Airbnb is Succeeding and Changing beyond Recognition
Airbnb is changing beyond recognition because of its success. That success is driving both intense competition and profound changes to the service.
Hosts might soon be facing stringent new requirements and inspections from Airbnb employees, Bloomberg Technology reported. Airbnb is developing a new premium service that will require some hosts to meet a checklist of quality standards.
Rentals that meet the standards will appear on a special section of Airbnb called Select. Only those given a stamp of approval by an official Airbnb inspector will be labeled “Select.”
It is not clear when; or where, Select will premier or what the criteria will be, but the service is supposed to be unveiled by the end of 2017. The idea behind Select is to make Airbnb more competitive with hotels.
Expenses May Increase for Airbnb Hosts
Select is likely to increase expenses for a lot of Airbnb hosts; because they will have to add expense new amenities such as maid services and toiletries. This will put pressure on hosts with limited financial resources, because there is no evidence Airbnb is planning to speed up payment for bookings.
This means it would be a good idea for hosts to find some new sources of funding now. One excellent source of finance for hosts is factors like Payfully, Payfully actually pays cash for unpaid Airbnb bookings.
Since it is a factor; Payfully does not make a loan instead it advances cash in exchange for the right to collect the unpaid booking. This means the host receives a sum of cash but does not have to worry about repaying a loan or making interest payments.
Other sources of funding Airbnb hosts can investigate include credit cards, smart business lenders such as Lendio, and Prosper, and mortgages. Something to be aware of is that most banks will not lend to Airbnb hosts so you will have to search online for a lender.
Hotels are raising the Heat on Airbnb
The battle between Airbnb and the hotel industry is heating up and getting dirty.
The American Hotel and Lodging Association is so scared of Airbnb that it paid college professors to portray short-term rentals as unsafe and insecure, The Miami Herald revealed. Professors at four schools; including Penn State and Florida International University (FIU), were paid for “research” designed to make Airbnb look bad.
The research is designed to convince local governments to ban Airbnb or regulate it death. An example of the hotel industry’s plans is Miami Beach where hosts have been subjected to $20,000 fines. The city of Miami itself has gone farther and banned Airbnb in the suburbs.
Miami has apparently become ground zero in the war against Airbnb. The Association made a $68,209.50 grant to Eric Beckman who teaches at FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. The money is supposed to pay for a study on the public’s perception of short-term rentals.
Airbnb Strikes Back
Airbnb is striking back with a blog called the Checks & Balances Project. The Project tries to expose the connections between Airbnb critics and the hotel industry. This is done through investigative journalism.
In an effort to attract a wider audience; the Project often investigates more general issues such as the connections between the Koch Brothers and the Trump administration. It also tries to expose public figures like New York Union boss Peter Ward who support anti-Airbnb legislation.
It looks as if the war on Airbnb is heating up. Hosts had better get ready because the battle with the hotel industry will change the service forever.