Airbnb is Taking Away Hotel Chains' Most Valuable Customers

Popular home-sharing site Airbnb is eating away at hotel chains\' market share, and the company is even stealing their core customers by converting loyalty program members to Airbnb users, reports Quartz.

This is yet another sign of Airbnb\'s success in commanding the travel space, as it rolls out additional offerings in order to keep users engaged with the platform beyond one-off bookings.

Airbnb is stealing hotel chains\' most valuable customers:
•Notably, loyalty program members are more likely than nonmembers to try Airbnb — 36% of travelers enrolled in a hotel chain loyalty program have used Airbnb, compared with 15% of travelers not in a loyalty program.
•This extends across frequency of travel, as well — 51% of hotel loyalty guests who travel more than 11 times per year have tried Airbnb. This is compared with just 27% of nonmembers who travel the same amount in a year.

Competitors will have to find new ways to stave off Airbnb\'s threat. The home-sharing site has already become a powerhouse in the online travel space, with its cemented domination of hotels, bed and breakfasts, and other vacation rentals.

In addition, the company\'s new air travel booking project Flights, coupled with an upcoming capital injection, will likely enable Airbnb to expand its offerings around the globe to onboard even more travelers. As Airbnb continually folds in new travel offerings, it could compete more directly with OTAs for bookings, increasing its hold on the travel industry and extending its reach firmly beyond room and board.