• News
    • VRM Intel News
    • Latest News
    • Sponsor News
  • COVID-19
  • Marketing
  • Tech
  • OTAs
  • Customer Service
  • Regulations
  • Business
  • Housekeeping
  • Subscribe
  • More
    • Calendar of Events
    • VRM Intel Live!
    • Reports Login
    • VRM Intel Magazine
    • Advertise
    • Authors
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
VRM Intel
  • News
    • Arizonans for Responsible Tourism Pregame Prep Campaign
      Arizonans for Responsible Tourism Hosts Super Bowl Preparedness Campaign for Vacation Rental Operators
    • vacation-rentals-housing-vrm-intel
      Carrots and sticks: Vacation rentals and the creation of affordable, workforce housing
    • Woman dropping off a ballot
      2022 Election Results of Vacation Rental Ballot Measures
    • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    • How to Increase Your Occupancy in a Competitive Market through Monthly Rentals
    • VRM Intel News
    • Latest News
    • Sponsor News
  • COVID-19
    • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    • 2022 Vacation Rental acquisitions from AvantStay, VTrips, Vacasa, Meredith, and more
      Who Sold? Here’s What We Know: 2022 Vacation Rental Management Acquisitions
    • 2021/2022 Ski Destinations Showing Big Performance Gains in ADR and RevPAR for Vacation Homes and Condos
    • “It’s like a short-term rental regulation pandemic.” 2022 Spring Vacation Rental Regulatory Trends + Fall Outlook
    • HR 2022: Attracting Today’s New Workforce after the Resignation Tsunami and the Great Renegotiation
  • Marketing
    • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    • How to Increase Your Occupancy in a Competitive Market through Monthly Rentals
    • board meeting in presentation room
      Tourism Boards and DMOs Offer Seat at the Table for Vacation Rentals
    • Geotargeting & SEM: A How-To Guide on Spending Less & Getting More
    • All About the Data: Predictive Indicators with Jason Sprenkle
  • Tech
    • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    • Geotargeting & SEM: A How-To Guide on Spending Less & Getting More
    • All About the Data: Predictive Indicators with Jason Sprenkle
    • PriceLabs Announces $30 Million Investment from Summit Partners
    • Ximplifi Adds Owner Portal to Automation Suite for Short Term Rental Accounting
  • OTAs
    • How to Increase Your Occupancy in a Competitive Market through Monthly Rentals
    • Blue Star Acquires Majority Stake in TravelNet Solutions
    • Vacation Rental Data and Revenue Management Conference, DARM 2022, Nashville
      Sessions Details for Upcoming Vacation Rental Data and Revenue Management (DARM) Conference: Livestream/Video Tickets Available
    • Vacasa (VCSA) Stock Falls as Lock-up Period Expires
    • 4 Ways to Stand Out in a Crowded Market: Get Your Brand & Listings in Front of Potential Guests
  • Customer Service
    • Why Not A Hotel? A Guest and Homeowner’s Perspective: There’s No Place Like Home … Or Is There?
    • Leading Proptech Company Guesty Appoints David Aber as CFO
    • Meredith Hospitality Brands Inc. Expands to Mt Hood with Acquisition of Mt Hood Vacation Rentals
    • View of Waikiki from Diamond Head Park, Honolulu, Hawaii
      Honolulu City Council Bans Stays Under 90 Days Across Oahu
    • Are you a Visionary without an Integrator at Your Vacation Rental Management Company?
  • Regulations
    • vacation-rentals-housing-vrm-intel
      Carrots and sticks: Vacation rentals and the creation of affordable, workforce housing
    • Woman dropping off a ballot
      2022 Election Results of Vacation Rental Ballot Measures
    • voters at a polling center voting
      Dozens of Vacation Rental Ballot Measures Heading to Voters this November
    • board meeting in presentation room
      Tourism Boards and DMOs Offer Seat at the Table for Vacation Rentals
    • Arizona state flag outside the legislature buildings at the state capitol
      Arizona Legislature Passes Measure to Restore Some Power to Cities
  • Business
    • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    • Geotargeting & SEM: A How-To Guide on Spending Less & Getting More
    • All About the Data: Predictive Indicators with Jason Sprenkle
    • PriceLabs Announces $30 Million Investment from Summit Partners
    • Ximplifi Adds Owner Portal to Automation Suite for Short Term Rental Accounting
  • Housekeeping
    • Why Not A Hotel? A Guest and Homeowner’s Perspective: There’s No Place Like Home … Or Is There?
    • Analysis: “Reinventing” Vacation Rental Management by Alex Nigg
    • HR 2022: Attracting Today’s New Workforce after the Resignation Tsunami and the Great Renegotiation
    • Safety First: Evaluating and Addressing Safety Risks at Your Vacation Rentals
    • The Importance of the Guest Experience within Vacation Rental Operations: From the Back of the House to the Front
  • Subscribe
  • More
    • Calendar of Events
    • VRM Intel Live!
    • Reports Login
    • VRM Intel Magazine
    • Advertise
    • Authors
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • RSS

OTAs

…And this is why I never talk about Airbnb by Matt Landeau

…And this is why I never talk about Airbnb by Matt Landeau
mm
VRM Intel Staff
August 15, 2014

By Matt Landeau, Vacation Rental Marketing Blog

Over the past 4 years, I’ve written a total of 277 posts on this blog, all designed to help vacation rental owners and managers generate more bookings.

And in a measly 4 of them will you actually find me mention the name Airbnb.

So people kept asking, “Why don’t you ever mention Airbnb?”

Airbnb Closed DataAnd I’ve chosen to answer that question using the following example.

You’re probably familiar with the email:

“Tommy T. would like to book your vacation rental for 14 days at a rate of $300/night.”

Hooray, we get excited. A $4200 booking straight into our bank account!

But not so fast…(the email continues):

“In order to confirm this booking, to access Tommy T.’s identity, and to receive the payment when he checks in, please log into our messaging interface and agree to our terms of use at your soonest convenience.”

Doh!

A wonderful gift…but one that comes with conditions.

 

Here’s The Catch…

“The Data Curtain” (a phrase I think I just invented unless someone can point me to it elsewhere online) is the foundation of a genius business model.

It withholds vital data in order to streamline a smoother service.

By forcing all transactions through their system and keeping sensitive or valuable data (like guest contact info or credit card details) “air” tight, the company essentially legitimized an industry of random people lending other random people space in their home.

And as acutely pointed out by Jason Clampet in 6 Ways Airbnb Changed Hospitality And The Vacation Rental Industry, Airbnb’s model has made transactions better, feedback more transparent, discovery easier, cities bigger, and rentals safer.

There is no arguing that Airbnb’s centralized system has done all these things masterfully and apart from the last five words of his article’s title (more on this below), I agree with everything Jason says.

 

Why “The Data Curtain” Impedes Growth

The success of the Data Curtain model of Airbnb (and increasingly of HomeAway and FlipKey) is predicated on two assumptions:

1. They must control a large share of the demand (in other words, lots of travelers inquiring for a place to stay)

2. Their suppliers (owners and managers) must not know how (or want) to generate leads on their own

This second factor, is what makes things…well, complicated.

From a newbie’s perspective, the $4200 booking is merely a conditional gift:

It fills up your calendar in exchange for some nominal tradeoff costs.

But beyond simple costs, the Data Curtain is an enabler.

Not unlike I have very clearly outlined in the 3 Pillars of Sustainable VR Marketing Whitepaper, investing one’s precious time and energy in vacation rental marketing should be an investment that pays for itself over and over again…not just a one-time fling.

Working in front of the Data Curtain is perfect for those who are not looking to take full control of their mini-hospitality business…

Those who are fly-by-night or simply happy to trade off some benefits in honor of joining a community movement…

Maybe it’s just me, but when I read it again, that initial email actually sends a message more like this:

“It feels like Tommy T. has recognized your hard work and chosen to stay with you for a period of 14 days at a rate of $300/night. But we are creating a barrier to you working with Tommy.”
 

Here’s Why I Don’t Talk About Airbnb

First of all, Airbnb is focused on primary residences whereas my niche is vacation rentals or second homes…

We can’t blindly lump Airbnb into “the vacation rental industry” because it is fundamentally different (although that is starting to change).

Second, the majority of Airbnb listings are urban whereas the majority of my niche is not.

I’ve had some very nice conversations with the folks at Airbnb, and they are all super smart, progressive people very aware of these differences.

In fact, I tried to pitch them the idea of guest blogging (you know, teaching their hosts how to establish their own web presence, build/improve their online reputations, and diversify their marketing portfolio much like I do for the lovely folks at HomeAway and FlipKey)…

But the idea never quite panned out.

And at the time, I wasn’t so sure why.

But perhaps it’s part of the greater reason I don’t write about Airbnb much as a whole either: because of an incongruence in the overlapping of what they do and what I do:

I build the brands of individuals and communities.

Airbnb builds a community around one central brand (their brand).

 

The Conflict Of Interest (I Think)

Last week, Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky went on my favorite show (The Colbert Report) and did the awesome interview …

 

The Colbert Report
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Colbert Report on Facebook

And from this great video (funny how Colbert calls it “home prostitution”) the one thing that really struck me was the following quote:

“Everyone should be able to participate in the economy like a corporation.”

This is a ballsy statement (I personally love it).

But knowing what we know about The Data Curtain business model as it relates to Airbnb, I felt like that statement should have been something more like:

“Everyone should be able to participate in the economy like a corporation…but preferably a corporation without its own marketing department.”

Airbnb would be its own worst enemy if it encouraged hosts to go out into the world and establish their own true hospitality identities.

And apart from some select empowerment tools, I think the company would be walking a fine line between helping hosts make more money and  giving them the ability to do so independently.

Could they build even more loyalty if they opened up their resource center to help hosts truly get more professional?

Beyond just hosting standards, Airbnb stories, or other internal best practices?

I definitely think so.

 

My Final Thoughts…

Of course, you won’t find me damning the Airbnb business model or brand because it’s smart as hell on the side of the big corporation.

In fact, anyone who’s complaining about fees or control of any of these sites is barking up the wrong tree: either adopt their terms or go find a way to do it yourself.

But apart from the host values that I preach (all very in tune with Airbnb), I’m more an advocate of full control, flexibility, independence, and evergreen marketing work.

Even if it means you’re building something super makeshift like this bathroom (right) I just used in the San Blas Islands where I’m publishing this post.

I admire the revolution that Airbnb has begun (and will likely continue in blowing their competitors out of the water).

But screw small handicapped corporations…

I believe vacation rental owners and managers can build their own mini-empires!

Related Items
Click to add a comment

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

OTAs
August 15, 2014
mm
VRM Intel Staff

Related Items

More in OTAs

How to Increase Your Occupancy in a Competitive Market through Monthly Rentals

Sean BeckhamSeptember 16, 2022
Read More

Blue Star Acquires Majority Stake in TravelNet Solutions

Amy HinoteJuly 26, 2022
Read More
Vacation Rental Data and Revenue Management Conference, DARM 2022, Nashville

Sessions Details for Upcoming Vacation Rental Data and Revenue Management (DARM) Conference: Livestream/Video Tickets Available

Amy HinoteJuly 24, 2022
Read More

Vacasa (VCSA) Stock Falls as Lock-up Period Expires

Amy HinoteJune 10, 2022
Read More

4 Ways to Stand Out in a Crowded Market: Get Your Brand & Listings in Front of Potential Guests

Jennifer PerezMay 26, 2022
Read More

Stays Group and Touch Stay Announce Partnership that Strengthens The Vacation Rental Travel Ecosystem

Stays GroupMay 3, 2022
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Sponsor News

  • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    BusinessOctober 18, 2022
  • How to Increase Your Occupancy in a Competitive Market through Monthly Rentals
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersSeptember 16, 2022
  • PriceLabs Announces $30 Million Investment from Summit Partners
    BusinessAugust 5, 2022
  • Ximplifi Adds Owner Portal to Automation Suite for Short Term Rental Accounting
    BusinessAugust 4, 2022
VRM Intel
Calendar of Events
Videos & Whitepapers
VRMintel Magazine
Subscribe
Advertise
About Us
Authors
Contact Us

Recent News

  • Arizonans for Responsible Tourism Pregame Prep Campaign
    Arizonans for Responsible Tourism Hosts Super Bowl Preparedness Campaign for Vacation Rental Operators
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersJanuary 18, 2023
  • vacation-rentals-housing-vrm-intel
    Carrots and sticks: Vacation rentals and the creation of affordable, workforce housing
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersDecember 6, 2022
  • Woman dropping off a ballot
    2022 Election Results of Vacation Rental Ballot Measures
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersNovember 11, 2022
  • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    BusinessOctober 18, 2022

View Current Issue

VRMintel Copyright © 2016-17 | Click HERE to Subscribe | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Copyright | Jobs | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Listing pages vs property pages: What do they know that you don’t?
Priceline.com Chief Marketing Officer Brett Keller to Give Keynote Speech at the 2014 LiveRez Partner Conference

xxx videos

  • mamadas
  • redwap
  • free porn
  • porno gratis