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There are few enemies more ferocious than Airbnb and the hotel industry. The two men are practically in the throat since the giant of the short-term hiring started in 2008. Yet, they now seem to agree on at least one thing: they could learn to learn a thing or two of the 'other.
On Monday, Airbnb adopted a hotel book strategy announcing a fleet of new apartment-type luxury hotel suites exclusively available to Airbnb customers in New York. At the same time, the giant of the Marriott International Hotel is preparing to start its own house rental business.
Marriott, which owns popular hotel brands such as Sheraton, W Hotels and Ritz-Carlton, has not yet announced plans for a short-term rental program in the United States. But it's in the works, according to one the Wall Street newspaper report. The world's largest hotel operator tested the idea through a pilot program in Europe and planned a global expansion. A public announcement detailing the first step of Marriott's plans to enter the short-term rental spaces could take place "as early as next month," according to the report.
According to an analysis by Host Compliance, a company that monitors online rentals and works with city authorities to enforce local laws, Marriott is struggling to compete with Airbnb, which controls 51% of the short-term rental market. in the USA. The second and third largest services, VRBO and HomeAway, both owned by Expedia, control 17% and 11% respectively.
Booking.com, which includes Priceline and Kayak, offers more than 5 million listings of short-term rentals and, like Marriott, is often described as a viable competitor of Airbnb. But it only controls 5% of the market, according to Host Compliance.
But Airbnb is facing aggressive repression by local authorities in several cities, who claim that Airbnb rentals often operate as de facto hotels, without respecting the same laws and restrictions.
The city of New York in particular, site of Airbnb's latest announcement, is particularly hostile to society. New York has the most stringent short-term rental restrictions in the country, and local officials have been involved in a chaotic public battle with Airbnb for much of the past five years. Recently, a federal judge blocked a New York law that would have required Airbnb to send the city monthly reports including the names of users, information on the length of stays of customers and addresses of properties on the site.
The city forbids renting an apartment or an entire house for less than 30 days without the owner's presence; Only two people are allowed and they must have "free and unobstructed access to every room and every exit from the apartment". In addition, it is illegal to advertise certain types of short-term rentals on online platforms such as Airbnb; fines for offenses can be up to $ 7,500.
Airbnb announced Monday a partnership with RXR Realty, owner of an office building located in the Rockefeller Center of New York, to transform 10 floors of the building into luxury apartment style suites listed exclusively on Airbnb . This is not the first time that the company has entered the hotel market. Last month, Airbnb announced its agreement to acquire HotelTonight's last-minute hotel booking application, which would cost more than $ 400 million.
Asked CNBC on Monday if the partnership could exacerbate tensions with local authorities, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky was referred to Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty.
"Well, it's fully compliant," said Rechler. Because the building is a commercial space, local laws regarding the short-term rental of residential properties are not applicable, confirmed Airbnb.
"We are working on several projects here in New York," said Rechler. "And I think it can serve as a prototype … It can work in Miami, Vancouver, Montreal."
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