Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 70

The ultimate connectivity...how do you
think Airbnb is changing the hospitality
landscape?
The bad news is the biggest disruptive
innovators came along about twelve or fifteen
years ago, and those were called Expedia and
Priceline. In terms of disruptive innovators,
those guys completely changed the financial
model for the hotel industry. With Airbnb, all
the founders did was tap into something that's
been happening for centuries with technology
enabling a person in Los Angeles to stay with
someone in Mumbai. In the past, how would
you ever know whom to stay with in Mumbai?
The reason I think it's a long-term trend
is that there are millions and millions of beds
around the world sitting idle. From a global
perspective, I think the shared economy
and the idea of using our resources more
intelligently, thoughtfully, and strategically is
critical. Whether it's sharing car services or
homes like Airbnb is, it's good for the overall
ecological footprint. There is also an economic
piece to it, which is that it's less expensive to
stay with someone in their home than it is in
a hotel, and I think that's appealing. The other
side of it-the part of the equation a lot of
people don't think of-is that in Europe, where
over half of Airbnb's business comes from,
there are tens of thousands of families going
through financial hardships. The only way

6. The wood cabins at this
home in Chile's Elqui
Valley are more akin to
observatories, in which to
scope out the surrounding
geodesic domes.

6
they're getting through it right now is because
they have figured out how to unlock a resource:
an extra bedroom or two.
At the heart of it, the number one thing that
I think defines why Airbnb is a long-term trend
is that people more and more want to have an
experience that's personal, local, and doesn't
feel institutionalized. Here's my theory about
hospitality in that respect: I think the truth is
the more scared you are about travel, the more
you want to stay at a Holiday Inn. What I mean
by that is that the more you're worried about
something, the more you want something
that's just going to assure you. That's what the
hotel chains provide: a consistent, predictable
experience. But the more that we have a

sophisticated world traveler who goes to a lot of
different places, having a more consistent and
more predictable experience is something that,
from a psychological perspective, doesn't add
much value. There's a diminishing return on
that at some point, and what people look for is
the personalization and the experience that, as
I said earlier, allows you to share on Facebook.
No one is going to share their Holiday Inn
guestroom photo on Facebook-and if they do,
they're boring.

What do you feel is Airbnb's social
currency?

In the long run Airbnb's greatest asset is
that it has hundreds of thousands of listings
around the world and many diverse guests. We
can match you better because we know your
tastes and your interests. There are twentyfive thousand listings in Paris, but we can
say, 'We know you well. You just stayed with
us in Berlin and Barcelona and you were in
New York with us last year. We know exactly
what you like.' The more we can do that, the
more we can become not just your concierge
but your curator at helping you make good,
personalized, customized choices. Then we
have become something that the hospitality
industry has never been able to do all that well.
In the next three years I hope we sort of
shock the world in terms of how we become
better than Amazon or Netflix in being able
to understand what your needs are, and
in the context of hospitality-an intimate
product choice-be able to deliver products or
experiences that you feel like, 'Wow, this is the
perfect habitat for me.' Does that make sense?

I love that-the perfect habitat.

I was the CEO of my company for twenty-four
years and I loved it. I had a lot of control and a
great group of people around to support me. It's
interesting at age fifty-three to be in a position
where I'm not the CEO. It's a nice experience
to be part of a team that's creating something
as dynamic as this, supporting something that's
much bigger than me. hd


http://www.innreflections.com http://www.innreflections.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - November 2013

Table of Contents
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - Intro
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - Cover1
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - Cover2
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 1
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 2
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 3
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 4
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 5
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 6
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 7
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 8
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 9
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 10
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 11
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 12
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 13
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 14
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 15
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 16
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 17
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 18
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 19
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 20
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - Table of Contents
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 22
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 23
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 24
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 25
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 26
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 27
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 28
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 29
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 30
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 31
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 32
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 33
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 34
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 35
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 36
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 37
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 38
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 39
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 40
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 41
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 42
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 43
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 44
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 45
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 46
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 47
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 48
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 49
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 50
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 51
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 52
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 53
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 54
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 55
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 56
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 57
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 58
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 59
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 60
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 61
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 62
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 63
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 64
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 65
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 66
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 67
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 68
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 69
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 70
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 71
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 72
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 73
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 74
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 75
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 76
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 77
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 78
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 79
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 80
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 81
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 82
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 83
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 84
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 85
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 86
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 87
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 88
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 89
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 90
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 91
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 92
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 93
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 94
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 95
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 96
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 97
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 98
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 99
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 100
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 101
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 102
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 103
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 104
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 105
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 106
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 107
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 108
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 109
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 110
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 111
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 112
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 113
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 114
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 115
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 116
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 117
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 118
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 119
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - 120
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - Cover3
Hospitality Design - November 2013 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201805
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201803
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201802
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201706
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/20170304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201701
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/20160304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/20160102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/expo2015_showguide
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201505
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/20150304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/20150102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/201406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/20140506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/expo2014_showguide
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/20140304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/20140102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_20130304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_20130102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_20120506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_20120102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_20110506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_20110102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_20101112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_20100506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_201001
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_200912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_200911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_200909
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_200908
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_200907
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_20090506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/hd_200904
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com