In case you haven’t heard, Airbnb is building a hotel!

But wait, wasn’t Airbnb founded on the whole idea of getting away from hotels?

Yes…yes…that is…also correct.

Sooooo, then why are they building a hotel?

Well, it’s a hotel, sort of. Think of it as a nice highrise apartment building specifically designed to be rented out as Airbnbs. In fact, that’s exactly what it is! It’s filling the gap between hotels and vacation rentals.

This new building (Natiivo) in Austin,Texas will have all the benefits of a mainstream hotel. Lounge, fitness center, cleaning service, but it will carry the economic benefits of vacation rentals. Instead of one big company owning and running the whole thing, each apartment is bought and sold separately and then rented out as an Airbnb. As a local news station put it, “Instead of being rent-to-own the model is own-to-rent”.

I love this idea! It combines the amenities of a large, chain hotel with the individuality of personal hosting. I’m not sure this is the next big thing, that will take over the hospitality industry, but it is a really cool idea that finds a niche in between hotels and vacation rentals.

Who knows where the next one will pop up?

Happy Airbnb-ing!