Expedia Signals New Push to Grow Its Vacation Rental Business
Expedia Group says it wants to speed up growth in vacation rentals, but has released almost nothing on fees, tools or timelines for Vrbo hosts.
Global Vacation Rental News
Vrbo Adds Discount Tools to Chase Price-Sensitive Travelers
Expedia has rolled out a batch of new features for Vrbo hosts, led by a tool for building discounts and promotions aimed at budget-conscious travelers.
AirDNA Now Competes With the Pricing Tools It Feeds Data To
The short-term rental data firm has built its own dynamic pricing product, putting it in direct competition with revenue management platforms that license its market data.
Vrbo Lets Hosts Pay for Higher Search Placement
Vrbo has started inserting paid, sponsored listings into its vacation rental search results, adding a pay-to-play layer on top of its existing ranking algorithm.
Concert Calendars Are Now Driving Hostel Booking Spikes
Young travelers are booking one- and two-night city trips timed to specific concerts and festivals, and hostel chains are starting to plan occupancy around tour dates rather than seasons.
Forecast Puts Short-Term Rental Market at $362 Billion by 2033
A market research firm projects the global short-term rental management sector will more than double in size by 2033, though the number covers far more than platform bookings.
Report Puts Numbers on Rental Experience Sales, Details Thin
A new industry report claims to quantify how often vacation rental guests buy tours and add-on experiences, but it discloses little about how the numbers were collected.
Airbnb Blurs the Line on What Counts as Direct
Airbnb's test of lower fees for hosts who bring their own guests is forcing operators to rethink what a truly commission-free booking looks like.
Guests Are Sweeping Rentals for Hidden Cameras Before Check-In
Cheap detection tools are turning camera disclosure into a live compliance risk for short-term rental hosts, not just a line in the listing.
Airbnb Trials Lower Fees for Hosts Who Bring Guests
Airbnb is testing a discounted service fee for hosts who already have a guest lined up before booking, but the reservation still runs through Airbnb's system.
Nearly 75% of Rental Add-On Bookings Happen Before Check-In
Digital concierge platform Localbird says most guests book tours, transfers and other extras days before arrival, not once they're already staying.
AI Agents That Book Stays Directly Set Off a Distribution Fight
AI tools that can search, compare and book accommodation on their own are pushing hotels, OTAs and rental platforms to decide who controls the booking screen.
Lodgify Bets on AI: Dynamic Pricing, an AI Co-Host and a ChatGPT Booking Pilot
The Barcelona platform shipped five AI-led products and two new plans, including a free direct-booking tier and a pilot that routes ChatGPT travel searches straight to host websites.
Fee Gaps Between Airbnb and Booking.com Widen Choices for Hosts
Commission structures, cancellation defaults and payout timing now diverge enough between Airbnb and Booking.com that listing on both without adjusting pricing can quietly erode margin.
Owners Now Demand Proof of Insurance From Rental Managers
Property managers are being asked to show errors-and-omissions and general liability coverage before owners will sign a management agreement in 2026.
Airbnb Leans on Tripadvisor to Fill Its Experiences Gap
Airbnb will start selling Tripadvisor Group's tours and activities inventory inside its own app later this year, under a deal neither company has priced publicly.
Australia Under Pressure to Publish Airbnb Housing Review
Asia-Pacific: Housing advocates and opposition lawmakers want Canberra to release a completed government review into short-term rentals as rental vacancy rates stay near historic lows.
Airbnb Fee Switch Leaves Hosts With Smaller Payouts
Hosts say Airbnb has been quietly moving some listings onto a different fee model, and the change can shrink what a booking actually pays out.
Safety Gear Is Now Something Hosts Must Prove, Not Just Own
Insurers and booking platforms are pushing hosts to document safety equipment in writing, not just install it and hope nobody checks.
Host Software Moves From Reporting Data To Giving Orders
Property management platforms are starting to replace metric-heavy dashboards with screens that tell hosts the one task to do next.