Over my long career in hospitality, I’ve see many trends come and go. Few have rattled the industry like the home-sharing phenomenon. Here’s how the dominant brand, Airbnb, has challenged the hospitality industry status quo in three important ways.

Renting out your home to complete strangers, while you are still living in it, may feel like a crazy scheme, but the success of Airbnb shows that it is actually a highly successful business model. By 2020, this startup home-sharing business is expected to have earned as much as $3.5 billion. If this goal is reached, Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky will be at the head of one of the most successful young digital businesses in the world. This success begs the question: Why is Airbnb so popular?

What can you expect next time you check in? Read on for 11 expert-forecasted trends.

1. More direct booking for hotel rooms

Learn the skills you’ll need to take on a management role in the international hospitality industry with a degree from Johnson & Wales University. This online Hotel & Lodging Management bachelor’s degree program hones in hotel operations while also focusing on topics such as marketing and branding, international property development, and revenue management.

As the Official Education Partner of the Boston Bruins and TD Garden, Johnson & Wales University can offer its students even more educational opportunities rooted in realistic industry experiences.

There are many ways that technology can support business practices—I highlighted seven in a previous blog post.

One of the biggest problems many companies have today is that while there is a dearth of data, the ability to effectively mine and analyze it to obtain actionable information is still very much a work in progress.

It is always an interesting thought experiment to consider the ways in which technology may be integrated into a business in support of the objectives of that business.

It is really interesting when you are talking about an industry that is over 2,000 years old!

While it seems like a “square peg, round hole” problem, the fact is that technology is already highly integrated into the modern hotel experience and becoming more so each day.

The hospitality industry is constantly growing and changing. Learn about the up-and-coming trends, career paths, and how you can take on a leadership role within this industry through Johnson & Wales University’s online hospitality management bachelor’s degree program.

There are many reasons to go back to school. Whether you’re looking to finish up a program you previously started, advance in your career, or pursue a career change, getting your degree is the first step.

In an industry as competitive and service-oriented as hospitality, some might question the value of getting a degree in hospitality. According to five JWU Online graduates who are currently working in the industry, having a degree is the differentiator they needed to stand out.

There’s a saying: If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. This is especially true for a kitchen manager, who is charged with running the epicenter of a restaurant.