Airbnb: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Hospitality Industry and its Market Segments

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Executive Summary
Despite the fact that many business niches are made up of only a few of different
enterprises, the hospitality industry fits nearly in most companies that deal with the satisfaction
of customers and is centered on ensuring that leisure needs are met rather than the basic needs.
With the vastness of the hospitality industry, it is critical to understand some defining factors.
The hospitality industry is one of the major components that make up the service industry and
comprises of lodging, theme parks, event planning and other additional sectors in the tourism
industry.
Airbnb has over three million lodging listings all spread and located in over 65,000
cities and in more than 190 countries. Airbnb is a virtual market and a hospitality service that
engages individuals to rent or lease on short-term basis accommodation that entails vacation and
apartment rentals, hotel rooms and hostel beds. Instead of individuals booking on a hotel, the
users stay on the property of other people enabling such people to enjoy an experience that is
quirky and personal. Airbnb does not have its own lodging facilities, it is a broker that charges a
certain percentage as a commission from the guests and the hosts as per the bookings. Users are
tasked with searching lodging using a variety of options such as the lodging type, location and
dates and the price charged by Airbnb can be found on the Airbnb website or other mobile
applications such as the Android and the Apple.

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A hospitality unit such as a restaurant or amusement park consists of units such as
direct operations and maintenance of a facility that entails kitchen workers, management,
bartenders and human resources. The hospitality industry is a multibillion-dollar investment that
relies on the availability of leisure time, income that is disposable and customer satisfaction
among other things (Novak, 2017). There are four components of the hospitality industry that is
food and beverages, recreation, travel and tourism and lodging.
Food and beverages
One of the largest segments of the hospitality industry is the food and beverage sector
that is denoted by initials such as F&B.The F&B industry is projected to serve 50% of all the
meals eaten in the United States of America as of today (Novak, 2017). It entails establishments
majorly engaged in meals preparation, snacks, and beverages needed for urgent consumption on
and off the enterprises. When a restaurant is one of the sectors of a hotel, the services rendered
by such a facility can improve the experience of the guest through providing excellent food and
customer service that can be ranked as first class.
Travel and Tourism
Travels and tourism specialize in dealing with the movement of people from place to
place. The buses, trains, and cabs are all components in the travel industry (Novak, 2017).
Leisure travel occurs when people spend their finances on lodging, recreation, and even food
while spending their vacation trip (Lee & Kim, 2018). On the other hand, business travel refers
to spending while a person is traveling for work and spends the money on food and lodging.
Some individuals also spend their money on recreation while traveling for business purposes.

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The primary motive behind tourism is to motivate people to travel. When people are traveling
either for purposes of business or leisure, they spend money in one way or another on hospitality.
Lodging
Lodging refers to accommodation for a specific duration of time or a place where one
can spend the night for one or two days (Novak, 2017). The lodging industry entails
campgrounds, hostels and even motels that provide a place where people can spend the night.
The businesses in the lodging industry are tasked with the responsibility for marketing other
segments such as business travelers, long-stay travelers and special travelers such as individuals
working for the government or airlines.
Recreation
Recreation refers to any activity that people engage in to rest, relax or for sheer fun and
enjoyment. The primary objective of recreation is to ensure that the body and the mind get
refreshed (Novak, 2017). Any enterprise that offers activities for purposes of rest, relaxation and
sheer enjoyment to refresh the body and the mind of an individual can be categorized to be I the
recreation industry. Entertainment enterprises that air shows such as movies and attractions that
serve as regions of special interest of visits such as museums, sports, and zoos can all be said to
be part of the recreation business.
Market segments by Airbnb
Airbnb targets mainly two groups of people namely travelers and hosts (Vizology,
2018). The two segmentations are crucial for the Airbnb structure since they are the center and
determinants of the profits generated by the company.