Competitive Advantages of Boutique Hotels in the Context of a Sharing Economy
Competitive Advantages of Boutique Hotels in the Context of a Sharing Economy

Summary/Abstract: The sharing economy has developed as a business model and it is about to transform many industries. In terms of the tourism industry, the hotel sector is much vulnerable to the strategic breakthrough of online platforms providing shared accommodation. As consumers become more familiar with the opportunities offered by shared accommodation, hotels face a serious challenge and must respond appropriately to the threat of losing market positions. According some recent forecasts particularly the boutique hotels will be heavily affected by the expanding force of the sharing economy. The aim of the present paper is to highlight the key competitive advantages of boutique hotels through strategic benchmarking of the product they offer and the product offered by the online platforms for shared accommodation such as Airbnb. Finally, the paper set practical guidelines how boutique hotels can benefit from the effect that the sharing economy produces.

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