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NEWS STORIES
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Editorial comment
01•07•19 Welcome to the latest Short Term Rentalz weekly newsletter!
• As the Serviced Apartment Summit Europe 2019 gets underway in London today, we have seen further evidence of the blurring of the accommodation segments this week with Airbnb's rebranding of its top tier as 'Luxe'.
The newly-created category will combine the efforts of the Airbnb and Luxury Retreats brands and will feature an initial 2,000 high-end properties worldwide with concierge services, like a 'trip designer'. This follows CEO Brian Chesky's quotes that luxury travellers today need "transformation and experiences that leave them feeling more connected to each other and to their destination".
The move feeds into a larger emerging trend whereby Airbnb is reporting rising demand in luxury rental, as it said bookings for upmarket properties costing upwards of $1,000 per night increased by more than 60 per cent in 2018 compared to the previous calendar year. That suggests more of the firm's client base is booking directly over the platform and making use of its trip planning facilities.
This echoes the words of Nick Guezen, Airbnb's director of portfolio strategy, in The Financial Times, as he said the Luxe tier would fulfil the platform's 'anyone belongs anywhere' model, which has remained despite its diversification in accommodation offerings in recent years.
On a broader scale, this expansion protects Airbnb from government efforts to apply restrictions to private accommodation, as is the situation in ten prominent European cities, as it would not be required to operate under local letting regulations under a proposed European Court of Justice law.
This week, SAS EU will explore the changing landscape of the short-term rental sector, as well as the moves being made by major accommodation brands such as Four Seasons and Marriott in the luxury home rental space.
Airbnb territory manager for Northern Europe, Robin Clifford will participate in a snapchat conversation on Day Two with IHM CEO Piers Brown, in which he will discuss Airbnb's presence in the rental industry at a time of significant expansion for the company.
Later that day, Fran Milsom from Air Agents, Louise Birritteri of Pikl and Michael Goldin from NoiseAware will pitch potential new innovative business models to the audience in the hope of earning a fictitious investment from the audience.
Here's to a great event of learning and connecting this week!
If you have a story you want us to tell the industry, please click here and get involved with the community by commenting on our news stories on our website.
Paul Stevens, reporter
paul@internationalhospitality.media
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UPCOMING EVENTS
1 - 2 July 2019
London, UK
19 September 2019
Dubai, MEA
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International Hospitality Media is the premier specialist in online publishing; conference, exhibition and events, and advisory services for niche growth sectors of the hospitality industry. The company publishes three industry-leading b2b websites - BoutiqueHotelNews.com and ServicedApartmentNews.com and ShortTermRentalz.com which keep their respective sectors up to speed with news, comment and opinion.
Our conference experience spans four continents and covers high growth segments including boutique, lifestyle and hybrid hotels, serviced apartments / aparthotels and extended stay, and vacation rental. Our events are renowned for their intense focus and attract quality industry leaders, brands and independents, providing unparalleled networking and learning opportunities. We also organise bespoke educational events and investor breakfasts to bring owners, operators and investors together.
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