Skip to main content

The Sharing Economy Career Options | Hospitality Industry Careers for Students

 In terms of looking at a career in the accommodation side of the hospitality industry, you have probably been taught about hotels and maybe Airbnb as the big competitor. But did you know that there is SO MUCH more than that?

Today I am going to show you companies and job opportunities in the non-hotel accommodation sector of the hospitality industry, also called the sharing economy.

If you prefer to consume video content, find this in video format here:

The Sharing Economy

The accommodation side of the hospitality industry includes many companies and sub-sectors beyond hotels. Companies like Airbnb, Couchsurfing and WeWork popularised this concept. It has now grown into a huge part of the hospitality industry with more career opportunities than “traditional” hotel career options.

We already covered the hotels part of the accommodation business at the start of this series, Hospitality Industry Careers, learn about restaurants, events and other sectors here.

Apartment rentals market

Starting off, we have companies like Airbnb and Couchsurfing that were the original providers of alternative accommodation at home. The hospitality share-economy catalysts.

More recently, companies like Hostmaker and Guest Ready emerged to help owners manage these rental apartments and rooms for a fee. Taking the management off their hands and allowing more flexibility for the owners and guests.

Then we have companies like Plum Guide, that “is establishing the first globally recognised mark of quality in the homestay sector” and allowing guests to find high-quality long term accommodation that suits their taste and preferences.

In the luxury sector, we also have OneFineStay by Accorr, a type of Airbnb that does not require the owner of the property to do anything once signed up. OneFineStay manages everything for the owner.

Then we also have companies like Sonder and Marriott Homes & Villas that saw a gap in the market of apartment rentals and launched branded apartment rentals. They maintain a certain standard throughout all their apartments, making sure it fits the brand and allows a consistent customer experience.

Short and long term hotel-like housing is now competing with hotel brands that were designed for that. The long-stay hotel brands like Staybridge Suites and Element.

Technology with hospitality at the heart

Domio that is a technology company with hospitality at the heart, “encompassing real estate, hospitality, and design with an emphasis on social connections.”

Lyric is another interesting example of a technology company within hospitality accommodation and is “on a mission to design and operate accommodations for the modern business traveler.

So this shows that hospitality is really bigger than is typically taught at university. Chances are that you've probably not considered technology companies for your future career options in hospitality, but just because a company is a tech-driven, doesn't mean it's not a hospitality company.

Home renting is a big, HUGE market sector in the hospitality industry with companies like Marriott and Accorr are catching on the trend, with growing demand and social distancing, this industry has been doing well in comparison to hotels this year.

Co-working and co-living as part of the hospitality

In co-working space, we have WeWork ofc, (although not sure for how long) and lots and lots of competitors in various locations. We probably have 15 here in London only.

Co-working is a specific area on its own that would normally be categorised in facility management but are now starting to offer for hospitality facilities. Don't forget about this when you're creating your career vision.

Then we have an up and coming area of the business which is not typically part of hospitality but encompasses all its essence at the heart, and it is co-living spaces. This would also never be part of hospitality until now, as companies like The Collective and the Bungalow offer F&B and entertainment facilities in the building.

So when it comes to opportunities and companies in the sector of non-hotel accommodation there are a lot to choose from, depending on what you like and where you are located. That is because accommodation has a very wide meaning and there are different types that suit different types of people and their needs.

Career options in the sharing economy

The companies I mentioned, have roles for General Managers, Revenue Managers and analysts, Guest Services, F&B, and many more roles that can be found in hotels. Look them up on LinkedIn and see for yourself!

The key difference with hotels is that the new up and coming startups are more likely to give you a chance to step up to a new role with more responsibility than traditional hotels are.

In hotels, many of us have seen people from outside get hired to roles that should have been filled by internal candidates or seen senior leadership sit too long in their roles than is healthy for the company. It’s a little different at fast-growing startups (not perfect, just different).

A huge benefit of working for such startups is one of more flexibility. While in a hotel you must be in the hotel and be physically present pretty much regardless of what you do, in the share-economy and the start-up world, it is not that strict.

Given the recent push to working from home, these companies are seeing the benefits of remote teams and reduced office space. So you are much more likely to have a remote-based job with a team in 2,3 or 4 different locations. You can’t have that in a hotel.

You could have a fantastic career in hospitality without working in hotels specifically.

Stats show the growth of the sharing economy

If you’re still not sure about non-hotel accommodation being a huge opportunity for your career then you need to see these stats:

  • Vacation Rentals Worldwide have 448.7n million users worldwide

  • Vacation Rentals Revenue is expected to grow 21.3% in the next THREE years

  • That’s an increase from 51,541m to 88,420m US$
    (Statista, 2020)

That’s an industry with a lot of potential!

The sharing economy is growing year on year and the urbanisation of services is expanding into all industries. Make sure to put this on your radar and your career vision!

This is part of the hospitality industry careers series, where I uncover jobs and careers options in 11 Hospitality Industry sectors you didn’t know about before!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Savvy Hotelier Free Resources

Application & Research Tracker Use a simple spreadsheet to organise your research and tracking for your internships and work experience. That way you can have an overview of everything and not forget to follow up! Access Resume Template This 1-page resume template is simple, professional, and most importantly, showcases your value to the employer! Access  (zip file download) The Hotel Guide: detailed hotel org chart and their jobs Working in a hotel is not all front desk and room service. There is a lot more to it and I tell you all about it in this hotel guide. Discover hotel jobs you didn't know about and understand how the organisation works! Access Skills & Industry Match Take a minute and think about the things you enjoy doing at work today and what professional (hospitality or general) skills you have. What would you like to do with them? Think about all hospitality industry sectors, where else could you apply your skills? Access

Who Owns Hotels? – Hotel Owners and Hotel Management Companies

  The way hotels are owned, managed and structured is complicated and unique to the hospitality industry. The management structure of a hotel plays an important role in your employment, legally speaking. But it is also important to understand because you need to understand who your ultimate boss is. This article breaks down for you the three different stakeholders involved in the ownership and management of a hotel, how they work together, and a real-life example puts it all into perspective. The 3 stakeholders in hotel ownership and management Owner Brand manager Management company These are the three key stakeholders in the ownership and management of a hotel, however, the divide is not always between three of them. Let’s look into each one of these and see how they work together. Owner This would be someone that literally owns the physical building of the hotel. They own the physical asset and are fully responsible for maintaining it. The owner is the one that collects the profit f

52 Hospitality Companies to Follow in 2021

This is a list of companies in various categories of the hospitality industry that I recommend you follow to stay informed. It covers hotels, OTAs, apartment rentals, airlines, travel magazines, and industry research. It is NOT the one and only full list of companies to follow, there are many more companies out there and there are plenty more local and regional companies to where you are. This is a place to start learning and reading industry news, magazines and staying informed. You don’t have to follow them all, pick those that you are interested and focus in on the area of hospitality that you are interested in. When choosing to follow the companies, consider this: Follow the parent brand (like Marriott International) and their hotel brands (JW Marriott or Moxy, and don’t forget their loyalty programme brand) on social media, at least on LinkedIn. I suggest to also consider Instagram or Facebook so that you can also see their consumer content. Subscribe to their press releases an