Sharing Economy Trend Favors Travel Agents
by Doug Gollan /Photo: GotCredit.
Paying to climb into a car with a stranger, having people you don’t know stay in your home, staying at the homes of people you don’t know, and sharing used dresses with others you will never meet seemed like absurd concepts only a few short years ago. But the same forces that are driving the growth of Uber, Airbnb, and Rent the Runway are a powerful ally of retail travel agents, according to an expert on the sharing economy.
Speaking at the opening session of ILTM Asia in Shanghai, author and futurist Rachel Botsman said consumers are becoming “brand agnostic,” putting their trust in people they don’t even know. She pointed out that Airbnb has a higher valuation than Marriott, Starwood, Hyatt, and all other hospitality companies aside from Hilton Worldwide.
She said the sharing economy is being built on “peer trust,” citing “a sense of responsibility and respect” between both parties in the transaction that is absent when dealing with brands and faceless corporations that lack personal accountability. She told the audience of luxury travel providers and sellers, “reputation will become a currency,” pointing to the new services, which allow sellers to rate buyers as well as the reverse.
The shift from “institutions to individuals” bodes well for retail travel agents, who are seeing a resurgence in demand despite billions of dollars spent annually by the OTAs on both brand and search advertising to woo consumers.
Botsman said the key to success in winning customers is to provide curated, controlled, and unique experiences. She warned hoteliers and other suppliers not to dismiss these new services as being for the lower end of the market, saying the fastest-growing segment of Airbnb is luxury rentals of $5,000 or more per night.
On an earlier panel focusing on outbound travel trends for affluent Chinese, Zan Wu, founder of Sino OTA Zanadu, challenged the moderator, who inferred that travel bookings will be dominated by online, saying each serves different needs. Nick Walton, the former travel editor of South China Morning Post and editor of consumer magazine Jetsetter, noted that in Hong Kong, travel agencies catering to the wealthy are experiencing strong growth. He said one agency renovated its offices to create an upscale lounge-like atmosphere, while another is specializing in destinations such as Cuba, Iran, and Antarctica. He told Travel Market Report, “When something goes wrong, you can’t get any satisfaction by yelling at a computer. Travel agents give the demanding customer accountability they don’t get online.”