You can’t beat the disrupters so join them, operators told

Instead of moaning, the tourism industry needs to use companies such as Airbnb

One travel industry leader says if operators are too busy worrying about disrupters in the market they probably won’t survive. Online travel agents are growing rapidly and adding new features while accommodation service Airbnb is now challenging the world’s biggest hotel chain, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, for market value.

Airbnb has doubled the number of places it has listed in New Zealand during the past year and is opening an office here.

The seven-year-old company had 1.2 million listings around the world. It has 6000 listings in New Zealand, double the number it had a year ago.

New Zealanders are among the highest users of Airbnb, booking half a million nights in the past year.

Chief executive of the Tourism Export Council Lesley Immink said while consumers stood to benefit from greater competition from new entrants it would push down prices for operators.

But there were also opportunities to work with disrupters.

“If you have time to complain about this instead of understanding how to leverage them, you probably won’t survive,” Immink has said.

Like other hotel chains, TFE lists its rooms with online travel agents and uses Airbnb as a distribution channel.

“It’s a complementer,” said Emma Fraser, group director of marketing at TFE Hotels, whose properties here include Rendezvous hotels. Airbnb promoted living like a local.

“We’re taking some of those learnings and taking them into our hotel brand,” she said. The online travel agents were also giant review sites, giving hotel operators large amounts of information about themselves, and rivals.

TripAdvisor was a useful research tool which TFE staff monitored constantly. “At the end of the day people don’t choose a three- or four-star hotel any more, they buy based on recommendations and adviser ratings.”

Moteliers are worried that some “legitimate” operators will be forced out of business.

Commercial accommodation was required to be built to a certain standard to ensure safety and allowing the proliferation of unregulated providers endangered the whole tourism sector, said Motel Association NZ chief executive Michael Baines.

“Every tourist within New Zealand needs a place to stay. All it would take would be one or two disasters as a result of these . . . accommodation providers and our reputation as a safe, high-quality tourism destination will be in jeopardy,” Baines said.

The Tourism Industry Association is neutral on the disrupters.

TIA chief executive Chris Roberts said services like Airbnb provided an alternative. “Just as some travellers prefer hotels to B&Bs or holiday parks — and vice versa — we believe there is room in the marketplace for this style of accommodation.”

Travellers had to be aware that they get what they pay for, Roberts said. “Staying at a commercially operated property ensures a level of safety, security and service which may not be offered by unregulated accommodation providers.”

The Inland Revenue Department is taking an interest in the disrupters such as Airbnb.

Inland Revenue’s priority is to maximise the amount of revenue collected and improve voluntary compliance, a spokeswoman said.

“If a person is letting rooms in their home to tourists (such as on Airbnb) they are effectively acting as a landlord and will need to pay tax on that income accordingly.”