EDITOR'S COMMENT
• With all the M&A activity that takes place, the blurring between hospitality and real estate segments is becoming more pronounced. Property management platform Guesty's purchase of revenue and distribution platform, YieldPlanet, is evidence of this, as it grows its offerings and capabilities for the traditional hotel space.
Fuelled by $170 million in Series E funding, Guesty is adding direct OTA connections with hotel and vacation rental search products, allowing operators to manage a hotel repertoire, revenue and rental offerings from one dashboard in the new Guesty Distribution Hub. The company bought competing property management softwares MyVR and Your Porter last year.
This blending is also occurring where data providers [AirDNA, Transparent] are being acquired to enhance solutions across the hospitality space, while other software companies [TravelNet Solutions] are receiving millions in private equity investment. It underlines the continuing investor confidence in the growth of the alternative accommodation industry, as management companies compete for the attention of travel consumers.
• Sustainability in travel is being discussed more critically than ever before on the global conference stage as it affects all the choices we make, from how we travel to the lodging we stay in. That discussion is now being broadened to determine whether our travel choices are responsible and / or ethical.
OTAs have been among those companies targeted for criticism over their ethical practices, but Expedia Group's unveiling of an enhanced social impact and sustainability strategy suggests the industry is taking its responsibilities to the environment more seriously.
That sets us up perfectly for our second RockSTRz webinar of the new series next Tuesday [27 September] as we dive into "The new era of smarter, sustainable, responsible tourism" [sponsored by PriceLabs and Minut]. Expedia Group's senior manager for climate and sustainability, Tessa Lee, will participate alongside Fairbnb.coop co-founder Emanuele dal Carlo and STTAKenya founder Judy Kepher-Gona - join us for the no-cost session here.
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