Benefits of Airbnb to Lodging Industry

Posted: December 21st, 2022

Benefits of Airbnb to Lodging Industry

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Benefits of Airbnb to Lodging Industry

Historically, the hospitality industry has been dominated by lodges as the primary form of accommodation. This hence restricted the lodging services to only selected hotels and restaurants which offered accommodation. By virtue of the business, lodgings were bound to urban centers and shopping centers from which the hotels and restaurants were restricted. The accessibility of the lodging services was also limited to the high-end profiles due to the high-cost nature of the business, as it was dominated by the monopoly of the more prominent hotels and restaurants (Sánchez-Franco and Alonso-Dos-Santos, 2020). The dominance of the monopoly of the hotels and restaurants in the provision of the lodging industry was, however, orchestrated and disoriented by the entry of Airbnb into the market in 2008. The onset was following two designers who had space and rented it out to three travelers who desperately looked for a shelter amid the journey hence kick-starting the birth of Airbnb within the lodging industry (Yang and Mao, 2020). This specific arm of the lodging industry targeted the various hosts and travelers. They are enthusiastic about creating free Airbnb accounts by the hosts to list their space and book the multiple rooms that suit the various guests’ unique expectations across the world within the various locations. Hence, the Airbnb business hosts shared their passions alongside their interests with the travelers and locals who also adopted the new experience of accommodation in the town (Alyakoob and Rahman, 2018). Therefore, the Airbnb business revolutionized the lodging industry with various benefits under its bracket, as detailed below.

Security within the Airbnb business improved as one would compare to the previous modes of the lodging industry. This was through the platform improvement in which the Airbnb clients were accessing booking services as it became easy, enjoyable, and safe (Sánchez-Franco and Alonso-Dos-Santos, 2020). Upon creating an Airbnb account, there is always a verification of the individual personal profiles, listings, and a new model of intelligent messaging that facilitates the communication between the hosts and guests. This was an improvement from the various mode of the lodging industry as the clients could assess the location surrounding and engage the hosts before booking the room according to the security concerns offered within site and the state of the rooms (Yang and Mao, 2020). Besides, the efficient mode of communication between the host and clients was further supported by the trusted mode of payment platform in which the hosts were assured of the payment of their services as mostly the individuals have to pay their deposit before the actual date of the travel as a mode of securing their rooms (Alyakoob and Rahman, 2018). The verification of the host’s profile also aimed at guaranteeing the security of the previously unavailable rooms as individuals only used to walk to the nearby hotels that might have seemed to be secure.

Improvement of the clients’ occupancy in the lodging industry is witnessed with the introduction of Airbnb in the industry. Several hotels have registered an increase in short-term bookings due to the higher rating for brand advocacy, which has been tagged alongside the industry. The brand advocacy is designed to keep rating up the hotels that offer the best accommodation services to their clients, improving the return customers (Sánchez-Franco and Alonso-Dos-Santos, 2020). The guests who are thus satisfied with the hospitality services they gained from the selected Airbnb facility become return customers and also refer the specific hotel as well as the room to several other clients at a higher than the market-average rate hence improving the various hotels’ occupancy within the business (Yang and Mao, 2020). The urge to improve the rating has also further enhanced the connection with the clients through a more robust and engaging customer base hence pushing up the customer occupancy within the particular hospitality facility.

Airbnb business has immensely improved the occupancy options in the accommodation sector, especially those involving the clients traveling various purposes and sizes, which has subsequently met the customers’ specifications and satisfaction (So et al., 2018). This has been facilitated by the comprehensive facilities the platform offers through the various hosts to the guests as there are different single rooms, apartments, and houses. The platform further adds the caravans and castles to their bracket of coverage which supports those individuals traveling either as a group or as family and requires a large house under one roof somewhat scattered within the locality hence convenient for logistics (Dogru et al., 2020). Airbnb has facilitated the clients’ security within this specification as a parent will be less likely to worry over the safety of their children upon getting a relatively more significant accommodation for the whole family under one roof. Various groups can also hold an interactive meeting late hours before retiring to bed within the more extensive accommodation facilities, which share an ordinary meeting lounge hence more convenient.

The introduction of Airbnb services in the accommodation industry has revolutionized the available services within the accommodation industry. Therefore, the Airbnb industry has added restaurants to the accommodation experience they have gained. For instance, the clients searching for the various accommodation services within the platform can see a list of occasions such as sightseeing and classes offered by the local Airbnb hosts, especially those searching by the aid of location (Yang and Mao, 2020). This has thus added flavor to the accommodation industry as it is a new experience to the hotels and accommodation industry alongside the lodging. More clients are easily enticed by the facilities’ experiences, hence improving the lodging industry’s state as various hosts have further set up the facilities within those locations where the clients gain such experience as a marketing skill (Kim and Kim, 2020). This has thus improved the lodging industry’s status.

The gains exemplify the impact of Airbnb the hosts have realized from this lucrative business deal. For instance, depending on their location, the hosts are at liberty of constantly changing the design of their rooms and accommodation facilities depending on their interests (Sánchez-Franco and Alonso-Dos-Santos, 2020). The designs depending on the location and the costs, and the personal factors of the hosts, allow the host to set up their prices for the specified accommodation facility either daily, weekly, or monthly (Alyakoob and Rahman, 2018). This method has also benefitted the clients through the ability and liberty to bargain for the accommodation fees offered by the hosts and as per the clients’ views of the desired product and within their budgets. This interaction amongst the clients hence improves the lodging industry.

Airbnb currently supports the customizable searches on their platform because the accommodation services access is via the online means of interaction. This application and nature of the customization of the lodging industry have greatly benefitted the clients, especially those booking for their accommodation services while far away from the facility and cannot access to assess the situation of the accommodation (Kim and Kim, 2020). The clients thus assess the facility through the various pictures posted via the online platform. The actual hosts also send photos of the facility’s house specifications, thus enabling the customer to make an informed choice before booking a facility. The online platform further allows the client to search accommodation to their specifications, location, and type of property (Dogru et al., 2020). This process enables faster booking as the searches for the particular room are also narrowed done rather than previous modes in which the searches were limited to the accessibility to the facility.

The revolutionization of the lodging industry through Airbnb has provided the platform with new marketing strategies and competition. For instance has enabled the promotion of the business through the various individuals advertising across the various online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Instagram (So et al., 2018). This also enabled a more comprehensive market target. The accommodation facilities are not tied to the physical location, with the various target clients being enticed by how the pictures suggest their first interaction with the accommodation facility. Besides, the digital world has effectively competed with the different traditional models in which the accommodation is only accessible by physical means only. Similarly, modern society has turned in trusting the online products and services as advertised through the awareness created within the industry (Alyakoob and Rahman, 2018). The reviews and the rating incorporated within the platform have optimized the competition as the higher the rating and customer satisfaction has often indicated higher return customers, hence high returns on the hosts from the business.

The Airbnb norm in the accommodation industry has provided the best benefits to the hosts. For instance, the hosts freely list their accommodation services through the app. The listings of the properties by the hosts include; written descriptions, photos with captions, as well as the user profile (So et al., 2018). This is a new mode and an improvement to the lodging industry. The various potential guests can now acquire a piece of adequate information about the hosts, hence facilitating the security of the clients while accessing the accommodation.

The new platform and improvement in the lodging industry have increased the protection of the hosts and guests against various losses. For instance, Airbnb holds in its directives each of the esteemed guest’s payments for 24 hours after checking the client to the facility before the final cash transfer to the respective hosts (Sánchez-Franco and Alonso-Dos-Santos, 2020). Hence, this acts as the security. Should clients find a non-existing facility or faulty premises, they are assured of their refund for the money they had committed for their respective service. The Airbnb host is also provided an extensive cover of approximately $1,000,000 for coverage of the damage that might occur due to the client’s reckless behavior as some of them engage in alcohol and disputes (Kim and Kim, 2020). However, this insurance protection kitty is limited to covering a few of the host’s damage, if not everything. This protection cover is provided freely by the platform of the damage to products, which might motivate to increase the number of the hosts in Airbnb.

The Airbnb business has gained more advantages to the hotels and the platform. Airbnb thus requires the hotels to stock their platform with numerous calls and desirable inventory (So et al., 2018). However, the various Airbnb guests prefer the stay in hotels rather than Airbnb homes, especially amongst the millennials. The drive behind the higher preference for the hotels is the guaranteed experience within the hotels which is accomplished through booking a stay at a particular hotel within any given place around the world (Dogru et al., 2020). However, this preference is faced with a drawback in which the hotels are required to differentiate the offerings available for their esteemed guests. The various rooms should have distinct features from each other, which explain the specifications and preferences of the clients. This thus favors the hotels with diverse amenities and highly extended bathrooms as well as shared space amongst the available units.

The channel manager has also consequently improved the reach of the new customers, improved the online visibility of the various hotels, and proactively facilitated the management of rates, availability, and clients reservations. Since the Airbnb platform is over the internet media, it has promoted various tools such as the cloudbeds that enable the accessibility of the online distribution channels. This has further improved the listing of the available rooms for each of the facilities enlisted and provided accommodation services under Airbnb (Sánchez-Franco and Alonso-Dos-Santos, 2020). The channel also facilitates the automatic updating of the system upon a successful new booking hence providing real-time accommodation services. As incorporated and designed, the channel manager supports the tracking down of events and prohibits overbooking, therefore fewer disappointments to the guest and consequently improve the customer experience and satisfaction.

Ultimately, the Airbnb business model within the lodging industry is a state of art service delivery that has highly benefitted the clients. Airbnb being a new model incorporated in 2008, has successfully outrun the previous traditional models of bookings of hotels and the accessibility. The conventional models were limited to only the urban centers. Hence, the bookings accepted at the point of accessibility could make it tedious. Sometimes, no accommodation is offered even after a long cue due to the vast number of clients. The new model has also led to the digitization of the industry, which is now targeting a large group of individual clients who can assess at the convenience of their homes. The channel manager has also been incorporated with the platform and has won efficiency in the industry with almost no case of overbooking. The clients are assured of the accessibility of the rooms. The guests, as well as the hosts, are guaranteed security through the profile verification and the insurance of the various Airbnb hosts. The platform also has enabled free listing by the hosts of their services, providing additional benefits as it would it by targeting the different short-term royal clients. Airbnb has also helped customize the products to facilitate the addition of flavor to the business and narrowed down the searches to whatever services are available within context. Besides, the emergence of Airbnb has led to the generation of income to various individuals who operate Airbnb at various locations.

References

Alyakoob, M., & Rahman, M. (2018). Shared Prosperity (or Lack Thereof) in the Sharing Economy. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3180278.

Dogru, T., Mody, M., Suess, C., McGinley, S., & Line, N. (2020). The Airbnb paradox: Positive employment effects in the hospitality industry. Tourism Management, 77, 104001. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2019.104001.

Kim, B., & Kim, D. (2020). Attracted to or Locked In? Explaining Consumer Loyalty toward Airbnb. Sustainability, 12(7), 2814. doi: 10.3390/su12072814.

Sánchez-Franco, M., & Alonso-Dos-Santos, M. (2020). Exploring gender-based influences on key features of Airbnb accommodations. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 34(1), 2484-2505. doi: 10.1080/1331677x.2020.1831943.

So, K., Oh, H., & Min, S. (2018). Motivations and constraints of Airbnb consumers: Findings from a mixed-methods approach. Tourism Management, 67, 224-236. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2018.01.009.

Yang, Y., & Mao, Z. (2020). Location advantages of lodging properties: A comparison between hotels and Airbnb units in an urban environment. Annals Of Tourism Research, 81, 102861. doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2020.102861.