Four Seasons CEO sees Airbnb as formidable force in luxury space

APPTASTIC: Hotels like The Four Seasons are launching apps that allow guests to make special requests, check in and check out, and seek out local recommendations, among other things

Four Seasons isn’t taking Airbnb’s push into high-end lodging lightly. 

“I would be naïve to say that we aren’t being mindful of the Airbnb effect,” Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts chief executive officer Allen Smith said in an interview about the Toronto-based company’s history and future outlook. “It’s just another example of the speed in which the market is changing and the manner in which we need to be prepared to respond to it.”