EDITOR'S COMMENT
• A big thank you to everyone who attended, judged, sponsored, supported and voted in last week's Shortyz Awards and a huge congratulations to our 20 newly-crowned winners. Over 200 short-term / vacation rental professionals from around the world gathered at the ArcelorMittal Orbit in London for an evening of celebration and the excitement among the audience was palpable as always.
You can find the list of all the winners and shortlisted entries here, and stay tuned for our highlights video and more content from the awards and the Short Stay Summit very soon.
• It's not strictly STR news but the anticipated acquisition of Mr & Mrs Smith by Hyatt Hotels is a further illustration of the blending and merging of hospitality & real estate asset classes.
Like Marriott, Accor and Four Seasons, Hyatt has inched its way towards the lifestyle and short-term rental segments after acquiring subscription model company Oasis Collections for its Unbound Collection in 2017 [before selling it to Vacasa a year later]. The corporation is now set to buy Mr & Mrs Smith, a hotel booking platform that also offers a luxury private villa collection, for £53 million in Q2, just six months after Hyatt also purchased Dream Hotel Group's lifestyle brand and management portfolio.
The prospects for investment and acquisitions this year was discussed in detail at last week's Urban Living Insights event prior to the Shortyz Awards. There, Simon Lehmann [AJL Atelier], Miguel Nigorra Esteban [Fifth Wall], Morgann Lesné [Cambon Partners] and Jeremy Gall [Breezeway] discussed how consolidation through acquisitions to grow supply is far from over and more management brands will explore opportunities to diversify their offerings and become all-in-one providers that cater to the full spectrum of consumer demands.
• With the Shortyz Awards now behind us for 2023, attention returns to our STRz webinar series and we're back with a hot topic next Tuesday 9 May [4pm BST] - "How far can AI / automation make hospitality / accommodation a lean business?". Join a rockstar panel consisting of Klaus Kohlmayr [IDeaS Revenue Solutions], Ankita Mehta [OYO], Adir Ron [Duve], Alex Medovoi [AltexSoft] and I as we delve into new-age tools - sign up for free here.
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