Although it was officially established way back in 2008, the real focus and attention on Airbnb has only come about in the last year, particularly on the Australian market. That’s due to not only its rapid expansion in the last 12 months, but also its extension to our golden soil in late 2012.
During this time, the company – which operates as a community marketplace that allows users to connect with willing participants around the world and pay to stay in their property rather than traditional accommodation – has caused quite a stir.
But while the hospitality industry has been up in arms over the serious threat Airbnb poses to its profit margins, I’m not so sold on the whole ‘sitting back, folding the arms and waiting for imminent doom’ approach. If anything, the introduction of a company like this should be seen as an opportunity to get a clear insight into the changing market, as well as a playbook on how to appeal to this new generation oftravellers.
That’s not to say every hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, and other accommodation establishment in Australia should turn themselves into a mini Airbnb copy. However, there are certainly a few takeaways you can learn from the way it operates and what its success might say about the modern market.
There are a few takeaways you can learn from the way Airbnb operates and what its success might say about the modern market.
So here are three guidelines to doing just that.
- Put that wealth of knowledge of your city to good use
If you’re a small business in the accommodation sector, chances are you’ll know quite a bit about the location you’re based in. More and more, travellers are exclusively doing their travel research online. Creating a blog/dedicated page on your website that provides helpful tips for navigating the area can not only help travellers, but also establish further credibility for your business.
While providing some hot tips and guidelines to getting the most of your region, make sure you keep some of the focus on your accommodation. This can be as easy as pointing out how close your hotel is from certain attractions, or how it only takes 10 minutes to reach the city centre using the bus stop just outside your bed and breakfast’s door.
- Get visibility in review forums
Not only are travellers doing their online research on the regions they’re travelling to, they’re looking to forums all over the internet that tell them about the best accommodation spots. Places like TripAdvisor allow users to share their experiences in certain hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts, rewarding popular businesses with high rankings in their website’s search results.
I would strongly discourage creating fake reviews on these forums. Not only can it get you into serious trouble with the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, but also regular travellers are adept at seeing through this – it will discredit your business if you’re found out. Instead, why not encourage people staying in your accommodation to leave you a review with TripAdvisor, using rewards like a discount for their next stay, free breakfast, a voucher, or something similar to make it worth their while.
Of course, it goes without saying that there is no point in making positive reviews in online forums a goal without providing a positive experience for your guests to back it up. If you do find you’re getting negative reviews, try to take it onboard as constructive criticism, and, if the circumstances allow you to, perhaps even give a friendly response to that person using the forum.
- Create a social experience
We live in an era where being ‘social’ can mean using technology to scroll through a newsfeed of text and photographs that keeps you updated on every move your friends, family members and coworkers make.
Airbnb has certainly capitalised on society’s drive towards an online social experience. Travellers are able to contact the host they will be staying with right up until their stay, and they can also read through the hundreds of reviews left by fellow travellers before making up their minds as to where they’ll be spending each night.
For a small business in the accommodation industry, following a similar play can be as simple as creating a forum for your guests to talk to each other. You may want to set up a way for past guests and future guests to interact with one another so that they can trade tips, arrange to go on tours together, or enjoy a number of other social benefits. Smaller businesses can also open themselves up by encouraging future guests to get in contact with them for any questions or concerns they may have.
This tactic may not work for all accommodation providers, but for those that it does and who are comfortable in doing so, it has the potential for creating a fantastic experience for your guests and opening up a world of word-of-mouth recommendations.
Before you go cursing the existence of Airbnb and resigning yourself to the fate of Borders bookstores, why not try and use this change in the market to continue your growth? You never know the positive impact this changing horizon could potentially have on your small business!
David Pocock, Roiconnect
