Yahoo Finance What's happened to Uber?
Has Uber lost it’s cool?
The wildly popular “new economy” taxi service is teaming up with Starwood Hotels (HOT) -- owner of such properties as Sheraton and Westin -- to let riders collect Starwood reward points for using Uber.
That might seem like an awfully old fashioned move for a company known for turning the traditional cab industry on its head. But Yahoo Finance’s Aaron Task thinks we shouldn’t be surprised at all.
“They’re not a small company anymore,” he points out. “We talk about them so much because they’ve become so big so quickly, but the fact remains they’ve become very big. So of course this is something that they’d do.”
Plus, adds Yahoo’s Jeff Macke, it’s probably a pretty good deal for Uber
“The didn’t break out the details but I’m going to go out on a limb and say Starwood is paying for the honor of being part of the Uber experience rather than the other way around,” he suggests. “I think that’s the only way this fits consistently with the Uber narrative.”
Task agrees it makes sense for Starwood to hitch its wagon to America’s hottest car service.
“If you’re Starwood, this is a smart thing,” he argues. “It’s something else to give people in your rewards program, which is a program people really like.”
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Macke says for Uber, it’s the kind of step that helps take the company to a whole new level.
“This kind of brings them in a backwards way into the travel industry,” he suggests. “So you get your Uber, you get a little discount with your Starwood thing and it becomes a more comprehensive experience.”
And only Uber can pull something like this off, adds Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli.
“What’s the advantage Uber has over local cab companies,” he asks. “They can have a national centralized program where they can cut a deal with Starwood. Your average local cab company, your average cabbie, can’t do that.”
Macke thinks the deal with Starwood is just a part of how Uber is revolutionizing the taxi industry throughout America.
“They’re not just competing with cabs in the major metropolitan areas of the United States that can actually function with cabs,” he points out. “It’s a viable ride alternative in smaller cities-- Omaha, Minneapolis, where I grew up. You can’t hail a cab there but you can Uber one. So they’re expanding into markets in a much bigger way than people think.”
