Hospitality Today Aug-Sep 2016 | Page 5

hospitalitytoday.com | 5 consequently to assume that the brand also stands behind its product, taking responsibility for basic things like safety. Hilton does of course but Airbnb does not. It and the other “collaborative economy” platforms deny any responsibility for the accommodation they sell to their customers. Many are asking: are consumers happy with this - or are they simply unaware? Many of Lowcost’s customers said they were unaware that they did not have the financial protection they would have had if they had booked with a traditional tour operator. It is a brave new world, where a huge global “travel” company can be run by a handful of IT geeks, lawyers