Airbnb No Longer Wants to Be Just Airbnb: This May Not Be Good News (Part 2)

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In this issue, we dig deeper into why Airbnb no longer wants to be just a booking website, but a multifunctional platform for booking accommodation, services and experiences.

What is the underlying logic? What larger strategy is Airbnb pursuing, and how will hosts be affected?

The underlying logic of Airbnb’s major redesign has three layers.

1. The first reason: beat traditional hotels!

Airbnb’s direction over the past two years has been clear and consistent: it wants to beat traditional hotels! From last year’s Guest Favorites to this year’s integrated platform.

The first layer is to fill the gaps in services that hotels provide but Airbnb does not.

At the product launch, Brian demonstrated a beautiful three-bedroom Airbnb in Texas costing just $200 a night, alongside a small hotel room containing one bed that also cost US$200.

With such a huge difference in value, why do 50% of people still choose hotels?

Brian pointed out one reason: hotels offer services Airbnb cannot, such as massages, spas, fitness facilities and room service.

So, to encourage more people to choose Airbnb over traditional hotels,

Airbnb’s first move is to add these missing services. Whatever hotels have, Airbnb will have too, encouraging more people to choose Airbnb.

2. The second reason: create unique experiences that users cannot compare on price!

If adding massages, spas and private chefs fills gaps in services already offered by hotels, then deeply local Experiences aim to offer something available only on Airbnb, nowhere else.

For a long time, people have booked Airbnb because they can get more space for the same price. It offers excellent value. But being able to compare prices means the products are similar.

What if Airbnb introduced a travel-related service available only on its platform? Could users still compare prices?

Following this logic, Airbnb’s Services platform simply fills gaps in what others already provide.

Its Experiences platform, however, aims to create products unique to Airbnb that no one else offers!

Over time, this local-experiences platform could give Airbnb an irreplaceable brand premium and exclusive products!

Airbnb would no longer be a good-value product, but a unique product that cannot be compared on price.

3. The third reason: use high-frequency services to compete with low-frequency ones and become a super app!

One detail stands out: during this product launch, Airbnb emphasized three or four times that users do not need to book accommodation first to purchase services or experiences. That short statement carries a great deal of meaning!

When traditional Airbnb hosts first watched the launch, they might have thought Airbnb simply wanted to add products to its existing accommodation business to increase revenue.

Snowball Rentals’ booking website, booking.stayoo.com, recently officially launched, offering a booking experience that can hold its own against Airbnb!

But pay attention! This is a forceful move: Brian repeatedly emphasized that you can book these services and experiences without booking accommodation!

In other words, these services and experiences are not designed to serve traditional Airbnb hosts. They are genuinely independent product lines operated by Airbnb and may have nothing whatsoever to do with traditional hosts.

Why is Airbnb doing this?

Think about it: how many trips can a travel enthusiast take in a year? Perhaps three to five on average.

Someone who enjoys manicures or massages might use Airbnb Services three to five times a month. User engagement and frequency of use would increase tenfold!

This internet business strategy is already familiar in China: use high-frequency services to compete with low-frequency ones!

When Meituan moved from takeaway ordering, potentially used three times a day, into lower-frequency travel, flights and hotel bookings, it was an overwhelming competitive move.

In the US and the wider Western world, no super app spanning multiple markets has yet emerged. Accommodation, tickets and car bookings each remain in their own verticals.

By moving from low-frequency to high-frequency use, could Airbnb become the first Western super app to span multiple sectors?

I believe that is the ambition behind this major redesign and the question Airbnb wants to answer.

If Airbnb can sell services and experiences, could it later sell concert tickets, sports tickets or airline tickets too?

That, in my view, is the ambition and long-term strategy behind this major redesign.

Does that sound exciting?

Yes—if you invest in Airbnb shares, it is exciting news. But for us traditional hosts, this major redesign may not be good news.

Why?

If you have questions, join our WeChat group to share experiences and support one another with others operating short-term rentals!

In the next issue, we will analyze the problems hosts may face and how to respond.

If you:

Hope to increase rental income through short-term rentals;

Cannot spare a great deal of time to handle the small details;

Occasionally need to use the home yourself, making it unsuitable to empty out the furniture for a long-term rental;

Then:

Snowball Rentals’ management team is your best choice.

From pre-launch vacation-rental styling, big-data analysis and online marketing to tenant screening, dynamic pricing, customer service and sales, cleaning and repairs, Snowball Rentals provides everything as one complete service for your home.

This Week’s Booking Results

Through long-standing relationships with insurers, assignment companies and technology companies, Snowball Rentals rents homes for medium- and long-term durations at short-term rates, then gives owners a rebate of 5% in management fees to maximize their income.

June is here, the weather is warming up, and Seattle’s short-term rental peak season has finally arrived!

Short-term rentals in peak season; mid-term rentals in low season.

Looking back at earlier large bookings, this strategy has achieved some results, allowing us to retain confidence even in a cold winter!

Although peak season has arrived, we still cannot let our guard down. Policies and broader conditions are full of changes and challenges. Making steady progress will remain the main theme going forward.

For the detached house in Brier below, Redfin shows an estimated long-term monthly rent of approximately $4127.

With the owner’s trust and support, we carefully furnished the home and immediately began short-term rental operations. Fortunately, because the home’s condition and location are both good, short- and mid-term bookings have continued to come in.

As shown in the booking screenshot below, a guest recently booked this house from May 31 to November 30, a total of 182 nights, at an average monthly rent of

$7600.

In summary, under Snowball Rentals’ management, this home’s monthly rental income rose from $4127 to $7600, an increase of nearly 85%.

For homeowners, combining short- and mid-term rentals in this way can earn more in peak season and help them get through low season smoothly. Even if the low-season rental figures look less dramatic, they still outperform long-term rentals and give homeowners a strong sense of financial security.

More importantly, the owner does not have to worry about maintenance or cleaning. When something needs to be discussed with guests, we also help with communication and oversight.

Here, we again thank the owner for placing trust in the Snowball Rentals team!

After nearly two years of Airbnb’s downturn, we at Snowball Rentals hope to help owners make steady progress in low season, navigate the challenges safely and lay a better foundation for next year’s peak season.

Once again, heartfelt thanks to our homeowners for their trust and support. Whether the market is strong or weak, Snowball Rentals will stand with you and look for ways to increase your income!

Some homeowners will surely ask the hard question: was a large booking like this just a stroke of luck? What if the home does not rent? A long-term rental is more stable—even earning less is better than earning nothing!

Our answer is: the outcome depends on what we do.

Vacation-Rental Styling

Competition on Airbnb is becoming increasingly intense. The days of piecing together secondhand furniture, taking phone photos and earning easy money on Airbnb are over. Airbnb hosts have moved toward professional operations.

Careful design and furnishing before launch, followed by professional short-term rental operations, will be the only choice for a rental that continues to generate high income.

Here is another of Snowball Rentals’ core services: vacation-rental styling!

Here is what the detached home described above looks like after our careful furnishing:

When choosing a short-term rental on Airbnb, would this home’s appearance attract you?

If you would also like to make your home more attractive and earn more rent, please contact us at any time!

This Week’s Short Videos

We regularly update short videos every week.

The content you need is all here.

👇🏻 Homeowners are welcome to follow us 👇🏻

Snowball Rentals

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We also share practical vacation-rental styling plans and creative ideas to help you achieve more with less spending and keep rental income growing!

Xiao An’s Vacation-Rental Styling

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Referral Rewards

If you are already a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$500 referral fee for each referral.

If you are not yet a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$250 shopping voucher for each referral.

Snowball Rentals Management

1. Full service — We provide pre-launch rental design, furniture procurement, furnishing, professional photography, online marketing, copywriting, tenant service and sales, cleaning, supply purchasing and property repairs. You only need to be a hands-off owner; we handle the rest.

2. Multi-platform promotion — We promote the home on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and other mainstream platforms for maximum exposure.

3. Dynamic pricing — Using big data, we adjust prices every day according to seasonal demand, holidays, last-minute vacancy offers, weekends and local activities, maximizing the owner’s income.

4. Income-improvement SOP — We follow 44 secrets for maximizing short-term rental income, optimizing each property’s online marketing, on-site operations and other aspects to work toward maximum income.

5. Flexible owner stays — Owners can flexibly choose when to stay themselves. This is especially suitable for owners with multiple residences around the world.

6. Terminate at any time — Management does not require an annual commitment. The owner can end the agreement with one month’s advance notice.

7. Corporate housing — In addition to nightly rentals, we work with insurers and assignment companies to provide executives with hotel-style managed accommodation for stays longer than 30 days.

8. Transparent fees — For rentals longer than 30 days, we charge 15% of accommodation revenue. For nightly rentals under 30 days, we charge 20% of accommodation revenue.

Author’s tip: Personal views, for reference only.