Airbnb – don’t fight it, join it

THE SA travel industry
sees emerging websites
such as airbnb as
a business opportunity.
Sharing economy is a
socio-economic system
built around the sharing
of human and physical
resources, in this case
‘sharing homes’.
Association of British
Travel Agents chairman,
Noel Josephides, speaking
at the Abta conference
recently, lashed out at peerto-peer
sector websites
such as airbnb, comparing
the sector to the ‘black
economy’. “This is the
rise of what we call the
sharing economy – another
name for the growth of
the black economy but
presented in a very clever
and sympathetic way. The
classified adverts and cards
in the Post Office window
have always been there and
we tolerated it because
the scale was small. What
companies such as airbnb
and HouseTrip have cleverly
done is to use the Internet
to provide a platform to
allow the black economy to
grow.”
But airbnb is no more a
threat than any other global
accommodation supplier
such as Agoda or Hotels.
com, say SA industry
players.
Wally Gaynor, md of
Club Travel, says airbnb
offers an opportunity for
travel agents to sell clients
what they want, and add
a service fee. The client
wants the ‘home away from
home’ type properties but
doesn’t want to spend time
researching these options.
As a travel agent, you can
do the research, and charge
a fee for doing it. “Our
online division, Flightsite, is
already doing an integration
to show airbnb inventory
and charge a booking fee.
Basically if it’s content that
consumers want, then why
not sell it and charge a
fee?”
“We don’t believe airbnb is
a threat to the travel agency
sector,” says Otto de Vries,
ceo of Asata. He adds that
the role of the travel agent
is to find the best possible
product and experience
that best matches all the
requirements for their
customers: price, product,
destination, etc.
For the past few months,
airbnb has also been
making headway in the
corporate travel sector. The
company launched a new
portal specifically designed
for business travellers
as well as a partnership
with Concur that will make
it easier for corporate
travellers to file expenses
when booking on the peerto-peer
rental platform.
Otto, who says the bulk
of South African outbound
travel is corporate, says
corporates look for
consistency when it comes
to accommodation and
that it would be difficult
to guarantee consistency
through something like
airbnb.”
The lack of quality control
in peer-to-peer platforms
will be an issue for most
corporate travellers, agrees
Danny Bryer, Protea
Hotels director of sales,
marketing and revenue.
The idea behind airbnb is
an immersive one in local
culture, which could work
from a self-catering point of
view for a small percentage
of long-stay corporate
travellers but is not an ideal
solution for most. “Services
like airbnb also can’t
compete with established
hospitality brands in key
areas such as being
assured of the quality of
accommodation and service
you’ll experience, which can
make or break a business
or leisure trip, regardless of
location.”