In reviewing the new 10k of Booking Holdings (BKNG), I noticed that the company outlined how the U.S. market is different than others - the U.S. has concentrated lodging in a narrow range of hotel chains, while offerings in other markets are much more diverse.
It is striking, giving the notion of American individuality, that diversity of products is so much greater in other countries. For example, Hershey's led the chocolate space for so long. The mediocre quality of its chocolate was arguably due to the extensive transportation and shelf life issues it faced. Why was that compelling as opposed to regional chocolatiers?
This same issue seems to arise in several consumer categories. Was it driven by the sizeable and easily navigated transportation infrastructure? Was it driven by the dominance of three television networks and the natural advantages that large scale companies had (big ad budgets, but lower per item ad costs)? Is it the convergence of the two?
The "millennials" have changed with greater diversity in preferences, but it's not difficult to see that this diversity may be the result of changed and fragmented viewing and listening patterns. If so, I would expect to see similar patterns continue to emerge in the lodging space - as Airbnb popularity seems to indicate.
