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Accorhotels CEO Sebastien Bazin may have paid Airbnb the ultimate compliment by buying competitor OneFineStay to enter the sharing market as a competitor, but he believes Airbnb has big problems, and isn’t shy of pointing them out. In wide-ranging comments on the day that Accorhotels revealed its results, Bazin was very complimentary about Airbnb, and the different ways it had expanded its business, but nevertheless forensic in the way he analysed the issues it is now facing. The timing of his commeents was coincidental with Airbnb’s announcement, the following day, about Airbnb using its technology platform to sell hotels rooms, but all the more relevant in hindsight. What Bazin said was that Airbnb’s move into other businessess such as Airbnb Experiences was a response to its “big dilemma”, namely, finding a way to an IPO. Nevertheless, Bazin downplayed the effect of Airbnb. Using the analogy of Uber in Paris, he said that after Uber had “demolished” the traditional taxi market in Paris, “in the last 12 months taxis in Paris are rebounding, because they lowered prices with a better service and the market was shifting back their way”. Read original article |
