Airbnb goes luxe: Airbnb Inc. on Tuesday launched Airbnb Luxe with 2,000 new listings on its website offering luxury rentals ranging from entire islands to medieval castles and mansions with water slides. The average luxury listing has an asking price of US$14,000 a week and goes as high as US$1 million a week for a private atoll near Tahiti that comprises 21 bungalows and a staff of 50. Bloomberg called Airbnb Luxe a re-branding of Luxury Retreats, a Canadian company that specializes in high-quality listings and was acquired by Airbnb in 2017 for around US$300 million. None of the listings on Luxe is new to market; they just sit under the Airbnb umbrella now.
IHG-Sands alliance: IHG and Sands China Ltd. announced Tuesday that The Venetian Macao and The Parisian Macao will become InterContinental Alliance Resorts beginning immediately. In addition, The Londoner Hotel in Macau will join the alliance when it opens in 2020 following the renovation of the current Holiday Inn Macao Cotai Central. IHG and The Venetian Resort Las Vegas also announced the long-term extension of their alliance. The partnership extends through to 2027 at all five properties.
Park sells three assets: Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. has closed on the sales of three non-core domestic assets for combined gross proceeds of US$166 million, or US$151,000 per key. The three hotels, the 507-room Hilton Atlanta Airport in Atlanta, Georgia; the 317-room Hilton New Orleans Airport in New Orleans, Louisiana; and the 274-room Embassy Suites Parsippany in Parsippany, New Jersey, are located in non-core airport and suburban markets and had a combined 2018 RevPAR of US$109, or approximately 37% below Park’s 2018 portfolio average.
Battle brewing on resort fees: Booking Holdings will collect a commission rate of 15% on resort fees in the U.S., according to a top exec. The fees, which have been hands-off for online travel sites in the past, have been crucial for operators in large metropolitan areas to maintain profitability. The hotel industry is prepping to fight back against the new commission charges on resort fees. Expedia has stated it has no plans for now to take a slice of the resort fees, which are naturally unpopular with travelers.