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A32 FEATURE
Friday 15 November 2019

Rooms with new views: Hotels try their hand in home-sharing

By DEE-ANN DURBIN Onefinestay — a luxury
Associated Press home rental company
Travelers sometimes want bought by AccorHotels in
a cookie-cutter room in a 2016 — offers properties like
downtown hotel, and they a three-bedroom villa on
sometimes want a cozy Maui for $975 per night.
Tuscan farmhouse to share But AccorHotels took a
with friends. similar $285 million charge
Hotels have always been in the second quarter, pri-
good at providing the first marily due to losses at One-
one. Now, they're trying to finestay. AccorHotels also
figure out how to provide said it believes home-shar-
the second — and blunt ing needs to be part of its
the growth of competitors portfolio, but the business
like Airbnb. But they're hav- hasn't grown as planned.
ing mixed success. Maggie Rauch, senior di-
Marriott said Tuesday it's rector of research at the
expanding its six-month-old travel consulting firm Pho-
home-sharing pilot in Lon- cuswright, says making
don to three additional Eu- home-sharing profitable will
ropean cities. On the same be a challenge for hotels.
day, Hyatt announced it "Does it make sense for Mar-
was pulling out of a mon- This Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, photo shows entrance to a flat that will be available for short term riott to build a new Marriott
ey-losing collaboration with rent in London. around this flexible shared
luxury home-sharing com- Associated Press space? Is a hotel company
pany Oasis. going to buy a brownstone
Analysts say hotels are wise the quality, consistency Homes — to Paris, Rome "If the hotel chains end up in Brooklyn?" she said.
to experiment. Airbnb now and amenities that Hilton and Lisbon. Marriott says simply offering a 'more ex- For now, Marriott's exposure
has 5 million listings on its customers expect are best the program will now in- pensive Airbnb,' then their is limited. It partnered with
site, up 25 percent from a provided in hotels. clude 340 homes. potential market will be Hostmaker — a U.K.-based
year ago. By comparison, Other hotel companies, Hotels aren't necessarily lur- limited to those of us who home-sharing manage-
Marriott grew 5 percent last like Marriott, say they can ing different customers with are points or elite status ob- ment company — which
year to 1.3 million rooms. bring order and standards their home-sharing options. sessed," Sowerby said. scouts homes and makes
In some markets, like New to the chaotic home-shar- Instead, they're finding that For its part, Hyatt invested sure they meet Marriott's
York and Miami, studies in- ing market. Hotels promise existing customers want $22 million in Oasis in 2017 standards. Marriott only
dicate that home-sharing is perks they say Airbnb can't more options, says Steve but in the second quarter takes a cut for homes that
already eroding hotel prof- match: fully vetted proper- Caron, vice president and of this year, it wrote off its are rented through the Trib-
its. ties, fluffy white towels and head of vacation rent- investment as a loss, saying ute site.
But it's not yet clear how popular loyalty programs als for Comfort Inn parent regulatory hurdles in some But Hsieh said home-shar-
far hotels are willing to ex- that let members use points Choice Hotels, which has cities were limiting Oasis's ing does have some finan-
pand into home-sharing, to book homes. partnered with RedAwning, growth. cial advantages. For exam-
which challenges their tra- "The lines are beginning to a company that oversees On Tuesday, vacation rent- ple, Marriott has found that
ditional business models. It blur, and depending on 20,000 rental properties. al management company home-sharing customers
costs more to clean homes what kind of trip it is, some- Take Craig Sowerby, an au- Vacasa bought Oasis and are generally leisure travel-
scattered in various neigh- times a home feels better thor and freelance travel Hyatt ceased its affiliation, ers who stay twice as long
borhoods than rooms at a than a hotel," said Jennifer writer based in Barcelona, although Vacasa is honor- as typical hotel customers.
central location, for exam- Hsieh, Marriott's vice presi- Spain. He's a Hyatt loyalty ing reservations that Hyatt Hotels can also charge
ple. dent of customer experi- member and usually stays members already made. more for entire homes. Trib-
The barriers are so great ence. in hotels, but he decided to In a statement, Hyatt said ute offers a three-bedroom
that at least one major ho- Marriott began testing try an Oasis apartment for it recognizes that custom- home with a full kitchen,
tel company — Hilton — is home rentals in London in a one-month trip to Buenos er demand for alternative three bathrooms and a
giving home-sharing a pass the spring. This week, it's ex- Aires earlier this summer. accommodations remains balcony in London's Kens-
for now. The company's panding that pilot program There were some hiccups. strong, and it may discuss a ington neighborhood for
CEO, Chris Nassetta, says — called Tribute Portfolio He had to pay upfront, future tie-up with Vacasa. $956 per night plus a $129
months in advance, for the
full $1,745 cost of his stay.
He got fresh towels and
sheets weekly, but there
was no other cleaning. The
WiFi didn't work.
On the plus side, he said,
he earned credits toward
his elite Hyatt status as well
as points for future stays.
The apartment was also far
nicer than the Airbnb he
subsequently rented in an-
other part of Argentina. But
he thinks it will be a chal-
This Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, photo shows the bedroom of a flat lenge for hotel chains to This Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, photo shows the bathroom of a flat
that will be available for short term rent in London. deliver the same standard that will be available for short term rent in London.
Associated Press of service in shared homes. Associated Press