HMRC Offers Extra Help Before First Digital Tax Deadline
HM Revenue & Customs is promising more guidance to landlords and sole traders facing their first mandatory quarterly tax update under Making Tax Digital.
Vacation Rental News
New Orleans Raises Short-Term Rental Fees to Patch Budget Gap
The city council voted to raise permit fees on short-term rental hosts, directing the new revenue toward closing a gap in the city's budget.
Airbnb's Dynamic Pricing Push Edges Toward Franchise Model
Airbnb's new built-in pricing tool, paired with talk of design and financing services for hosts, points toward a tighter relationship for operators who list nowhere else.
Missing Payment Options Are Costing Hosts Bookings, Booking.com Finds
A Booking.com survey of accommodation professionals finds nearly two-thirds have watched guests abandon a reservation because their preferred payment method wasn't offered.
Rivals Are Bidding on Your Brand Name in Google Search
Operto says third-party booking sites are buying paid search ads against the names of specific rental brands and properties, pulling guests away before they reach the operator's own booking page.
Fake Travel Sites Hijack Hotel and Rental Bookings on Google
A new industry analysis finds third-party sites posing as official booking channels in Google search results, pulling direct reservations away from hotels and, increasingly, vacation rental brands.
VRMA's Nashville Conference Puts Platform Fees Under the Microscope
The vacation rental industry's largest annual gathering, running this week in Nashville, is dominated by hallway math on new platform commissions and a fresh push to formalize operator training.
AI-Polished Airbnb Photos Raise Refund Risk for Hosts
AI tools that erase clutter, add furniture or swap in a better sky are making listing photos easier to fake, and the gap between picture and property can cost hosts a refund claim or their Superhost status.
Spain's Christmas Bookings Jump 76% But Arrive Later
Domestic reservations for the 2025-26 Christmas season are running well ahead of last year, but travelers are booking closer to departure, squeezing the runway hosts normally use to plan pricing.
Most US Property Managers Expect Revenue Growth in 2027
A Key Data survey finds 76.8% of professional property managers expect 2027 revenue to rise, even as 64.2% brace for tougher competition over guests.
Italy Links National Rental Code to Tax Fraud Checks
The Ministry of Tourism has opened a new data system, BDSR LENS, that lets regional authorities, municipal police and Italy's financial police cross-check every listing's national ID code against tax and property records.
Most Long-Stay Travelers Say Rental Options Don't Fit, Landing Finds
Landing's new report finds nearly three-quarters of travelers booking longer stays say the accommodations available to them don't match what they actually need.
Booking.com Pulls Fake Madrid Listing After Host Account Hack
Booking.com has removed a Madrid listing for an apartment that never existed, after a hacked host account was used to defraud hundreds of travelers.
Small-Host AI Use Jumps From 14% to 58% in a Year
PriceLabs says the share of small short-term rental hosts using artificial intelligence tools to run their listings rose from 14% in 2025 to 58% now, a figure the pricing vendor says comes from its own research.
Vrbo to Loosen Rate Parity Rule After Commission Backlash
Vrbo plans to relax the clause forcing hosts to match its prices elsewhere, after raising host commissions drew complaints that guest fee cuts were just cost-shifting.
Bartech Brings QR-Code Minibars to Vacation Rentals
Bartech is selling short-term rental hosts a $9.99-a-month minibar system that skips inventory sensors and PMS hookups in favor of guests scanning a code to pay.
PriceLabs Adds AI Analyst to Flag Pricing Problems at Scale
PriceLabs has launched Athena, an AI tool it says scans managed listings around the clock and flags pricing and performance problems before a revenue manager has to go looking for them.
Airbnb Moves to Rework Luxe, Its High-End Listings Arm
Airbnb is said to be redesigning Luxe, its invite-only tier for its priciest homes, though the company has not confirmed what will change or when.
Rental Trade Groups Back New Operator Training, Skip the Details
A coalition of short-term rental trade groups and management companies is throwing its weight behind a new operator education push, though it has not said who runs it, what it costs or who checks the work.
UK Agency Warns Holiday-Let Tax Shift Could Wipe Out Profit
Modelling from holiday-cottage agency Finest Retreats finds that reclassifying qualifying holiday lets as second homes could cut the average managed property's annual profit by 96 percent.
Rental Managers Bet on a Stronger 2027, Brace for OTA Return
Key Data's annual outlook survey finds short-term rental managers more confident on revenue and occupancy for 2027, even as they expect tougher competition and a bigger reliance on OTAs.
20 Regional Operators Merge Into Founder-Owned Rental Network
Pavilion, a new national vacation rental company built from twenty independently founded property managers overseeing more than 5,000 homes, launched in New York on October 5 as an alternative to private-equity-backed roll-ups.
Arabella Hospitality Opens Milan Unit, Names Foschini CEO
Arabella Hospitality is setting up a wholly owned Italian subsidiary based in Milan, with Nicola Foschini taking over as CEO starting in October.
Pavilion Buys Into 20 Rental Managers Without Taking Full Control
Pavilion has combined 20 vacation rental management companies into one group but left ownership and software decisions mostly in the operators' hands.