Airbnb And The Pending Trouble With Travel – Tech Tuesday In Two Minutes

Travel will never the same… and it’s not for the reasons that you might think.

Sure, along with the global pandemic and vaccine passports, there will be hurdles to what travel will be.
Many feel like this coming summer may be the first bright light at the end of a long tunnel.
It’s looking like it may be filled with as much frustration as sun.

What’s going on with travel?

Well, if you’re sticking close to home, many of the country spots are already booked.
Camping sites are either sold out or charging hotel-like prices.
Car rental companies are struggling to meet demands, and their prices are increasing dramatically as well.
Airlines are trying to reboot routes that were shut down, and it seems like flights are expensive too.

Are you sensing a trend here?

Limited quantity on the supply side.
Travel-related businesses have been on the sidelines, and they’re going to make a run at revenue.
Us consumers are going to pay a multiple for the luxury of travel, so the market will decide what is reasonable (and what is not).
I’ve heard stories of people renting U-Haul trucks because they can’t rent a car.

Airbnb is feeling it too.

Airbnb has over four million hosts.
Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky just said this to CNBC:

“To meet the demand over the coming years, we’re going to need millions more hosts. I think that we probably will have a high class problem where there will probably be more guests coming to Airbnb than we’ll have hosts for, because… we think there’s going to be a travel rebound coming that’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen. We are working our hardest to get more hosts on the platform”

Warning:

Before you make your summer plans, make sure you know how much the budget might have to increase.
Before you make your summer plans, understand that many people have already booked theirs, so you might be more stuck than ever before.
It also sounds like vacation destinations are going to struggle with enough employees to keep the traffic light – from the hotels and restaurants to the bars and camping grounds. 
We’re all going to have to be patient in a world where we will be paying a lot and, perhaps, not being services at the level with which we have become accustomed. 

The full story is here: Airbnb CEO says company will need millions more hosts to meet surging demand (CNBC).

This is what Heather Backman and I discussed this morning over on Jack 103 FM for a couple of minutes.

What is Tech Tuesday?

If you ever find yourself wondering… What, exactly, is the point of TikTok? How can I make myself look better on a Zoom? Reddit? What’s that about? How do I help my kids be safer online? Who’s the latest creator and streamer that I should be checking out?

You are not alone.

Every Tuesday – for just a few minutes – I join Heather Backman (my old buddy from her days on CHOM FM) on the air at Jack 103 (Rogers Sports & Media) to give a quick blast about the current state of technology, media and Internet culture. We’re calling the segment Tech Tuesday (and we do it in just a few minutes).

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