The Nightly Rate - Short Term Vacation Rental News
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View all →Miami Condo Sublet Turns Into Airbnb Party House, HOA Cracks Down
A Miami condo unit rented out on Airbnb by a tenant without permission has landlords and associations tightening sublet rules again.
Ten Buyers Borrow $25M to Take Over Former Vacasa Turf
Viso Business Capital says it has lined up roughly $25 million in SBA-backed loans for ten operators buying Casago franchise rights to former Vacasa management territories.
Regulations
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US Short-Term Rental Rules Still Vary Block by Block
A listing that is fully compliant in one city can be unlicensed a few streets over, and hosts running properties in more than one market are left tracking state, county and municipal rules one at a time.
RegulationsGlobal
Charity Urges NSW to Impose 7.5% Short-Let Levy
Asia-Pacific: Homelessness NSW wants a 7.5% charge on every short-term rental booking in New South Wales, arguing it could raise close to AUD $50 million a year for homelessness services.
RegulationsGlobal
Barcelona, New York and Santa Monica Still Lock Out Whole-Home Rentals
A city-by-city look at where short-term rental rules remain tightest shows registration, licensing and outright bans still define which markets operators can actually work in.
OTAs Updates
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OTAs UpdatesGlobal
Airbnb Hands Global Policy Job to Ex-Lime Executive
Airbnb has named David Spielfogel global head of public policy as Jay Carney exits, putting a new hand in charge of the company's fights with city regulators.
OTAs UpdatesGlobal
Airbnb Loses Its Top Policy Voice as Carney Departs
Jay Carney is leaving Airbnb's policy and communications post, handing the company's regulatory fights to an executive who built her track record defending Lime's scooters in city hall.
OTAs UpdatesGlobal
Airbnb's New AI Filter Reshapes What Guests See First
Airbnb has folded AI deeper into search ranking and guest messaging by summer 2026, and hosts are still working out what the platform's own filtering actually rewards.
Market Data
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US Vacation Rental Revenue Jumps 26% in September
Short-term rental revenue rose sharply last month, though the figures released so far don't say whether it was rate growth, occupancy, or both.
2026 World Cup Seen Adding $276.7m to Rental Revenue
An industry analysis pegs additional short-term rental revenue tied to the 2026 World Cup at $276.7 million across host markets.
Technology
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Wander Absorbs Maple's Team to Bulk Up Booking Platform
Vacation rental marketplace and technology provider Wander has hired the team behind family-organisation app Maple to work on its WanderOS direct booking platform for property managers.
Boston Brownstone Takes On Hotel Chains With Cloud PMS
A nine-room guest house in Boston's Back Bay is competing with branded hotel chains on booking technology rather than joining one, after new owners rebuilt its systems around a cloud property management platform.
TechnologyGlobal
Why Multi-Platform Hosts Are Turning to Channel Manager Software
as hosts spread listings across more OTAs, channel manager software has become the tool that stops calendars from colliding.
Frequently asked questions
What is The Nightly Rate, and who is it for?
The Nightly Rate is a daily news roundup of the short-term and vacation rental industry, written for professional operators, property managers, OTA and PMS product teams, and tourism policy staff.
What is a short-term rental, and how is it different from a long-term rental?
A short-term rental (STR) is a furnished residential property rented to guests for stays of fewer than 30 consecutive nights, priced per night and managed by the operator, and it is usually regulated as a distinct activity from a standard long-term tenancy.
What does OTA mean in short-term rentals, and which OTAs matter most?
OTA stands for Online Travel Agency: a booking platform that lists inventory from many hosts, takes the reservation and charges a commission. For short-term rentals the OTAs that drive most third-party demand are Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo, with Expedia and Google Vacation Rentals relevant in some markets.
What are ADR, occupancy and RevPAR in short-term rentals, and how are they calculated?
ADR (Average Daily Rate) is accommodation revenue divided by booked nights. Occupancy is booked nights divided by available nights. RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Rental) is accommodation revenue divided by available nights, or ADR multiplied by occupancy.
What is a direct booking in vacation rentals, and why do hosts want more of them?
A direct booking is a reservation made through the operator's own website or channels instead of a third-party OTA. Hosts want more of them to avoid OTA commission, own the guest relationship and reduce exposure to platform policy changes.
How are short-term rentals regulated, and what rules typically apply?
Short-term rental regulation typically covers registration or permitting, licensing conditions, annual night caps and tourist or occupancy taxes, with the specific thresholds set city by city and revised often.
What is dynamic pricing for short-term rentals, and how does it work?
Dynamic pricing adjusts a rental's nightly rate continuously in response to demand signals such as booking pace, competitor rates, lead time, day of week, seasonality and local events, aiming to lift ADR when demand is strong and protect occupancy when it is soft.