EDITOR'S COMMENT
We're now just a few weeks away from revealing our exciting predictions for travel, hospitality and real estate, but things are already taking shape thanks to key learnings from last week's STRz Summit and Airbnb's Q3 earnings report.
We were delighted to welcome a wealth of high-level industry experts to London's Bankside Hotel Autograph Collection to engage in a full agenda complete with everything from panels and presentations to debates, a CEO Question Time and our first-ever 'Startup X-Ray'. Topics addressed included the rise of artificial intelligence [AI], the complexities of under- and over-tourism, loyalty, investment and M&A, and much more - all themes that will shape the future of the short-term rental segment over the coming 12 months.
Meanwhile, Airbnb's Q3 earnings report provides us with plenty of food for thought as we approach the start of a new year. The home-sharing firm's results were something of a mixed bag with a sizeable drop in net income / profit putting a dampener on solid increases in revenue and nights and experiences booked. As we look ahead, Airbnb is already predicting a stronger Q4 for revenue, nights and experiences booked and demand - we know that the company is planning some bold ventures alongside its relaunched Experiences program and the Co-Host Network, so further expansion into new markets and products appears to be Airbnb's main priority over profit for the foreseeable future.
A big thank you to everyone who spoke at and attended our STRz Summit last week - if you didn't attend, you missed out! You can, however, read our main insights and takeaways from the event here now, as well as view our speaker presentations at this link.
• We're back on STRz webinar duties next Tuesday 19 November [4pm GMT] for a session on 'New channels of distribution: How social media is shaping travel choices' that you won't want to miss. Our speakers include Ben Wolff [Onera and Oasi], Daniela Derin [Skol Apartments Marbella] and Rosie Willan [Stay the Night] - book your no-cost virtual seat now at this link.
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