Business

Airbnb almost as expensive as a hotel, figures show

Published

2 years ago

August 16, 2022

Staying in an Airbnb rental may be only marginally less expensive than sojourning in a hotel, at least for small parties booking short-term stays, an analysis of short-term rental and hotel prices in Toronto shows. It may be part of the reason why guests are increasingly angered by the litany of fees included in their bookings.

In Canada’s most populous city, the average daily rate for a studio or one-bedroom apartment on the Airbnb platform in July was $214, according to AirDNA, a short-term rental data provider. That was $33 a day less than the $247 Toronto hotels charged on average during roughly the same period, according to data spanning July 1 to July 30 from STR, an analytics company focused on the hospitality industry.

The average rate for studio and one-bedroom rentals, which AirDNA considers comparable with hotel rooms, was up 44 per cent from $148 a day in July, 2019, during the summer before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. By contrast, the average daily rate paid by travellers staying in Toronto hotels rose by 24 per cent over the same four summers, up from an average of $199 in July, 2019, according to STR.

For Airbnb listings that include larger properties – but not shared accommodations – the average daily rate in July was nearly $300 a day, more than 50 per cent above average rates in July, 2019, the AirDNA numbers show. The data for short-term rentals does not include service fees, which can vary but often amount to an additional 10 per cent to 15 per cent, the company said.

Airbnb ABNB-Q has challenged some of the data, saying third-party analyses of its listings typically incur a number of issues, including possibly not accurately reflecting actual bookings or what guests paid.

The short-term rentals giant said the average daily rate for Airbnb accommodations in Toronto increased approximately 15 per cent between 2019 and the first six months of 2022. It did not provide dollar amounts for average daily rates.

Hotel-like prices may help to explain some travellers’ growing angst over the many fees guests must pay in addition to the base rate advertised on the platform.

“I don’t stay in Airbnb’s anymore,” U.S.-based Twitter user Michael Karnjanaprakorn recently wrote.

“Cleaning Fee: $200. Instructions: Clean the dishes, take out the trash, and wash all the sheets before you leave,” the tweet, which received more than 27,000 likes, reads.

In a press release last year, Airbnb addressed criticism over fees noting that users can see a detailed breakdown of potential charges prior to committing to a booking.

Cleaning fees are set by hosts based on factors such as the size of the home, location, amenities and the number of guests. “We believe that hosts having autonomy over their own pricing helps empower them to achieve success on our platform,” the company wrote.

Enhanced cleaning protocols because of COVID-19 might have also increased cleaning expenses for some hosts, the company noted.

Other fees include a service charge – usually under 14.2 per cent of the booking subtotal – collected by Airbnb, and occupancy taxes imposed by the government, the company said. (In Toronto, for example, Airbnb has been collecting a 4-per-cent municipal tax since the start of 2021.)

But Airbnb’s PR response has hardly appeased disgruntled guests. Travel expert Matthew Kepnes, for example, said he has forsaken Airbnb for good.

Mr. Kepnes, who runs the website nomadicmatt.com, argued Airbnb rentals are no longer a good deal for short-term stays, especially in large cities, where there are plenty of hotel options.

“If you’re just going to New York for three days, it doesn’t really make sense,” he said.

In part, that’s because fees can significantly add to the cost of a brief stay, according to Mr. Kepnes. In a tweet from February, 2020, he referenced an Airbnb listing with a $100-a-night base rate and a $200 cleaning fee. “These cleaning fees are so onerous. I might as well just stay in a hotel for that price!” he wrote.

Mr. Kepnes also has qualms with Airbnb’s customer service, which he said makes it hard to obtain refunds. That’s another point in favour of hotels, he argued.

Aside from costs, he also has ethical reservations about using short-term rentals in large metropolitan areas. In many big cities, services such as Airbnb are taking much-needed housing stock away from prospective homeowners and long-term renters, he said.

Still, Airbnb may be a good choice in more remote areas, especially when booking longer stays, he said.

A growing number of travellers may be coming to Mr. Kepnes’ conclusion about shorter versus longer bookings. Since the start of the pandemic, Airbnb has seen a surge of longer bookings. Stays of 28 days or more were up 25 per cent in the second quarter of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021, and nearly 90 per cent above levels recorded in the second quarter of 2019, the company said during its latest earnings release.

Bookings of around a month or more have become its fastest-growing trip type by length, Airbnb said.

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Business

The #1 Skill I Look For When Hiring

Published

11 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Nick Kossovan

File this column under “for what it’s worth.”

“Communication is one of the most important skills you require for a successful life.” — Catherine Pulsifer, author.

I’m one hundred percent in agreement with Pulsifer, which is why my evaluation of candidates begins with their writing skills. If a candidate’s writing skills and verbal communication skills, which I’ll assess when interviewing, aren’t well above average, I’ll pass on them regardless of their skills and experience.

Why?

Because business is fundamentally about getting other people to do things—getting employees to be productive, getting customers to buy your products or services, and getting vendors to agree to a counteroffer price. In business, as in life in general, you can’t make anything happen without effective communication; this is especially true when job searching when your writing is often an employer’s first impression of you.

Think of all the writing you engage in during a job search (resumes, cover letters, emails, texts) and all your other writing (LinkedIn profile, as well as posts and comments, blogs, articles, tweets, etc.) employers will read when they Google you to determine if you’re interview-worthy.

With so much of our communication today taking place via writing (email, text, collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, ClickUp, WhatsApp and Rocket.Chat), the importance of proficient writing skills can’t be overstated.

When assessing a candidate’s writing skills, you probably think I’m looking for grammar and spelling errors. Although error-free writing is important—it shows professionalism and attention to detail—it’s not the primary reason I look at a candidate’s writing skills.

The way someone writes reveals how they think.

Clear writing = Clear thinking
Structured paragraphs = Structured mind
Impactful sentences = Impactful ideas

Effective writing isn’t about using sophisticated vocabulary. Hemingway demonstrated that deceptively simple, stripped-down prose can captivate readers. Effective writing takes intricate thoughts and presents them in a way that makes the reader think, “Damn! Why didn’t I see it that way?” A good writer is a dead giveaway for a good thinker. More than ever, the business world needs “good thinkers.”

Therefore, when I come across a candidate who’s a good writer, hence a good thinker, I know they’re likely to be able to write:

Emails that don’t get deleted immediately and are responded to
Simple, concise, and unambiguous instructions
Pitches that are likely to get read
Social media content that stops thumbs
Human-sounding website copy
Persuasively, while attuned to the reader’s possible sensitivities

Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: AI, which job seekers are using en masse. Earlier this year, I wrote that AI’s ability to hyper-increase an employee’s productivity—AI is still in its infancy; we’ve seen nothing yet—in certain professions, such as writing, sales and marketing, computer programming, office and admin, and customer service, makes it a “fewer employees needed” tool, which understandably greatly appeals to employers. In my opinion, the recent layoffs aren’t related to the economy; they’re due to employers adopting AI. Additionally, companies are trying to balance investing in AI with cost-cutting measures. CEOs who’ve previously said, “Our people are everything,” have arguably created today’s job market by obsessively focusing on AI to gain competitive advantages and reduce their largest expense, their payroll.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that most AI usage involves generating written content, content that’s obvious to me, and likely to you as well, to have been written by AI. However, here’s the twist: I don’t particularly care.

Why?

Because the fundamental skill I’m looking for is the ability to organize thoughts and communicate effectively. What I care about is whether the candidate can take AI-generated content and transform it into something uniquely valuable. If they can, they’re demonstrating the skills of being a good thinker and communicator. It’s like being a great DJ; anyone can push play, but it takes skill to read a room and mix music that gets people pumped.

Using AI requires prompting effectively, which requires good writing skills to write clear and precise instructions that guide the AI to produce desired outcomes. Prompting AI effectively requires understanding structure, flow and impact. You need to know how to shape raw information, such as milestones throughout your career when you achieved quantitative results, into a compelling narrative.

So, what’s the best way to gain and enhance your writing skills? As with any skill, you’ve got to work at it.

Two rules guide my writing:

Use strong verbs and nouns instead of relying on adverbs, such as “She dashed to the store.” instead of “She ran quickly to the store.” or “He whispered to the child.” instead of “He spoke softly to the child.”
Avoid using long words when a shorter one will do, such as “use” instead of “utilize” or “ask” instead of “inquire.” As attention spans get shorter, I aim for clarity, simplicity and, most importantly, brevity in my writing.

Don’t just string words together; learn to organize your thoughts, think critically, and communicate clearly. Solid writing skills will significantly set you apart from your competition, giving you an advantage in your job search and career.

_____________________________________________________________________

Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

Business

Politics likely pushed Air Canada toward deal with ‘unheard of’ gains for pilots

Published

23 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Politics, public opinion and salary hikes south of the border helped push Air Canada toward a deal that secures major pay gains for pilots, experts say.

Hammered out over the weekend, the would-be agreement includes a cumulative wage hike of nearly 42 per cent over four years — an enormous bump by historical standards — according to one source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The previous 10-year contract granted increases of just two per cent annually.

The federal government’s stated unwillingness to step in paved the way for a deal, noted John Gradek, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it plain the two sides should hash one out themselves.

“Public opinion basically pressed the federal cabinet, including the prime minister, to keep their hands clear of negotiations and looking at imposing a settlement,” said Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University.

After late-night talks at a hotel near Toronto’s Pearson airport, the country’s biggest airline and the union representing 5,200-plus aviators announced early Sunday morning they had reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike that would have grounded flights and affected some 110,000 passengers daily.

The relative precariousness of the Liberal minority government as well as a push to appear more pro-labour underlay the prime minister’s hands-off approach to the negotiations.

Trudeau said Friday the government would not step in to fix the impasse — unlike during a massive railway work stoppage last month and a strike by WestJet mechanics over the Canada Day long weekend that workers claimed road roughshod over their constitutional right to collective bargaining. Trudeau said the government respects the right to strike and would only intervene if it became apparent no negotiated deal was possible.

“They felt that they really didn’t want to try for a third attempt at intervention and basically said, ‘Let’s let the airline decide how they want to deal with this one,'” said Gradek.

“Air Canada ran out of support as the week wore on, and by the time they got to Friday night, Saturday morning, there was nothing left for them to do but to basically try to get a deal set up and accepted by ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association).”

Trudeau’s government was also unlikely to consider back-to-work legislation after the NDP tore up its agreement to support the Liberal minority in Parliament, Gradek said. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party has traditionally toed a more pro-business line, also said last week that Tories “stand with the pilots” and swore off “pre-empting” the negotiations.

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau had asked Ottawa on Thursday to impose binding arbitration pre-emptively — “before any travel disruption starts” — if talks failed. Backed by business leaders, he’d hoped for an effective repeat of the Conservatives’ move to head off a strike in 2012 by legislating Air Canada pilots and ground crew to stick to their posts before any work stoppage could start.

The request may have fallen flat, however. Gradek said he believes there was less anxiety over the fallout from an airline strike than from the countrywide railway shutdown.

He also speculated that public frustration over thousands of cancelled flights would have flowed toward Air Canada rather than Ottawa, prompting the carrier to concede to a deal yielding “unheard of” gains for employees.

“It really was a total collapse of the Air Canada bargaining position,” he said.

Pilots are slated to vote in the coming weeks on the four-year contract.

Last year, pilots at Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines secured agreements that included four-year pay boosts ranging from 34 per cent to 40 per cent, ramping up pressure on other carriers to raise wages.

After more than a year of bargaining, Air Canada put forward an offer in August centred around a 30 per cent wage hike over four years.

But the final deal, should union members approve it, grants a 26 per cent increase in the first year alone, retroactive to September 2023, according to the source. Three wage bumps of four per cent would follow in 2024 through 2026.

Passengers may wind up shouldering some of that financial load, one expert noted.

“At the end of the day, it’s all us consumers who are paying,” said Barry Prentice, who heads the University of Manitoba’s transport institute.

Higher fares may be mitigated by the persistence of budget carrier Flair Airlines and the rapid expansion of Porter Airlines — a growing Air Canada rival — as well as waning demand for leisure trips. Corporate travel also remains below pre-COVID-19 levels.

Air Canada said Sunday the tentative contract “recognizes the contributions and professionalism of Air Canada’s pilot group, while providing a framework for the future growth of the airline.”

The union issued a statement saying that, if ratified, the agreement will generate about $1.9 billion of additional value for Air Canada pilots over the course of the deal.

Meanwhile, labour tension with cabin crew looms on the horizon. Air Canada is poised to kick off negotiations with the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants this year before the contract expires on March 31.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)

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Business

Federal $500M bailout for Muskrat Falls power delays to keep N.S. rate hikes in check

Published

1 day ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.

Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”

Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.

The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.

Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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