Tijdens mijn voorbereidingen voor mijn presentatie in Brussel kwam ik dit stuk tegen over de impact van Airbnb op de hotel industrie. Onderstaand fragment wil ik je niet onthouden:
Conley said Airbnb’s platform is succeeding in part because the hotel industry is behind the curve when it comes to four key areas:
- Travelers want to live like a local—they want a localized experience.
- People want to optimize digital technology. “The hotel industry is awful at innovating around technology for all kinds of reasons,” Conley said. “One of our success factors is creating a seamless and beautiful digital experience.” He said the company spends a lot of time studying the digital trends in China because what is going to be popular in the West in five years is happening now in China.
- People want a la carte services. “They don’t want a package of services—they want to be able to choose what they want,” Conley said.
- Knowing its customers’ tastes beyond what a concierge or front-desk person at a hotel would know. “This is the future disruptor,” Conley said. “We need to know our customers. Our technology needs to know their tastes so you can put a five-day itinerary together for them with suggestions on things to do. That’s the future for us. We’re not an accommodations company; we’re a travel company, and over the next few years that’s what we’ll evolve into.”
