Durham: The Next City to Lose Their BnB Industry?

The Triangle. If you are from North Carolina, you are familiar with that name. It refers to the area composed of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. The name originated from Research Triangle Park, the home of numerous tech companies.

The area did relatively well during the Great Recession as it was ranked the strongest region in North Carolina. While the region's economy is doing well in many industries, the hospitality industry may be in question.

The biggest real estate company has a presence in almost every major city, yet they own no real estate. It is true! AirBnB does not own any real estate, but they leverage millions of rental listings.

Most of the biggest real estate companies have thousands of employees. That is barely the case with AirBnB. Despite being the most popular real estate company, the business has less than 2,000 employees.

Their journey has been impressive to say the least. Many people have benefited from the online platform. It is the most convenient resource for any traveler. Moreover, it could be the cheapest option for the budget traveler.

Within the United States, many hotels, bed and breakfast inns, and hostels are looking for ways to mitigate any potential loss of customers resulting from AirBnB. It can be quite difficult because brick and mortar hospitality businesses must abide by higher standards.

In actuality, many city governments are not holding the company to any standard. As a result, several BnB inns have been affected due to the rise of AirBnB listings in the area. The rise of their listings may have caused Raleigh to lose its last bed and breakfast inn. New York City, San Francisco, and Santa Monica are a few cities that implemented strict regulations to make it difficult for the company to operate in their city.

Bed and breakfast inns are unique because they are not like AirBnB or hotel chains. Compared to AirBnB's thousands of rental listings, bed and breakfast inns have a significantly smaller footprint. Are they really suffering from the growth of the online listing platform?

"Businesses are taking two different approaches to AirBnB, either befriending the gorilla in the room or moving on to the next room. A lot of BnBs in Durham have scaled back their services [or] even joined AirBnB.

We took the [other] approach by stepping over the next room and went luxury market, north of $200 [a night] and provide all of the amenities that go with that value," Deanna Crossman (Owner of The King's Daughter Inn, an award-winning BnB).

By being seated near downtown Durham and across from Duke University, it has given the business a competitive edge.

Deanna has decided to focus on a niche market. As a result, her business has not stagnated because her niche market differs from AirBnB's average customer.

Are you on a budget? Consider AirBnB.

Otherwise, if you can pay more, you should consider staying at a bed and breakfast inn. I aim to stay at one whenever possible. I honestly prefer to pay more for a stress-free experience, coupled with triple-sheeted beds, all natural toiletries, individual climate control, and gourmet breakfasts.

Those are some of the many things that you experience during a stay at a BnB like The King's Daughters Inn.