ShorttermstayscouldbethelongtermstrategyforhotelstocounterAirbnb

A single datapoint contained in a Phocuswright study has illustrated where the hotel industry can fight back against the apparent rise of Airbnb et al.

Obviously, the likes of Airbnb, HomeAway and countless other alternative accommodation providers have, in a relatively short space of time, managed to mount a serious challenge to the status quo.

Hotels are generally and inevitably reluctant to admit that they are finding their once powerful positions in the hospitality food-chain under threat from new forms of accommodation.

But given that the online travel agency giants such as Expedia and Booking.com are making a big deal of their ability to serve all types of accommodation to travellers, both consumers and hoteliers know that the hospitality marketplace has changed forever.

Some might like to push the idea that hotels are in some kind of freefall and can only evolve if they adopt Airbnb-esque behaviour and style.