AMSTERDAM — Airbnb has reiterated its intention to position itself as an alternative hotel-distribution channel to the big global OTAs, reports U.K.-based Travolution.
At the Triptease Direct Booking Summit held in Amsterdam last month, Robin Clifford, Host Operations lead, Northern Europe, Airbnb, said it feels like hotels have become hooked on OTAs, such as Booking.com and Exedia.
Clifford suggested that hotel-distribution lacks hospitality because everyone is focused on competing on price and that it is important independent hotels get the chance to showcase their hosting capabilities.
This follows Airbnb’s announcement that it is formally moving into the hotel sector and is starting to categorize listings as ‘collections’ to reflect the different property styles available. Boutique hotels will appear as a new category on Airbnb’s website and will be given a profile page on which they can promote the property’s unique qualities.
