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How Hotels Can Compete With Airbnb

Hotels are creating more curated, authentic experiences, whether through partnering with local distilleries or marrying regional vendors’ wares with hyperlocal experiences, to better entice guests.

Eric Lewis is an executive managing director at global commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.

During the past decade, the sharing economy has changed how consumers pick a place to lay their heads. Put bluntly, it has caused some disruption in the hotel industry.

Airbnb and its ilk are snapping up market share previously reserved for global hotel chains, and the proof is in the numbers: as of November 2017, Airbnb was worth an estimated $31 billion, trailing only behind hotelier Marriott International. (By way of comparison, Hilton Worldwide’s market cap is an estimated $27.4 billion, while Intercontinental Hotel Group’s is approximately $12.2 billion.) According to a 2017 study by Morgan Stanley, anywhere from 46% to 42% of Airbnb guests switched to the company’s homestay offerings from traditional hotel accommodations, and Airbnb itself suggests that at least 15 percent of its current bookings are business travelers. Concur, one of the world’s leading travel platforms used by more than 70% of Fortune 500 companies, plans to display Airbnb’s listings on its search and bookings tool.

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Natalie Dolce

Natalie Dolce

Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.

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