Marriott to Take On Airbnb in Booming Home-Rental Market

hat tip: my brother who subscribes. I cannot see the full article w/o a subscription but he’ll see if he can provide it.

I have read several newspaper stories about Airbnbs and VRBOs banned from dozens of U.S. cities.

Most news articles state, major hotel corporations and hotel labor unions have donated campaign money to locally-elected officials in exchange to ban home-rental competition within their communities.

Money talks!

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I was able to find the Marriott news article elsewhere:

Hotel chain Marriott is planning to get into the home-share market to take on Airbnb, according to an interesting report today from the Wall Street Journal. The paper cites “people familiar with the matter” who say Marriott will be the first major hotel company to create a U.S. home-rental platform. The new home-share biz will reportedly roll out in the U.S. after a successful pilot program in Europe.

Marriott’s successful pilot rental program in Europe is expected to serve as a model for the U.S. initiative, say people familiar with the matter. The hotel company joined with Hostmaker, a London-based home-rental management company, to offer home-sharing stays at 340 properties in Paris, Rome, Lisbon and London. Marriott is working with one or more property management firms in the U.S., some of these people said.

Marriott found that guests tended to stay more than twice the typical hotel length, and the rentals appealed to customers who wanted more space and kitchen and laundry facilities. The European homes included a 24-hour support line and an in-person check-in at the property through Hostmaker, Marriott has said.

News of Marriott’s imminent arrival into Airbnb’s territory could be seen as both good and bad for Airbnb. On the one hand, Marriott is the largest hotel chain in the world, so if it’s getting into the home-share business, the industry had got to be booming—something Airbnb benefits from tremendously. However, rumors have it Airbnb will IPO next year. Increased competition means the possibility of reduced market share, and that’s something no investor in a company wants to see.

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Neither am I, I was able to read it after turning off ad blocker.

RR

Increased competition is almost always good for the consumer. And people think it’s a “race to the bottom” now. Disclosure: it’s not a race to the bottom at my home but I acknowledge others have different experiences.

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I am glad that Marriott is taking on home rentals. Competition is healthy.

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Me 2, gives another booking option for us.

RR

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After reading the news article, will Marriott be the rental platform for:

  • Entire houses and apartments?
  • Or, can I list my house’s downstairs two bedrooms, while my wife and I live full-time on the upper main floor?

I tried to register our downstairs rental unit on Trivago.com yesterday. But I cannot, since we live in the same house and guests may not use our entire house (including our private kitchen).

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I am really struggling with this IPO business. The equity is all in the brand, and the hosts. Well, Marriott is also a great brand. And personally I struggle on again off again policies that move too fast, etc. Point being that the core business could be managed better. I am a cautious investor. Where’s the beef?

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I’ll be shocked if they allow room/in-law suite rentals.

And, I won’t be surprised if MARRIOTT ITSELF SHOULD OWN these rentals.

Which will raise some sticky, sticky issues if they own props in residential areas.

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From what I read, we aren’t involved in this plan. They are simply adding “hosts” to an extended stay type suite. The hosts will be their employees. I think they are misreading the market.

I don’t see how adding hosts to extended stay suites counts as “homesharing.” (Nor, obviously, Marriott-owned single-fam homes.)

This article is pretty good

So they’re not Marriott-owned.

This should be a wake-up call for Airbnb hosts since it means they think their offerings will lure home-sharing customers away from other platforms. I personally would like to see more data on what the standards should be.

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“One of the challenges you see with home-sharing is there’s too much inventory without quality filters or brand assurances,” says Stephanie Linnartz, Marriott’s global chief commercial officer. “There’s inconsistency across the brand experience.”

Thats what makes it fun! Of course a corporate chief would think that. I book Airbnb’s because I like being in someone’s home when I’m traveling. I get a more real sense of being there and what life is like there. I just booked a tiny little room in Asia where you sleep on the floor and there’s a baby in the room next door with rice paper sliding doors in between… I’m not the only one doing it either.

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Having had guests who lament the lack of consistency in standards, it makes sense they would think that’s an issue. We see it in posts here. Top sheet or not? More than one towel or not? White or colors? Should I provide soap? Check in at all hours of the night? How many pillows?

There will always be a market for the quirky or unique but the money is in mass produced homogeneity.

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You cannot cook in most hotel rooms either.

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You cannot cook in most hotel rooms either.

So true, one more good argument to the person who objects to a cleaning fee.

RR

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In Palm Springs, there is a large vacation management company that was recently acquired by Marriott. My guess is that in order to participate in this program, one would need to sign up with one of their management companies that charge a standard 25% fee. These companies advertise on Airbnb as well as their own platform. In PS, this management company has a terrible reputation and poor reviews.

Is the first letter of the company a V?

RR

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