Source : Perth Now news
WA hoteliers are bracing for a fresh wave of competition from Airbnb, which is muscling in on its traditional turf and offering experiences and services to guests.
In what the global short-stay accommodation giant has dubbed a “more authentic way to experience a city,” Airbnb this week launched services and re-introduced experiences after a troubled 2016 rollout.
Airbnb — already under fire by local governments around the world amid allegations it discourages properties being put on the private rental market — launched in 2008 as a antithesis to hotels but has since pivoted to ape many of its rival sector’s traditional offerings.
In the first days of the new offerings, experiences such as “wander through the streets of Perth,” “experience Perth’s small bars and street art” and “VIP Swan Valley Perth wine experience” were available locally.
A greater number were available in Margaret River with activities ranging from wine tours and walking the Cape to Cape track to learning to surf and even learning how to skateboard.
The services feature — not yet available in WA — range from getting a meal cooked by a chef, having a massage or spa treatment in your accommodation to getting your hair and makeup done.
The feature is available in 260 cities including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Airbnb chief executive officer and co-founder Brian Chesky made it clear what market the company was trying to reach when announcing the updates.
“Hotels do have one thing that we don’t have, and those are services,” he told an audience.
“You see, you can get meals delivered to your room, like who doesn’t want a quesadilla in bed?
“You can get access to a tiny gym, a massage, spa services like a CBD revitalising pedicure for $125.
“Now, what if you can get all these services and more right at your Airbnb?”
According to chief business officer Dave Stephenson, Airbnb will take around a 15 per cent commission fee from providers of services and experience, a similar rate it charges homeowners.
Airbnb is also advertising its exclusive “original experiences” which include meeting and doing activities with celebrities and experts.
The activities range from activities with global superstars such as rapper Megan Thee Stallion or singer Sabrina Carpenter to more niche activities with experts in the field.
Megan Thee Stallion’s listed experience is an elaborate-sounding competition where guests will play against other guests in games like the floor is lava and video games being hosted by the rapper’s “butler.”
Once the activity is over guests will then be invited to share a drink of the rapper’s own brand with the celebrity before getting a goodie bag.
Basically Airbnb now recognises that there’s others areas they are not actually tap into, that’s why they want to diversify their products.
Other original experiences include planning a summer party with soccer superstar lineage Brooklyn Beckham, surfing with big-wave pro Danny Fuller in Malibu and dancing with a ballerina in London.
Warders Hotel Group partner and head of hospitality Tim Buckton helps run the Warders hotel in Fremantle which offers rooms, a restaurant and cafe, staff also recommend tours in the area.
Mr Buckton said he believed the changes could pose a threat to the traditional hotel industry.
“It will (take customers away) because they’re offering a full service now like we do,” he said.
“Airbnb now promotes itself as a one stop shop which can be a concern for us because that’s what hotels are. We’ve got restaurants, we’ve got a bar, a lot of hotels, including the one we’re building across the road, the Guard, has beauty services.
“Taking away from those services and competing that space will make it more competitive for us, and again I don’t think as an industry you can shy away from competition but it’s just it has to be under the same regulations.”
Despite the competition, Mr Buckton said the changes proved a timely reminder to the industry and that traditional hotels still had an advantage.
“As an industry, consumers are looking for that level of ease where they might be able to book a tour and a hotel night and a dining space and potentially a day spa treatment all in one platform which is what they’re offering here,” he said.
“Hotels need to keep up with that, I think technology is where it’s at and I think technology, from what I know in the industry, is already changing.
Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive officer Bradley Woods said consumers would continue to pick hotels.
“At the outset I would have to state the obvious and that it’s clear from Airbnb’s adverting that they see hotel guests and customers as the sector and market they are trying to convince to stay in their flats and homes,” he said.
“Airbnb’s app changes offer booking options. This is not a new concept, hotels have long provided in-house services such as concierge, spas, and fine dining, delivered by trained staff who know their guests and provide consistency and oversight that apps can’t match.
Mr Stephenson said the app would streamline holidays for users.
“We’re not forcing the guest to weed through hundreds or thousands of random experiences to find a thing that works,” he said.
“We’re going to have a large inventory, but we’re going to have the best, and you’re going to have high confidence that when you go on an Airbnb experience related to the Eiffel Tower, it’s going to be fantastic.”
The experiences feature has been tried before by the company, with it first being launched in 2016 until it was paused due to the pandemic. It was revived in 2022 but paused in again in early 2023.
At the beginning of 2020 the app had an estimated 40,000 experiences across 1000 cities worldwide.
Curtin University professor of digital marketing Mingming Cheng said Airbnb’s expansion would increase its competitiveness to the traditional hotel industry.
“Airbnb will be more competitive to hotels. Before they only competed in terms of accommodation but now they can also compete for other services for example booking catering and other things, traditionally hotels offer,” he said.
“The good thing is that Airbnb now can integrate other services within their platforms, and actually will be good opportunities for small businesses who can get integrated into the Airbnb system.”
Despite the potential gains, Professor Cheng warned the expansion also comes with risks if the quality isn’t up to scratch.
“There will be (risk) because if we’re looking at other platforms they’re also expanding into other areas as well,” he said.
“The thing is that if Airbnb stretches itself to different areas instead of focusing on really it’s core business, like the accommodations.
“People may perceive Airbnb as a platform for doing everything, rather than specialised in one area and if Airbnb is not doing well in those add on services, people will say ‘oh Airbnb is bad’.”
The new features come as cities like Barcelona have announced plans to ban short-stay accommodation within years, while the WA government has also cracked down, and even offering Airbnb owners incentives to return their properties to the private rental market.
Mr Chesky said the standard would be high for the app’s new features with manual vetting.
“We don’t accept things that we don’t think will sell,” he said.
“We want to make sure we can stand behind them.”
