Uber and Airbnb try hotels: who wins the expansion bet

Uber and Airbnb are making moves outside their core business, and the chosen destination is the hotel. According to Skift, the move is no accident: each arrives with a different advantage, and the question is which one holds up better in the jump. Uber has frequency, that app people open several times a week to get around. Airbnb has travel intent, users who land on the site already thinking about sleeping away from home.

The thesis in Skift's analysis is simple and, to my mind, on point: frequency builds habit, but intent builds conversion. Uber can slot a hotel into the trip to the airport. Airbnb already has the user in booking mode from the first click. Two different doors into the same corridor.

My read for the industry: this is not a threat to hotels, it is a distribution opportunity. If Uber and Airbnb push hotel traffic, the revenue manager gains another channel to negotiate, measure and push. The loser is anyone still treating distribution as a single bucket. The game is about knowing which channel brings the right guest, not about being present everywhere.