Latest / STR Unpacked / The Summer Release Isn't For You
Transcript
- Ben: Good morning and welcome to your short term rental bulletin on the 21st of May. obviously I'm going to be talking about Airbnb summer release as I'm sure everybody else is doing today. And I'm sure you've seen the headlines. I'm sure you've seen about the hotels, the car rentals and the grocery delivery, but look a little bit further because I think if you are a good operator, there's a quite a lot in here that might be less helpful and a bit more concerning for you. So to drill into it a little bit, every single service that they have added, a stocked fridge, luggage storage, Apple pickup, gear rental. These are all things that good operators already do. These are the things that make you different. These are the things that make you stand out. Airbnb just turned your edge into a tick box on their app. And the AI stuff, review summaries, listing tools, a support bar in 11 languages, that raises the floor, but It makes an amateur almost look as polished as you. So here's the question that I think nobody's really asking at the moment. If Airbnb commoditizes every single service that you offer, what's left that's actually yours? Because I think that's the real story here. It's not a feature update. It's Airbnb deciding what operators are still allowed to own. And the timing's not entirely accidental either. The building and everything app. While regulators tighten the screws on the core rental business, this is a hedge. So figure out what they can't copy, your local knowledge, your portfolio and your operations at scale. And I think if there's ever been a sign to drive more direct bookings to your website, then that time is now, right? That is your mode, go and defend it. Thank you for watching. I'll see you tomorrow.