Short-term rental operations, tools and guest experience

Airbnb
Vrbo
Booking.com
Regulations
Data and Pricing
Funding and M&A
Direct Booking
Operations

Running a short-term rental well comes down to operations: turnovers, guest communication, screening, insurance, taxes and the software stack that holds it together. This page gathers The Host Report's coverage of property management systems, smart locks and home tech, cleaning and maintenance services, guest-screening and damage-protection tools, tax and accounting changes and the wave of AI features being added to host software. Stories run newest first with a plain-English take on what is worth adopting.

Vrbo’s Largest-Ever Product Launch Adds Paid Search Placement

Sponsored Listings lead a wider launch that also includes new rates, cancellation policies, and guest tools.

Dom Trovato
|
September 4, 2026

The Booking Window Is Not Shrinking. It Depends Where You Host.

We tracked the same 1,056 US listings for five years. City stays collapsed by a quarter. Cabin stays got longer.

Jeff Brown
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August 31, 2026

New Report Puts Real Numbers on Vacation Rental Experience Bookings

Fresh data shows who books vacation rental experiences, what they buy, and when they decide.

Dom Trovato
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August 30, 2026

Old dogs, new tricks: Why even 30-year veterans need to keep learning

The industry keeps changing. Good operators change with it.

Jodi Refosco
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August 27, 2026

Casago Completes the Sale of All Former Vacasa Markets

Just over a year after the $130 million acquisition, every former Vacasa market has been sold

Dom Trovato
|
August 21, 2026

Tripadvisor's Experiences Are Coming to Airbnb

A year after a $200 million relaunch of Experiences, Airbnb is adding Viator's catalog of proven sellers.

Dom Trovato
|
August 18, 2026

Why destination knowledge is becoming a property manager's competitive advantage

Five ways to differentiate on the experience around your listing, not just the amenities inside it.

Ben Levy
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August 14, 2026

Airbnb’s Q2 2026 Earnings: 5 Things Hosts Should Pay Attention To

Airbnb is changing how guests search, how hosts price, and what travelers can book. Here’s what its latest earnings call reveals about where the platform is headed.

Dom Trovato
|
August 11, 2026

Going Direct? Here's What You Take on When You Become The Merchant of Record

Taxes, fraud, chargebacks, and payment risks don't disappear when you leave the OTAs, they just become your responsibility.

Abby Grous
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August 10, 2026

What a 200-Night Rental Cap Actually Does to Revenue

We modeled a year of Salt Lake City listing data against a 200-night cap. Nearly half of active rentals would have run out of nights, and the smallest properties were hit hardest.

Quinn Monescalchi
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August 5, 2026

Late Summer Bookings Are Running Ahead of Last Year

KeyData shows September pacing 13% ahead on occupancy and 11% ahead on nightly rate, a reversal from where late summer sat a year ago

Dom Trovato
|
August 3, 2026

Unclear Pricing Tops the List of Vacation Rental Deal Breakers

Three of the five biggest deal breakers in Vrbo's new traveler survey are about fees, not the nightly rate

Dom Trovato
|
July 31, 2026

TravelAI Buys the Sonder Brand and Relaunches Sonder.com

The deal covers trademarks and domain names only, eight months after Sonder's properties went dark

Dom Trovato
|
July 28, 2026

Guests Grade You on Six Things. Only Some of Them Pay

We looked at 40,087 listings. The score most hosts obsess over is not the one that tracks with revenue

Jeff Brown
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July 27, 2026

Hosts Made More During the World Cup by Raising Prices, Not Filling More Nights

KeyData found revenue rose in all 13 host cities, almost entirely from what hosts charged per night

Dom Trovato
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July 23, 2026

Airbnb Launches Car Rentals With CarTrawler

The service is live in the U.S., France, Italy, Spain, and Australia, with up to 20% back in Airbnb credit on a first rental

Dom Trovato
|
July 20, 2026

PriceLabs Expands to Mobile, AI Tools, and a Bigger API

The pricing platform now runs on your phone and inside AI assistants like Claude

Dom Trovato
|
July 15, 2026

Your Airbnb Clicks Are a Pricing Signal. Here’s How to Read Them

Airbnb already shows you the demand for every future night. Most hosts price without ever opening it.

Jeff Brown
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July 13, 2026

Casago Launches a Locally Led Franchise in Belize

Casago's Vacasa conversion crosses into Central America

Dom Trovato
|
July 7, 2026

Why 10 Units Is Where Short-Term Rental Operators Hit a Wall

PriceLabs surveyed 750+ operators running 5 to 50 properties. Most are full-time, run lean teams, and rank a bad review as their biggest threat.

Dom Trovato
|
July 3, 2026

Technology Plus People: The Guide to Successful Software Integration for Vacation Rentals

Delivering exceptional guest experiences for property managers begins with selecting the right software provider, one that places people at the forefront of their work.

Tim Rosolio
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July 2, 2026

The property managers getting the most from AI are the ones staying in control

AI can now read your bookings, maintenance log, guest history, and financials in real time. The operators who work that out will have a meaningful edge over those who don't.

Nik Logachev
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June 30, 2026

Hospitable Will Now Automate Lodging Taxes in All 50 States

The feature covers registration, calculation, filing, and remittance for direct, Vrbo, and upsell bookings

Dom Trovato
|
June 29, 2026

Hostaway Launches an AI CoHost

A new AI assistant that covers the digital side of co-hosting.

Dom Trovato
|
June 26, 2026

Vrbo Confirms It's Testing Sponsored Listings

A pay-per-click ad product that lets operators buy placement above organic search results. Pricing isn't disclosed yet, and a wider rollout is planned for later in 2026.

Dom Trovato
|
June 19, 2026

Some Airbnb Stays Come With Free FIFA World Cup Tickets

A curated, invite-only program at about 150 listings across all 16 host cities, funded entirely by Airbnb

Dom Trovato
|
June 16, 2026

New Tool Shows Property Managers Which Self-Managed Listings to Target

KeyData's new Owner Acquisition platform matches listing performance estimates with public ownership records

Dom Trovato
|
June 12, 2026

The Free Pricing Lever Most Airbnb Hosts Are Ignoring

Among U.S. listings that already have a sauna, the ones that mention it in the title earn 28% more per night than the ones that don't — and four out of five don't. The same goes for your pool and your hot tub.

Jeff Brown
|
June 10, 2026

Airbnb Adds Earnings Protection and an Extended Cancellation Option

One is paid insurance against lost income. The other lets guests buy more flexibility while host's payout stays protected.

Dom Trovato
|
June 9, 2026

Sonder's Founder Launches a New AI Travel Agent

Six months after Sonder's bankruptcy, Francis Davidson is back with Odessia, an app that plans and books entire trips in one conversation

Dom Trovato
|
June 5, 2026

Airbnb Invests $58M in WeRoad and Hires Its CEO to Run Hotels

The deal gives Airbnb a 10% stake in a European group-trip platform, plus the executive who will lead its boutique hotel push

Dom Trovato
|
June 2, 2026

Premium Markets Pull Ahead This Summer as Value Markets Slip

New KeyData pacing shows occupancy falling in budget destinations even as rates rise

Dom Trovato
|
June 1, 2026

New Data Reveals What's Actually Driving Vacation Rental Revenue in 2026

A joint Hospitable and IntelliHost report on 4.1M+ listings and 460,000+ reservations exposes three patterns most hosts are getting wrong

Dom Trovato
|
May 28, 2026

Airbnb's 2026 Summer Release Changes How Listings Get Shown to Guests

AI personalizes which photos, reviews, and amenities each guest sees, and custom house rules now run through Airbnb's approval

Dom Trovato
|
May 22, 2026

U.S. Vacation Rental Stays Grew Nearly 10% Longer in 2025

A new joint 2026 outlook from PriceLabs and Rentals United shows U.S. supply climbed to 1.6 million listings in 2025 as average occupancy slipped to 51%

Dom Trovato
|
May 18, 2026

Lodgify Launches Dynamic Pricing, an AI Co-Host, and a ChatGPT Direct-Booking Pilot

The Barcelona PMS bundles five product launches and two new plans for hosts

Dom Trovato
|
May 13, 2026

What Hosts Need to Know About Airbnb's Q1 Results

Strong Q1 numbers, but the real story is what Chesky teed up for May 20th

Dom Trovato
|
May 12, 2026

AirDNA Announces a New Dynamic Pricing Tool

The data company's move into revenue management puts it in direct competition with PriceLabs, Beyond, and Wheelhouse

Dom Trovato
|
May 6, 2026

Airbnb Guests Can Now Earn Delta Miles on Experiences and Services

The expanded partnership triples the earn rate for Experiences compared to stays

Dom Trovato
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May 5, 2026

Fixing the Broken Guest Journey: Why Fragmented Systems Are Holding STRs Back

Five questions every operator should ask before adding another tool to the stack

Ari Eryorulmaz
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May 5, 2026

Vacation Rentals Are Coming to the Uber App

More than 1 million Vrbo properties will be bookable through Uber later in 2026

Dom Trovato
|
April 30, 2026

250,000 Google Ads Are Targeting Hospitality Brand Names

New AI skills are targeting a distribution problem that costs operators millions in unnecessary OTA commissions

Dom Trovato
|
April 27, 2026

Airbnb Hits 50% of U.S. Reservations as Direct Bookings Slide

Key Data's Q2 2026 report shows a stabilizing market where ADR is driving gains, but channel share keeps shifting toward OTAs

Dom Trovato
|
April 24, 2026

What the Highest-Performing Hosts Do Differently

Five lessons from PriceLabs’ 2026 Host Stories winners on pricing, operations, amenities, guest communication, and scaling smarter

Sharon Biggar
|
April 22, 2026

Casago Launches Idaho Franchise With 120 Homes in Boise and McCall

The expansion continues Casago's post-Vacasa playbook of converting markets to locally owned operations

Dom Trovato
|
April 17, 2026

Airbnb's Split-Fee Toggle Is a Bug, Not a Policy Change

The option reappeared for hosts on the same day Airbnb completed its final host-only fee migration

Dom Trovato
|
April 16, 2026

Hospitality Tech Startups Raise $1 Billion in 12 Months

Investment doubled year-over-year, with property management and AI-powered platforms attracting the largest rounds.

Dom Trovato
|
April 14, 2026

Airbnb Bans AI Evidence for Damage Claims in New Terms of Service Update

New rules target AI-generated photos, smoke odor disputes, and require every existing host to re-accept terms by April 20th.

Dom Trovato
|
April 13, 2026

Airbnb Says It's "Absolutely Thinking About" Adding Flights

Airbnb CBO Dave Stephenson confirmed flights are on the table, but stressed the company has nothing to announce yet.

Dom Trovato
|
April 8, 2026

Hostaway Upgrades Its Direct Booking Website Builder

Booking Website Pro replaces Hostaway's basic site builder with improved SEO and marketing tools

Dom Trovato
|
April 7, 2026

Hospitable Launches a Free Plan for Managing Listings Across Platforms

The new Essentials plan removes subscription fees for channel management across Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo

Dom Trovato
|
April 3, 2026

Airbnb Launches Private Car Service in 125+ Cities

Private car transfers become the latest addition to Airbnb's growing Services category

Dom Trovato
|
April 1, 2026

Lake.com Launches Membership Plans for Vacation Rental Hosts

Two new annual memberships offer 0% commission and direct booking tools on featured listings

Dom Trovato
|
March 31, 2026

Idaho's New Law Stops Cities From Regulating Short Term Rentals

Starting July 1st, Idaho cities can't require permits, cap the number of STRs, or limit rental days

Dom Trovato
|
March 30, 2026

Easter Bookings Jump in 18 of 22 European Markets

Nightly rates are up everywhere, but affordable Eastern European cities are seeing the fastest demand growth

Dom Trovato
|
March 26, 2026

Deloitte Outlines 5 Problems Facing the Hospitality Industry

The report lays out what's pressuring hotels, vacation rentals, and cruises, and what the industry should do about it.

Dom Trovato
|
March 24, 2026

Pass the Keys Launches a Quality Guarantee Based on Guest Reviews

The company will waive its management fee for any stay rated below 4 stars on Airbnb

Dom Trovato
|
March 20, 2026

Trusting the Algorithm: Business Strategy Changes and How to Handle Them

As AI-powered tools become more common in property management strategy, many operators are finding it difficult to balance human expertise and algorithmic speed

Marcus Räder
|
March 17, 2026

eviivo Adds Automated Owner Statements to Its Property Management System

The update targets the manual spreadsheet work that still slows down property management companies as portfolios grow

Dom Trovato
|
March 17, 2026

Key Data Launches Dex AI

The new AI engine built into Key Data delivers daily performance summaries, market benchmarking, and custom dashboards

Dom Trovato
|
March 13, 2026

Discounting for Visibility? What STR Operators Should Really Be Thinking About

As platforms experiment with discount-driven visibility, STR operators face a deeper question: are you pricing to fill nights, or paying for placement in someone else’s marketplace?

Amber Knight
|
March 12, 2026

Breezeway Secures Growth Investment from Resurgens Technology Partners

The property operations platform plans to accelerate AI development and international expansion, backed by Resurgens' $800 million fund.

Dom Trovato
|
March 12, 2026

CozySuites Acquires Roami Out of Bankruptcy for $6.3 Million

Court filings reveal the full deal terms behind the acquisition of the once-fast-growing STR operator

Dom Trovato
|
March 10, 2026

Proper Insurance Acquired by Specialty Program Group

The STR insurance provider has written over 200,000 policies across all 50 states

Dom Trovato
|
March 9, 2026

Concert Demand Isn’t Seasonal: Why Emotion Is the Missing Variable in STR Pricing

Understanding how fixed-date, emotion-driven travel reshapes pricing, pace, and stay patterns

Quinn Monescalchi
|
March 4, 2026

Airbnb Tests Airport Pickups

Private car transfer service pilot launches in select cities outside North America

Dom Trovato
|
March 2, 2026

Casago Expands Into Northeast Florida and Coastal Georgia

Impact Holdings takes over former Vacasa markets in St. Augustine, Amelia Island, and St. Simons Island

Dom Trovato
|
February 27, 2026

Airbnb Offers $750 to New Hosts in World Cup Cities

The company's largest-ever new host incentive targets entire-home listings across all 16 North American host cities

Dom Trovato
|
February 26, 2026

Vrbo Partners With WeatherPromise to Offer Bad-Weather Refunds

The new add-on automatically pays guests if it rains too much during their trip.

Dom Trovato
|
February 24, 2026

Airbnb Experiments With Discounts Tied to Search Ranking

Is this the start of a new guest loyalty program?

Dom Trovato
|
February 22, 2026

Airbnb Expands Reserve Now, Pay Later Worldwide

$0-upfront bookings go global after strong U.S. adoption

Dom Trovato
|
February 19, 2026

What Hosts Need to Know About Airbnb's Q4 Results

Record revenue for Airbnb, but Hosts navigate fee changes, hotel growth, and new initiatives

Dom Trovato
|
February 17, 2026

Why So Many STR Owner-Property Manager Relationships Fall Apart

Misaligned expectations, unclear operating models, and weak onboarding are quietly driving owner churn across STRs

Emily Tunggala
|
February 16, 2026

Casago Founder Steve Schwab to Step Down as CEO, Transition to Chairman

President Joe Riley named next CEO

Dom Trovato
|
February 13, 2026

World Cup Bookings Surge, but Stays Get Shorter

New data shows sharp demand spikes in host cities, but shorter stays could limit revenue for operators with rigid rules.

Dom Trovato
|
February 11, 2026

Pricing Isn’t the Problem for Most Underperforming Airbnb Listings

New data shows content quality and visibility issues often outweigh pricing strategy

Dom Trovato
|
February 8, 2026

What Top-Performing Vrbo Listings Have in Common

Hostaway data shows detailed amenities, strong visuals, and clear location signals drive higher performance.

Dom Trovato
|
February 5, 2026

Super Bowl 2026 Drives Early Revenue Surge for Bay Area Short-Term Rentals

Listings near Levi’s Stadium are pacing at nearly 3x last year’s revenue

Dom Trovato
|
February 3, 2026

Repeat Guests Are Costing STR Operators Millions in OTA Fees

New data shows a small share of direct bookings can capture the vast majority of repeat revenue

Dom Trovato
|
February 2, 2026

Hilton Launches Apartment Collection With Placemakr Partnership

The Placemakr partnership brings 3,000 furnished apartments to Hilton’s system

Dom Trovato
|
January 27, 2026

Hosts are Pausing Growth to Focus on Marketing in 2026

Hostaway’s 2026 STR report shows marketing spend rising as expansion plans cool

Dom Trovato
|
January 23, 2026

Hospitable Launches Trip Insurance That Pays Hosts Commissions

New automated upsell lets guests buy travel protection while hosts unlock a passive income stream

Dom Trovato
|
January 22, 2026

Kasa absorbs nearly 1,000 Mint House units

The all-equity deal expands Kasa’s management platform across premier U.S. markets

Dom Trovato
|
January 19, 2026

Casago Expands Across Daytona Beach

152 former Vacasa homes in Volusia County, Florida shift to an existing Casago operator

Dom Trovato
|
January 18, 2026

What Trump’s Housing Proposals Mean for STR Investors

A proposed investor ban and a $200B mortgage bond purchase carry very different risks for short-term rental owners.

Dom Trovato
|
January 15, 2026

Expedia Integrates Vrbo Properties Into Its API

Over 900,000 vacation rentals will now appear across Expedia’s wider network, giving hosts broader reach without new channels to manage

Dom Trovato
|
January 13, 2026

Direct Booking Push Continues as Simply Owners Integrates with SuperControl

The new integration makes direct bookings easier for British STR owners

Dom Trovato
|
January 12, 2026

New Data Shows 40% of Hosts are Pausing Growth Plans

Survey of 550+ hosts highlights rising competition and costs driving the shift toward caution

Dom Trovato
|
January 9, 2026

New Forces are Pushing Quiet Luxury to the Center of Hospitality Design

As costs rise and guest preferences evolve, designers are choosing high quality essentials over loud decorations.

Dom Trovato
|
January 7, 2026

The Biggest Short-Term Rental Trends of 2025

A year of platform shifts, new tech, and major economic forces that reshaped how hosts operate.

Dom Trovato
|
January 3, 2026

HomeAway Sues Michigan Over $18.7 Million Tax Bill

The platform says hosts, not the company, were responsible for paying the taxes.

Dom Trovato
|
December 29, 2025

World Cup Schedule Triggers Massive Booking Spike Across North America

Data shows East Coast cities dominating early demand while the West Coast struggles to keep pace

Dom Trovato
|
December 23, 2025

Direct Bookings Jump 91% as Hosts Push to Cut Fees

New data shows operators saved $6.9 million in 2025 by shifting more reservations to their own channels

Dom Trovato
|
December 21, 2025

Airbnb Tightens New Year’s Eve Anti-Party Screening

Last year’s system blocked more than 23,000 high-risk bookings across major markets

Dom Trovato
|
December 19, 2025

A Data-Driven Look at How 2025 Reshaped the STR Market

Tighter regulation, later bookings, longer stays, and rising occupancy defined performance across major regions.

Dom Trovato
|
December 18, 2025

Spain fines Airbnb $75 million for unlicensed STRs

Regulators say more than 65,000 listings violated national rules as Spain escalates enforcement

Dom Trovato
|
December 17, 2025

Hosts Say Staffing Problems Are Now a Top Business Risk

Survey shows one in three operators lost revenue because of cleaner shortages or contractor issues

Dom Trovato
|
December 11, 2025

Vrbo Releases New Ski Season Data

Earlier bookings, rising demand, and changing traveler behavior across U.S. ski markets

Dom Trovato
|
December 10, 2025

Vacation Rental Demand Climbs Across Europe’s Top Christmas Market Cities

Bookings outpace last year across all markets, and constrained inventory in France fuels the highest average nightly prices of the season.

Dom Trovato
|
December 8, 2025

Guesty Rolls Out an AI Revenue Management Agent

A new AI layer inside the PMS targets revenue leaks operators might be missing

Dom Trovato
|
December 3, 2025

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