ARTICLE

What does Airbnb cutting 5000+ experiences mean for your travel and tourism business?

By the BlackDog Strategy team

Vacation experience on horseback

Image created using generative AI

Relying on OTAs as your main sales channel takes business outcomes out of your hands

When businesses depend heavily on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Airbnb for a large portion of their revenue, they put themselves in a vulnerable position. OTAs can change their policies or offerings without warning, leaving businesses scrambling to adapt. If a significant percentage of your sales comes from a single OTA, a sudden change could drastically impact your bottom line, limiting your control over your own business outcomes.

For smaller or start-up tour and attraction businesses, OTAs can be a great tool for generating revenue and growing their customer base without needing a dedicated marketing agency. However, as these businesses expand, their strategy must evolve to reduce reliance on a single revenue source. Priorities should gradually shift toward direct sales, empowering businesses to maintain control, enhance profitability, and build a sustainable foundation for long-term growth.

Relying on tourism sales channels controlled by third parties may feel convenient, but it can leave your business without leverage when policy shifts occur. Whether it’s cutting back on services or raising commissions, these changes can catch businesses off guard, causing them to lose out on potential revenue. Diversifying revenue streams and focusing on direct customer engagement ensures more stability and control over business outcomes.

BlackDog Advertising believes that your best sales channels are the direct channels that you have the most influence over.

What Airbnb Did: AirBnb transforms its experience offerings by introducing highly curated “AirBnb Icons”

Recently, Airbnb made headlines by cutting over 5,000 Airbnb experiences from its platform. While Airbnb claims that these changes are based on quality, some operators have expressed frustration about the lack of clear criteria for determining which experiences were cut. The introduction of Airbnb Icons is part of this new approach, highlighting only high-quality experiences that meet specific standards.

However, some operators are concerned that they will be left out of the Airbnb Icons program, limiting their visibility. This uncertainty makes the future of Airbnb experiences unclear for many businesses that rely on the platform for sales. By narrowing its offerings, Airbnb is reshaping its marketplace with AirBnb Icons, and operators may have to adjust quickly or risk losing significant revenue streams.

Why Tourism Brands Need to Care About this Problem

Even if your business doesn’t rely on Airbnb experiences as a sales channel, the broader lesson is important for all tourism brands. BlackDog Advertising has extensive experience studying data and analyzing tourism sales channels that show why this issue is important in the tourism industry:

  1.  OTAs, including Airbnb, frequently update their policies and can remove or restrict services that impact your revenue without consultation.
  2.  When a platform like Airbnb cuts experiences, it can disrupt an entire sales channel, leaving businesses vulnerable.
  3.  Companies that rely on OTAs have little to no control over these sudden changes, which can affect long-term planning.
  4.  Even if Airbnb experiences are not your main channel, other tourism sales channels like cruise ships or third-party vendors could follow suit.
  5.  Reacting to OTA decisions such as the shift to Airbnb Icons takes valuable time and resources that could be spent building more sustainable sales outlets.
  6. OTAs have their own priorities, which may not align with the needs of the businesses they list. This lack of control over your business’s future is a significant risk.
  7. A sudden shift by a major OTA can leave businesses scrambling to rebuild their audience from scratch.

Even for companies that don’t currently rely on Airbnb experiences, this shift to AirBnb Icons serves as a powerful reminder to prioritize your best sales channels and not become overly dependent on any single third-party platform. Diversifying your tourism sales channels is essential to maintaining control over your business’s future.

Solutions & Action Items for Solving the Problem: Diversify and control your tourism sales channels

To safeguard your business and take control of your revenue streams, BlackDog Advertising recommends considering these strategies:

  • Focus on direct channels: Prioritize your own best sales channels that lead directly to your brand, such as making your website the main hub for bookings. Invest in your online presence to attract visitors and convert them directly.
  • Offer the best price through your best sales channels: Encourage customers to book directly with offers and discounts exclusive to your website.
  • Drive traffic to your site: Use a mix of SEO, paid media, and email marketing to send potential customers directly to your website, bypassing OTAs.
  • Diversify your offline channels: Make sure you’re tapping into on-the-ground sales, including partnerships with local vendors and concierge services.
  • Build a customer database: Collect emails and phone numbers to stay in touch with your clients directly, bypassing third-party reliance.
  • Don’t abandon third-party sales, but diversify: Continue using OTAs, but balance this with multiple external tourism sales channels such as cruise ships, concierges, and travel partners.
  • Utilize OTAs for brand awareness: On OTAs like Airbnb, ensure your brand stands out by customizing product descriptions and using photos with your logo to keep your business visible.

Leverage OTA channels, but make sure you diversify your marketing channels to control your business's own destiny

While OTAs like Airbnb offer valuable sales opportunities, relying on them too heavily can expose your business to risk, as demonstrated by the recent cuts to Airbnb experiences. By investing in direct sales and diversifying your tourism sales channels, you can safeguard your business from sudden changes and ensure long-term growth.

 

Not sure how to start diversifying your sales channels?

At BlackDog Advertising, we specialize in helping tourism brands navigate challenges with strategies that increase direct bookings through their best sales channels, build brand trust, and reduce reliance on third-party platforms. Through our tailored approach and patented Retriever/ROI® platform, a program exclusive for BlackDog Advertising partners, we provide in-depth insights that allow businesses to optimize their best sales channels. With over three decades of experience, we’ve partnered with tourism brands to build sustainable, diversified sales avenues so they can thrive in any market conditions. Our commitment to data-driven results and personalized solutions has earned us the trust of industry leaders. By working with BlackDog Advertising, you’ll be able to create a resilient, adaptable approach that prepares your business for whatever comes next.

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