French hoteliers suspend their partnership for the 2024 Olympics following an Airbnb deal

French hoteliers are protesting against the new partnership between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Airbnb, which they consider unfair.

The partnership between the IOC and Airbnb offers “guaranteed” accommodation during Olympic events

During the next Olympic events – Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, Paris 2024, Milan 2026, Los Angeles 2028 – Airbnb will offer “guaranteed” accommodation as part of an agreement would be worth $ 500 million by the Financial Time, although the actual value was not disclosed.

Forbes reported that the move is in line with Airbnb’s current strategy to become a key partner in large-scale events, where building hotels to accommodate millions of people just for a few weeks is impractical. It’s a timely move for $ 31 billion Airbnb, which in September announced plans to launch an IPO.

French hoteliers reacted with anger

France is hosting the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and its hoteliers are not happy that Airbnb has obtained such status. The UMIH (Union des Métiers et des Industries de l’Hôtellerie), the main organization representing Parisian hotels and restaurants, issued a public statement slamming the decision.

Quoted in a French economic newspaper The echoes, the president of the UMIH, Roland Héguy, present at its annual conference in Biarritz, described the partnership as “disrespectful towards the professionals of the hotel industry” on Twitter and said his organization “was surprised”.

French hoteliers said they would no longer be involved in Olympic planning

In a joint statement, the president of the National Hotel Chains Group (CNG), Jean-Virgile Crance, and the president of the UMIH Hotels division, Laurent Duc, the two organizations described the partnership as “untimely” and the ‘described it as scandalous. make Airbnb a partner of the IOC when it advocated deregulation around the world.

Laurent Duc said that members of the UMIH had already reserved 40,000 rooms for athletes and spectators, making the Airbnb partnership unnecessary. In response to the announcement, the UMIH will suspend its involvement in the preparatory meetings for the Paris Olympic Games.

The partnership puts additional pressure on the relationship between Airbnb and the Paris City Hall

One of the main tenets of the 9-year partnership between Airbnb and the IOC is that it provides Airbnb with key advertising opportunities in the cities where the Olympic events are held.

This would worsen the already strained relationship between Airbnb and the City of Paris, which fights the sharing platform for its role in rising rents, the lack of affordable housing and allowing people to flout tourist taxes.

Airbnb and UMIH have both been contacted for comment.