Airbnb-Friendly Apartments Launch 1,500 New Units in the UK with Greystar
- Airbnb is bringing its rent-to-rent model, known as Airbnb-friendly apartments, to the UK through a partnership with the real estate developer and manager Greystar.
- Tenants in almost 1,500 flats across three Greystar-managed properties in London now have the option to legally sublet their apartments.
- Under the program, the tenants must sign contracts specifying hosting rules, including limits on the number of nights a property can be rented out annually, and agree to share 10-25% of their rental revenue with landlords.
- Airbnb is also in talks with additional landlords across the UK, aiming to expand the program and encourage them to list their properties on the platform.
About Greystar:
Greystar is an international real estate company specializing in rental housing property management, development, and investment. The company focuses on residential properties, managing a variety of housing types such as upscale apartments, student housing, and senior living facilities.
Snigdha’s View:
- Airbnb-friendly apartments are rental units specifically designed to allow tenants to sublet their homes through Airbnb on a part-time basis within residential buildings.
- Airbnb is adding its long-term rental model in the UK following its launch in the US, amidst increasing global scrutiny and tightening regulations.
- This can be construed as Airbnb’s effort to mainstream subletting by developing legal frameworks and engaging landlords directly.
- This involvement lends credibility, promoting broader acceptance and potentially sparking a ripple effect that encourages more landlords and tenants to view subletting as a viable, regulated option.
- This model could motivate landlords to work with property managers (PMs) if properties managed by subletters are underperforming or difficult to oversee.
- It also presents an opportunity for PMs to showcase their value when proposing their services to institutional landlords.
- While Airbnb touts the benefits for tenants, this can raise concerns among neighbors. Frequent turnover of renters might lead to noise disturbances and potentially disrupt the community atmosphere.
HomeToGo Expands Services with Flix Partnership and Travel Agency Hub Launch
- HomeToGo, a vacation rental marketplace, has partnered with Flix to offer combined travel and accommodation bookings, as well as introduced the new Travel Agency Hub for travel agencies.
- Through the Flix partnership, HomeToGo customers can enjoy a 10% discount on FlixBus and FlixTrain services.
- It is structured to offer HomeToGo users an integrated booking experience that combines accommodations and transportation, which could simplify the logistics of travel planning.
- The recently launched Travel Agency Hub is part of its HomeToGo_PRO Doppelgänger platform designed for travel agencies to provide them with access to and book vacation rentals from HomeToGo’s inventory.
About HomeToGo:
HomeToGo is a global vacation rental marketplace that connects travelers with a wide range of accommodations from thousands of partners worldwide. For vacation rental professionals, it offers HomeToGo_PRO, a platform designed to streamline property management and booking processes.
About Flix:
Flix is a transportation company that specializes in long-distance bus and train travel. Flix operates by partnering with regional bus and train companies, leveraging their vehicles and services while managing ticketing, scheduling, and customer interaction.
Snigdha’s View:
- Booking.com attributes its strong performance in Q3 2023 largely to the ‘Connected Trips’ strategy, which integrates various travel services, flights, hotels, car rentals, and experiences, into one platform. The convenience of this approach is clearly valued by travelers.
- HomeToGo seems to be taking a leaf out of Booking.com’s playbook, aiming to offer similar bundled services.
- HomeToGo’s partnership with Flix, allowing travelers to book both transportation and accommodation in one place, may streamline the booking process and make HomeToGo listings more appealing to time-sensitive travelers.
- On the other hand, as more travel agencies join HomeToGo’s Travel Agency Hub, the inventory of properties might grow, increasing competition for property managers.
- To stay competitive, it will be crucial to offer superior guest experiences, unique properties, or better pricing strategies.
- Property managers should be mindful of overreliance on platforms where they don’t have full control over their bookings.
How Hospitable and Touch Stay Are Making Guest Messaging More Personal
- Hospitable, a vacation rental management platform, has partnered with Touch Stay, a digital guidebook creator, to integrate its guidebook data directly into Hospitable’s AI-powered messaging system.
- The integration simplifies guest communication by automating the sharing of property and local area details, creating a more personalized and efficient experience with less manual input.
- This partnership allows property managers to automatically integrate personalized content from Touch Stay guidebooks into their communication systems by syncing the guidebooks with Hospitable.
- Hospitable already automates basic tasks like sending messages to guests and notifying the team.
- This new integration with Touch Stay adds extra, personalized content to these automated messages, such as local recommendations, property details, and area guides.
About Hospitable:
Hospitable is a tool that simplifies short-term rental management by automating tasks like guest communication, scheduling, and managing listings on platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo. It claims to handle up to 90% of guest interactions, including responding to inquiries and posting reviews.
About Touch Stay:
Touch Stay specializes in digital guidebooks for the hospitality industry. Their platform allows property managers to create customizable, eco-friendly digital guides that provide guests with essential information about accommodations and local attractions.
Snigdha’s View:
- Digital guidebooks are electronic versions of traditional printed travel guides. Instead of being paper-based, they exist online or in app form.
- Property managers often face the challenge of delivering thorough, personalized guest communications while managing multiple properties.
- Hospitable aims to help automate much of this process, ensuring guests receive detailed, useful information about their stay without ongoing input from the manager.
- For example, information about local dining, attractions, and unique property features can now be sent automatically to guests, tailored to their booking details.
- This could be especially beneficial as guest expectations shift, with travelers increasingly seeking personalized experiences and seamless service from booking to stay.
- However, the effectiveness of automation relies on the quality of the guidebook content. It’s crucial to ensure that the guidebooks are comprehensive, accurate, and regularly updated to avoid disappointing guests with outdated or irrelevant information.
- Property managers should balance automated systems with personal follow-ups to maintain the essential personal touch and genuine connections with guests, avoiding the drawbacks of over-reliance on automation.
