresh towels.

The main difference between AirBnB compare to Hotel franchise is, you could sleep at Marriott in Delhi, Madrid, Tokyo, or New York and get the same experience from room type, cleanliness, and services. Meanwhile in AirBnB, even in the same place but different home, some people get a dirty shoebox, others might get a luxury apartment room. That's the reason why franchise Hotel didn't really concern "if AirBnB will make them bankrupt"

Some of the reasons I think people would rather pick a hotel is because the huge amount of rewards tied to hotels and airlines with credit cards and loyalty programs, also so many employers will give you a discount on hotels as perk if you need to travel, Airbnb discounts are not so much. Personally I enjoy the convenience of having a bar, restaurant, club and room service all in one building rather than having to drive around or order in.

I've had good and bad experiences with Ainbnb. From a room that was essentially a hotel room with professional cleaning services, to a run down roach-infested apartment with a family living downstairs and a shared bathroom (I was pretty worried about bedbugs here). I now will scope Airbnb for any "hidden gems" but usually just end up getting a 4-5 star hotel instead. Especially if it's for a vacation, I would rather pay extra and know everything will be handled professionally and clean.

Airbnb is yet another factor in the affordable housing crisis

He briefly mentioned the rewards, but many hotels have credit cards and deals with airlines. This type of loyalty programs is what keep customers brand loyal.

For myself, I was attracted to Airbnb for the chance to stay in local neighborhoods as well as save some money. Hotels usually congregate around downtown areas, busy tourist spots, and also can charge quite a bit for parking. Staying at cool neighborhoods in places like Washington DC, Seattle, Brooklyn, New Zealand, Melbourne(Australia) and Vancouver was really fun. Since I switched spending habits now to accumulate points, most of our stays are at hotels now but still will price compare with Airbnb.

Taking a degree Hospitality/Hotel Management in Indonesia. The ammount of effort needed to make a hotel "work" is insane, especially nowadays with tech being introduced into the industry. This video reminded me of a progrem where we had seminars from Executive managers from startups, to marketers, to CEOs of restaurants, and even a GM from Westin Surabaya. One of the first seminars was from a manager of RedDoorz, similar to AirBnB, much better of course. To put into perspective, they turned Singapores Golden Dragon, one of the worse hotels in the world, into a much more livable hotel @ 80SGD a night. The differences between AirBnB and RedDoorz is that AirBnB feels like paying to stay at someones house, while RedDoorz would atleast have the common courtesy to make sure it's a good enough house to pass off as a hotel room, even making actual hotels themselves. AirBnBs was leading in the Asset-Light, Tech-Heavy hotel, but they simply couldn't bring the momentum to take it to the very top. I also want to note that I didn't hear any words regarding "inspection" when describing the business model of AirBnB is enough to make me NOT want to book. No wonder it was just ignored by most big corporations.

Honestly I see Airbnbs as a great alternative to low cost motels or co-ops. They also work wonderfully in small areas where the local inns or hotels aren't well maintained. Just having it be an option is great in itself. The main issue I have with Airbnbs is usually in big cities or destinations the insane amount of rules hosts can impose on you are ridiculous and it truly ends up feeling like you're an unwelcome guest there instead of someone who's paying actual freaking money to be there. It's worth to spend an extra 100 bucks on a hotel room to actually feel comfortable being there instead of being on edge all the time.

I lived in downtown Austin and they were building a high rise condo unit next to my apartment. The construction crew told me it was built exclusively for real estate investors to rent out as airBNB properties. In this sense, airBNB is just a marketing platform with many solo hotel operators (the condo owners who are now owner-operators). There can be no price advantage over a traditional hotel bc these are not extra rooms being rented out, these are literally new building being built to compete with hotels.

Sometimes hotels give unexpected opportunities. Once it was 3 am and I went down to the lobby where there was a tiny bar (Holiday Inn, Mexico City). I found a lonely woman with a suitcase, seemed she'd just arrived. We talked and she offered me a job in Austria.

One friend of mine found that her Airbnb also housed the host's male relative and none of the doors had locks... she found a dead rat too, and reported it, and the owner kicked her out afterwards! Had to find a hotel to live in. Another friend of mine used Airbnb for the first time during an internship in a different state. He and his roommates were also kicked out for no reason, and the host tried to charge them the next month's rent and a cleaning fee on top of the deposits they'd already paid. When they didn't pay and rented a different Airbnb after being forced out of the old one, the old host got them banned from the app. He ended up flying home early after the worst summer of his life. I think I'll stick to a hotel...

Airbnb, just like Uber, made its money from avoiding paying taxes that their competitors had to pay. Once the laws caught up and they stopped benefiting from loopholes, they were left to compete on price and service just like everybody else. And there is no big money to be made there.

the only airbnbs worth the money are themed or unique, in which case they ARE the experience. a normal house owned by a company just doesnt compare and negatively impacts housing demand. ive heard of a town requiring the owner to not only be a resident but they can only have TWO properties, one having to be their primary residence. i think there should be widespread regulation like this to mitigate and relax the housing market, as well as protect local merchants from giant companies owning 50+ houses only for them to sit empty until someone rents. it would also protect the neighbors! hotels are specifically zoned away from residents to protect locals from the influx of random outsiders (and vice versa), but airbnbs are right next to two families with any number of random guests blocking streetways, inconsiderate to neighbors, and often times bringing large parties. all these reasons is enough to never want to rent an airbnb! also no guarantee that the beds will be clean or comfortable!

My large extended family visits either Orlando or Tampa once a year for vacation. We previously used airbnb to get large homes to have our own kitchen because the South Indians like to eat their own foods. But the cleaning fees coupled with the cleaning expectations mean that I do 20 loads of laundry. One year I had to wake up at 4am just to start on all the mandatory cleaning to get by $1k deposit back, and I still had a $500 cleaning fee. Meanwhile, many things have changed in hotels. More are offering truly full kitchens. Kitchens were the main draw and if I can have that at Marriott... goodbye, airbnb.

I used Airbnb once, I didn't have a bad experience, but the cleaning fees were insane. I don't plan on using it again because of that and we were required to do some things before we leave, which should've been covered in the crazy cleaning fee.

Local governments also have cracked down on AirBNBs that were actually operating as hotels without the zoning, safety and other permits. Not only did it lead to a lot of complaints about noise from neighbors, but these illegal hotels also took homes from often already very tight markets. In a lot of popular tourist destinations residents can either rent out their house or apartment for a very limited amount of time or putting your apartment on AirBNB is completely banned.

I've had some amazing experiences with air bnb, but this was years ago when the pricing was more competitive. Especially with how damaging air bnb has been to real estate and how shady the company can be often siding with hosts (even if they have a bad history of scams or canceling last minute). I still often check, but I'm more open to hotels recently. Less legwork for me.

As a guy from outside this field, i can feel my neck sores from my head growing in size. Eye opening and informative video. I'm glad I ran into this. Subscribed!

I was working at one point for a company that, when they would find a 'good deal' would try and push the team into these airbnbs. It was incredibly rare that it was a good experience, and I would consistently push back. Being on the road for weeks at a time is hard enough, poor conditions and odd airbnb 'hosts' make it so uncomfortable.

I did a road trip once with all Airbnb bookings. Throughout the 8 days of the trip, the stay experience was a roller-coaster ride from amazing to creepy. That was my last time using Airbnb, and went back to my trusty Marriot Bonvoy.

I’ve stayed in many air bnbs but I will always choose a hotel if it’s up to me or my plans. Safer, more comfortable and help available when needed. Worth the cost for me

This video is so well done. Thank you for all your research!! I def see why its not hurting hotels. It took me a while to see that's truly messing up the housing/rental markets. If this keeps up, we'll have more homelessness & unknown + neighbors

When I was younger and traveled with friends, Airbnb was the place to get a house/apt as it was cheaper than getting 4 hotel rooms. Now that I travel with just my wife and have credit cards that give us status, I stay at hotels. I won't say one is better than another, but I'm glad there are options out there for the young as well as the old.

Airbnb’s competitors are no longer hotels but short term rental operators like VRBO and local property management companies.

I’m sad to say that my job has spoiled me too much and I don’t really like the hassle of an Airbnb and having to figure out how to get there, public transportation to the place plus lack of communication for texting the host. I prefer the convenience of a hotel with an ACTUAL insurance policy and safety standards (alleged at least)

I studied and worked in hospitality / hotels, but currently manage airbnb properties and I personally only stay in hotels when I travel. If I was traveling with a large family, I would consider booking an airbnb. The thing with an airbnb is that anything can go wrong (burst geysers, TV issues, electric issues), but in an airbnb, you generally cant just move to another room so it's a lot less convenient if things go wrong.

The places where I've ended up staying at an AirBNB are places that are tourist destinations that don't have enough hotel rooms - a situation you get in climates that are gorgeous for 3 months in the summer, but cold and miserable in winter. My experiences in these AirBNB accommodations were largely negative - staying in converted apartment buildings, converted daylight basements, and add-ons above garages. Accomodations varied from outdated to poorly conceived, though they often featured nice touches in regard to furnishings. I can only hope that I disrupted my hosts' sleep half as much as they did mine; noisy, nosy, and ever-present. AirBNB is the stay of last resort as far as I'm concerned.

my boyfriend and i travel frequently and almost always choose airbnbs. yes, there are fees, but we usually find that the final cost of our airbnbs is about the same as a hotel. we love finding unique places to stay, as it makes our trips so much more memorable. we also really value having a kitchen and a good amount of privacy. the one exception that we've consistently found is that airbnbs in cities just can't beat the prices of hotels.

Thank you for this - I have stayed in an Airbnb once and honestly, unless I have to, I wouldn't do it again because I don't just want accommodation, I want the amenities.

For a couple of years I would consistently look for airbnbs before hotels but lately I would rather just stay in a hotel. Like many people have said, you just don't truly know what you're getting with an Airbnb and I've had both good and bad experiences. From poor host communication, last minute cancellations, misleading pictures of the place of stay to a host that, while friendly, would not leave my partner and I alone and constantly wanted us to hang out with her, there's just no consistency. It's just too much work sometimes to factor all that into a stay and it's easier to just go to a hotel.

congratulation for having put toghether a video with very in deep content. The TV recorded interviews were the cherry on the cake.

There are two main reasons I have no interest in Airbnb: 1) I am disabled and 2) I am female. With a traditional hotel, there are requirements to be accessible. I can book rooms that will fit my wheelchair, and I can sue them (extreme, but allowed) if they do not meet the standards laid out for them by law. With Airbnb, it's just someone's house. What do I do if that host has lied about the amount of accessibility? How do I hold them accountable? Number two is difficult. Having read so many stories of hosts (read: male hosts) on Airbnb hiding cameras in places, of them hanging around the rooms/houses they're letting out...I'm not comfortable with that. While I don't believe that this is every place on Airbnb, it's difficult to know which ones are going to be a problem. You're putting your safety and your vulnerability in a stranger's hands. I fully acknowledge that there are women who travel using Airbnbs and are absolutely fine, but I am just not that type of person. I don't trust individual randomers like that. Especially as I'm in a wheelchair - if something went wrong, I basically have no way to fight back. This sounds extremely doom and gloom, and I know that. And people (women) are attacked in hotels, too. But at least a hotel has a corporation behind it: there's other people working in that hotel who aren't attacking me and would help me. There's constantly someone there. There's higher security for who works there and where they work. There's more accountability if something went wrong. They actively work against anything happening because it would hurt their business. Individual Airbnb hosts are not working for Airbnb. They're working for themselves through Airbnb. They have no stake in not destroying Airbnb nor do they have a boss or HR watching them. I want to add here that I am not normally the type of person to prefer a corporation over a small business/individual. I usually try and go the opposite way if I can. But for some things, I prefer the rules and regulations and the bureaucracy that specifically a corporation brings because it makes it safer and means you can hold it accountable to these things. There are people who you can contact when things go wrong, there are laws regulating them to be a certain way. It's for this reason that I only use registered taxi companies. I don't want to just go in some random person's car, even if it may be cheaper. I want someone who has been registered with the government. Besides that, I want someone who is being paid enough money to live on and not to support a company that is against unions (but that is very difficult nowadays with all these American companies coming over here to the UK with their American ideas of union-busting). As I was writing this, I realised a third reason, although it kind of fits into the first: I have autism. I don't want to deal with people as much as possible, but I like everything being the same. In a modern hotel, you oftentimes barely need to talk to people. Sometimes not even when you're checking in and out. Every franchise of that hotel is designed to look the same. You get the same furniture in the same place, the same colours, the same generic art. I like that. It's comfortable and familiar even when the place I'm in isn't. I know where everything is, I know how things work, I know the general layout, it's going to be there year after year. It's great. Legitimately. Giant corporate hotels like that are brilliant for autistic people. The noises and sometimes too-bright lights, less so, but in general if I were to design like the perfect hotel for me, it'd look something like modern corporate hotels.

Airbnb is about staying in an apartment or house and feel like 'a local'. Hotels are the complete opposite experience and understandably still most people prefer the comfort and worry free experience of a hotel. There are pros and cons for both experiences.

Had no idea of this predominant asset light business model in the hotel industry. Amazing content. You got a sub. Love the narrative, details, and visuals.

Its more disruptive in the rental industry than hotel. I have a friend that rents an apartment downtown to do airbnb. He rents the room for 2k a month, but posts on air bnb for 250 a night. Fully rented out he can make up to 7500 a month. Now not all rooms are rented out everyday, but his average occupancy is 75%, which means he still earns around 6k ish a month. Minus the 2k a month rent he nets 4000. He has a total of 8 units on airbnb right now and makes over 300k a year. And this is just his part time job, he still has time to manage his full time day job, because all he has to do with the 8 airbnb is to hire cleaners to clean the place every night, which is paid for by the rentors.

One thing I find terrible with Airbnb is the lack of lobbies and receptionists. Once a friend came to visit me and took an Airbnb near my place. First, I brought them to my place for breakfast and then went to their Airbnb. The host was just waiting for like 45 min in her car because she doesn't live in the same building. My mom also got stranded at her destination because she wrote down the wrong address. When she found the address using wifi in a cafe, the host was already gone and a neighbor let them in to use wifi and contact the host. You wouldn't have these problems with a hotel.

Can we just stop for a minute and admire the quality of this video. I mean the depth of the analysis is amazing and supported with a lot of data. As a bonus it is all presented in a structured and comprehensive manner. It is unbelievable this is still a KZfaq video in my opinion; it is such a gem. You earned yourself a subscription!

On different occasions i've tried to give airbnb a chance, but it rarely was a better value than just staying at a hotel instead, especially factoring in the rules/restrictions of some of these places and the additional cleaning fee's

I had a host in another country basically not answer the phone and was never able to check in. Turns out she "thought she had cancelled all her bookings and took her room off airbnb" It was a huge hassle for me to call airbnb and all they could really do for me was give me credits for what I paid her and tell me to look for another host. Meanwhile I'm already in France at this point and forced to just take any place that will book me instantly and ended up in a horrible place.

I certainly agree. Strictly from a consumer standpoint, I can say that I used to use Airbnb for travel pretty frequently, but now prices are largely indistinguishable from hotels. So why the hell would I stay at an Airbnb when it has all this extra social awkwardness of being in someone’s house? I’d much rather have the impersonal hotel experience tysm

I agree with a lot of this. Prices are correcting as hosts are realizing how much effort and money is involved with hosting. You can find decent deals if you initially had to rent multiple rooms for family or friends to hang out together, but single rooms or single occupancy costs for airbnb are pretty expensive now. Most cities are also legislating airbnbs away or taxing them appropriately, which makes it less attractive for hosts to do airbnb, unless they intend to do it at scale and heavily for profit, which keeps guests away. Honestly, the last few pre-pandemic airbnbs I went to, I felt like the hosts were totally getting the raw end of the deal and also, the neighbors nearby--who clearly were upset at having to share space with guests without consent.

Thank you for this video. It was a nice analysis.

This was great infotainment. I learned a lot. Keep up the great work. Thank you!

The one thing I really enjoy about AirBnB that I think hotels can't offer is the experience of renting out an entire apartment with a couple of friends for an affordable price that can be split between the occupants. You can all be together in a hostel room, but it's not as comfortable as being in a real apartment, and budget hotels usually only have 2-bed rooms.

One company that wasn't mentioned here, but is very relevant to the topic: VRBO. VRBO (and the vacation rental business in general) has existed for a long time, and Airbnb's business model is FAR closer to theirs than it ever has been to hotels. Airbnb has also done more to disrupt that business than it has to disrupt the hotel business, and VRBO has become a lot more like Airbnb- to the point where they are essentially direct competitors now.

AirBnB hosts are the main problem. Too many scammers. A couple of examples: I booked an apartment, within minutes the host messaged the price was incorrectly listed and that I owed double the amount. I wasn’t willing to pay for an obvious scam. Their cancelation policy didn’t allow any refunds so I lost over $500. Another time I arrived at the site, the host showed me our groups villa, I asked about the other villas and was told they were more expensive so we accepted the original villa we were given. Later, the host took payment from one of our group members (unaware I had fully paid online) at check out. I went back to the host to recover the money and show I had already paid online. The host claimed that we had “chosen” the villa we stayed in and that it was more expensive. I raised this with Airbnb but they didn’t respond, perhaps because there was no proof we had handed over extra cash.

The abilities of hotels to provide services is often overlooked especially in foreign countries where finding English speaking people to help. I was mailing packages from Japan and didn't really know the procedures the hotel not only provided the boxing for them and even mailed them for me and while it may have cost a little bit extra not much it turned out the amount I paid was too much and I got the leftover money back.

Most downtown areas have completely banned vacation rentals. So unless you are going to drive in, only option is hotels.

A lot of these Airbnbs having crazy high cleaning fees now is mainly due to a lot of hosts trying to pay someone else to clean up their properties.

The absurd fees is slowly killing Airbnb's niche. Comparing hotels to an airbnb is starting to become experience vs convince. You can rent a lake or beach house with friends and split the cost (which hosts bank on justifying these costs). Versus a hotel/motel where these costs are fixed. But the days of landing into a city looking for a place to simply sleep and shower? Hosts seems to think they're equals to hotels. They're killing their own model, and over time. Hotels with points and perks, win out.

Ive only stayed in AirBnBs twice (including now) and honestly the location imo determines if it's better than a hotel. The first time I went was with my family and we stayed at the Poconos for a few days. The house was nice and spacious and was around amusement parks and had all the amenities you could imagine . Honestly, it was awesome! A hotel can't give you all of that in PA. I'm currently staying in a long term AirBnB in LA and honestly, It's not the best. Sheets had dried blood on them, and another stain which my sister said is probably grease, (but grease stains aren't on the second sheet on the bed so...), A filthy mattress, and no vents (meaning I have to be very careful with cooking or showering before mold appears), and to top it off, I opened my doors a few days ago to see a guy sleeping outside of my door, and I was at the end of hall on one of the guest floors. I'm in an apartment building that apparently has security according to the hosts, but I haven't seen a single guard. Reported all of this to AirBnB and they apologized but nothing's come of it. If I wasn't at my internship all day, I'd be miserable. LA is a miserable place compared to the parts of PA I've been to. I knew LA had a homeless problem so don't think I came here with rose colored glasses, but after going through an awful AirBnB market where some rooms are more expensive than having a whole place to yourself (imagine not being able to afford a room with a door) and the things I mentioned above, it just makes me wish I got a deal with a hotel since some do have monthly options. When I go to SF and SD for weekend trips, I wouldn't mind doing an AirBnb since short term stays have been great, but long term is off to a bad start. And before the LA brigade comes in, while I have been raised in a suburb, I've lived next to and have been in NYC for all my life. While there are homeless people there, and sometimes you do smell urine, it is not an everyday occurrence. While NYC does have it's flaws, it's not as bad as over here. I can tell why people are fleeing LA and CA as a whole even more now 😂

As a middle income traveler, Airbnb is a hit or miss experience. Sometimes you can get super nice location with just a fraction of hotel price but sometimes the host is too problematic. In the end, I stopped using Airbnb and mostly looking for budget hotel instead.

Most of ya don’t know or were not around when Airbnb launched….. the reason Airbnb was popular….. was because you can get entire homes or full finished basements with private entrances for half the price of a day staying at your cheapest motel… now a days…. Airbnb is no longer useful for that. Hotels have better prices now

Fascinating video and very informative. Thank you!

In France, AirBnB doesn’t really compete with hotels as they can host families, who usually can’t afford several hotel rooms anyway. It is more of a problem for housing. Space is scarce in our country and those thousands of AirBnB flats are lost to the housing market that was already tense. The middle class has to rent 30 to 150 km away and commute by train to work in Paris because so many affordable flats are now AirBnBs.

I think it’s about the purpose of the trip. For a one or two night business trip I’ll always choose a hotel. For a multi day pleasure trip where I want the facilities to cook, hang out with travel companions / mates, want the space to just relax, I’ll always go with Airbnb

This channel is going to grow crazy fast I'm calling it

My wife and I are 24 and we have already given up on Airbnbs as a cheap, cool alternative to hotels. Every one we’ve stayed at his had doctored photos, terrible service, and overall, has not been a good experience. We did some digging after our stay in Barcelona to find out why this place was five stars yet had no hot water, the “owner” phone number, took me to a call center in India, and the code to get in the building didn’t work and it took over an hour through the call center just to get into our room. Turns out, Airbnb deletes bad reviews to make a place more likely to be booked so that they can up their bottom line.🙃