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Latest news
Every story the desk has filed, newest first: the crackdowns, the platform moves, the money, host life, design, the stays going viral, the markets and the world.
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Host Life
The Short-Term Rental Bathroom Standard That Saves Bookings
Why a minor investment in hospitality-grade bathroom amenities is the ultimate protection against bad reviews and falling search ranks.
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Platforms
Vrbo Sued Over Fatal Dominican Republic Fire as Safety Shield Cracks
A devastating wrongful death lawsuit over a Caribbean rental fire that killed four family members threatens to dismantle the legal shields of the shor
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Platforms
The Great Search Squeeze: Vrbo and Airbnb Push Pay-to-Play Just as AI Threatens to Bypass OTAs
As Vrbo launches sponsored listings and Airbnb eyes a billion-dollar ad business, emerging AI agents like Instinct are preparing to ignore paid rankin
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The Money
Renting to Film Crews Requires Massive Premium Pricing
When location scouts offer triple your nightly rate, it sounds like easy money. The reality is a high-risk commercial operation that can wreck your pr
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Platforms
Airbnb Expands Instacart Grocery Integration Across the United States and Canada
The booking giant is embedding grocery delivery directly into the guest journey. But who carries the operational burden when the milk spoils on the fr
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Platforms
Airbnb’s Pivot into Hotels: Inside the Multi-Billion-Dollar Assault on Legacy OTAs
Once built on the promise of "forgetting hotels," Brian Chesky’s platform is now listing them. Here is what it means for your bookings and the future
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World
The Byron Bay Warning Shot for Coastal Short-Term Rentals
As Australia's premier coastal market prepares to enforce a brutal 60-day annual limit, professional hosts worldwide must prepare for the new era of m
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Design
The Death of the Twenty Seven Thousand Dollar Cabin Dream
A Connecticut carpenter built a design-forward empire on five cheap acres in upstate New York. Ten years later, his playbook is both legendary and imp
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The Money
The Real Cost of Realtor.com's Secondary Market Predictions
Realtor.com wants owners to buy into under-the-radar markets. But the operational reality of secondary-market hosting is a far cry from the portal's r
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Platforms
Google Vacation Rentals Cuts Out the OTA Middleman
By opening direct booking links to property managers, the search monopoly takes aim at the multi-billion-dollar tollbooths of Airbnb and Vrbo.
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Design
The Demolition of Civic Dignity: How Britain’s Admiralty Estates Became High-Yield Airbnbs
As historic naval assets and public monuments transition into private holiday rentals, a fierce battle is erupting over architectural preservation, ta
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World
The Peak District Tourist Tax Fight Signals a Dangerous New Era for UK Hosts
As the newly elected East Midlands Mayor faces pressure to introduce a tourism tax, rural holiday let operators warn of economic disaster for the Peak
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Markets
The Great Canvas Crash: Why the Glamping Market Has Hit a Hard Ceiling
Thousands of pandemic-era canvas tents and geodesic domes are sitting empty as supply outpaces demand, regulatory crackdowns intensify, and operationa
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Design
Renovated West Virginia Fire Tower Highlights the Brutal Reality of Novelty STRs
A newly renovated lookout tower in West Virginia highlights the extreme costs, liabilities, and operational realities of experiential short-term renta
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World
Labour Targets Holiday Cottages in a High-Stakes Tax Raid on British Hosts
The abolition of the Furnished Holiday Let regime is no longer a distant Tory threat. The new government is preparing a swift fiscal squeeze that will
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Crackdown
Historic Districts Are Banning Exterior Lockboxes to Deter short-term rentals
Preservation boards are using aesthetic guidelines to block automated check-ins, forcing physical key handoffs and pricing out remote investors.
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Crackdown
Skokie Rolls Back Rental Rules as Suburban Crackdowns Hit a Wall of Reality
When high taxes met high enforcement costs, this Chicago suburb realized that punishing local home-sharers was a losing game. Other towns are watching
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The Money
The Coastal Cool Down: What the Hilton Head Summer Showdown Means for Short Term Rentals
New data from South Carolina's premier beach market reveals a stark shift in the battle for occupancy. As traditional resorts claw back market share,
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Exposed
The Silent Parasite: How Crypto Miners Are Bankrupting Mid-Term Rental Hosts
Tech-savvy renters are converting month-long stays into makeshift server farms, leaving hosts with catastrophic utility bills that completely erase op
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Host Life
The Cost of Global Reach: Inside Booking.com’s High-Stakes 2026 Algorithmic Shift
As the European travel giant reshapes its Genius loyalty program and demands higher discounts, short-term rental operators face a critical choice betw
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Markets
Guesty Acquires Smily to Corner the Nine Billion Dollar French Market
As Guesty swallows yet another localized property management system, independent operators face the cold reality of software consolidation and the dea
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Airbnb Experiences and Host Services Are Back to Save Squeezed Margins
As regulations tighten and ADRs flatten worldwide, the short-term rental giant is turning back to its experiential marketplace to extract more cash fr
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Markets
Shakira Madrid Residency Sends Hotel Rates Soaring to €339 as Domestic Bookings Surge
With hotel bookings up nearly 15% and domestic demand surging by 65%, a 12-night residency in Spain's capital is rewriting the playbook for short-term
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Markets
First Chair Destinations Enters the New England Ski Rental Market
A new regional brand is targeting New England ski slopes, proving that the battle for premium vacation rentals has moved from national roll-ups to hyp
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