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Briefs: Marriott’s ‘good place’ | Europe vs. Airbnb?

“We are at a good place,” Marriott CEO says: Arne Sorenson is putting Starwood-Marriott integration challenges and the effects of a 2018 cyber attack in his rearview mirror as the company looks ahead. “We want to continue expanding from the hotel space into the travel space,” the Marriott CEO said in a Barron’s Q&A. That strategy includes Homes & Villas, a home rental platform, and more than 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy Experiences. As for hotels, he sees ample openings for growth outside the U.S., especially in China.

Read the Barron’s interview 

AI app now predicts hotel pricing: Hopper, an app that uses artificial intelligence to predict trends in airfares, is expanding to include hotel rates, according to TechCrunch. Some 270,000 hotels can now be booked directly on the app, which lets travelers filter results by neighborhood, rating, price and amenities. The app offers a “Watch a Hotel” feature that forecasts and tracks rates at specific properties. 

Read more at TechCrunch

Home shares push rents out of reach: According to a report in The Guardian, competition from Airbnb rentals is putting residential rents out of the reach of locals, and a group of European cities wants the EU to intervene. Amsterdam, Barcelona, ??Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Krakow, Munich, Paris, Valencia and Vienna sent a joint letter asking that the European Commission examine the “explosive growth” of short-stay listings and the impact they have had on the housing market. Airbnb reportedly has more than 18,000 listings in both Amsterdam and Barcelona, 22,000 in Berlin and 60,000 in Paris.

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