Lodging Services forum (such as Airbnb, VRBO, Homeaway, etc)
 

The topic was raised in the private forum about potentially having a Lodging Services* forum, which would encompass such outlets as Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, etc. We currently have a Ride Services forum, which includes outlets such as Uber, Lyft, etc, so this would be similar on the housing side.

Pros/cons to such a forum & anything else you can think of that TB and/or the CommunityDirector should consider? All input appreciated.

* May or may not be the final forum title, but would be in keeping w/ Ride Services nomenclature; just listed to get the ball rolling.



Cheers.

I think a home for those sorts of services would be nice, is there a lot of discussion about them currently? And if so, where?

I use VRBO a lot and think the ability to have conversations about it, AirBnB and other similar services in a dedicated forum would be great.

I'd support it. I like VRBO/Homeaway and Booking.com, plus a few smaller regional portals for B&B's and similar. (Booking.com also handles traditional hotels, but in some regions is the best service to book a flat/apartment.)

Obviously a lot of FTers have an interest in Airbnb.

Lodging Services Forum is an outstanding suggestion.

Why not simply house any Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, etc. discussions in the existing Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies forum? It's in the T&D section and already hosts such accommodation providers as Expedia, Agoda, Hotels.com, Priceline and Vayama so expanding its remit wouldn't take it too far from its core or supplant existing topics. Maybe a slight forum name tweak to include more providers would clearly indicate it's increased role but why not expand an existing forum rather than creating a new one?

Merely MHO of course.

I would want a bright line (forum-wise) between typical commercial-operation properties and private-type accommodation.

Not sure I ever realized booking.com did other types of bookings - my friends who use booking.com always seem to pick local hotels.

:)

Many providers found in the Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies forum including booking.com do book more than just hotels so all the more reason to use what resources we have before minting another forum.

Is discussion on those topics happening there already?

i see the issues that one deals with in the AirBnB/VRBO-type market to be very different than the issues one deals with in the standard hotel booking market. There is actually not a lot of crossover between the two markets, so I do not see a potential new Lodging Services forum as cannibalizing much, if any, discussion from the OTBBA forum.

Is discussion on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, etc happening anywhere already?

it is not limited to "Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies"

and it is not limited to "Budget" (rates can be tens of thousands)

includes actual property management companies, not just agencies

probably good forum, location and title may not be easiest

My thoughts about this too.

not really any "cons" ?

such a forum would also be like >
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...-aviation-754/

how are you defining those ?

thanks!

agree re "not a lot" - contrary to claims of new companies trying to monetize(sell/IPO)

kind of like couchsurfing, BnB users on airBNB were not looking at hotels in first place

Yes, this should be set up
 

I have used AirBNB now in London, Rome and Tokyo with much satisfaction. They have even launched a business travel service. To not include a section dedicated to this phenomenon would be like declaring the earth flat :-)