The wire · updated all day
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.
-
Every Pool Has the Same Flamingo Now
The inflatable pink bird is the default hero shot of the short-term-rental web. One agency says it put it there first. In the agentic era, that claim
-
Platforms
Airbnb Hires Booking Veteran Pepijn Rijvers as Chief Business Officer
By handing Homes, Hotels, and Enterprise to a thirteen-year Booking veteran, Brian Chesky signals that the era of homespun hosting has formally surren
-
Crackdown
New York Short-Term Rentals Plummet 85 Percent Following Local Law 18 Crackdown
A year after the implementation of the city's aggressive registration system, the short-term-rental market in the five boroughs has been almost entire
-
Platforms
Vrbo’s Global Sponsored Listings Just Killed the Organic Meritocracy
Expedia Group is bringing the pay-to-play model to vacation rentals worldwide. Prepare for a margin-crushing bidding war where the mega-managers hold
-
Markets
The End of the Scarcity War: Why the STR Industry Must Now Fix Dying Towns
For a decade, the short-term rental debate was defined by housing shortages. Now, the industry is being asked to absorb millions of empty homes in shr
-
The Single Feature That Drives Listings Viral
Forget scattered upgrades. The short-term rental market's new arbiters are algorithms, and they demand a singular, jaw-dropping visual hook that sells
-
Design
The Mirror Cabin Disappears Into the Treeline and the Balance Sheet
Mirrored glass structures generate massive social media saves and high average daily rates, but operational realities like bird strikes and thermal lo
-
Platforms
Booking.com Virtual Credit Card Delays Are Wrecking Host Cash Flow
The platform holds the money, issues high-fee virtual cards at checkout, and leaves professional property managers to shoulder transaction costs and l
-
Crackdown
The Revolt Begins: Folly Beach Hosts File Class-Action Over Permit Fees
The era of pleading at city council meetings is over. Owners in South Carolina are taking the city to court over alleged shadow taxes, and the whole i
-
Crackdown
Poland Moves to Hand Neighbors the Power to Ban Short-Term Rentals
The Polish government is drafting legislation that allows housing communities and municipalities to outlaw short-term rentals, shifting the battle fro
-
Platforms
Vrbo Just Lit the Fuse on a Bidding War: Pay Up or Fade Out
The platform's global rollout of sponsored listings isn't just a new feature; it's a seismic shift, forcing hosts and managers into a brutal pay-to-pl
-
The Money
AirDNA's AI Gambit: Is The Data Kingpin About To Remake STR Pricing?
The market intelligence giant just dropped 'Adapt,' an AI-native revenue management system. This isn't just another software launch. It's a shot acros
-
Exposed
Blood on the Strip's Edge: A Killing Shakes Clark County's STR Crackdown
A teenage life cut short at an Airbnb property rocks Las Vegas, forcing Clark County to overhaul its short-term rental enforcement. The party's over,
-
Markets
Milford's STR Embrace: Is the Regulatory Pendulum Swinging Back?
A single council's decision to 'back' short-term rentals in Milford might seem small, but in the brutal, high-stakes war for the industry's future, ev
-
Platforms
Airbnb's Fee Bombshell: The Hidden Play to Crush Direct Bookings
The short-term rental giant is testing lower fees for hosts who bring their own guests, a move that looks like a gift but is really a calculated strik
-
Platforms
Airbnb's Latest Fee Shockwave: Hosts Fume as Platform Tightens Its Grip
Another shift in how Airbnb charges for its services has hosts seeing red. This isn't just about a few percentage points; it's a battle for your botto
-
The Money
IDAHO SUPREME COURT SMASHES CITY'S STR BAN: A LANDMARK WIN FOR PROPERTY RIGHTS
The highest court in Idaho just delivered a seismic blow to municipal overreach, striking down an outright ban on non-owner-occupied short-term rental
-
The Money
Rhode Island’s 'Swift Tax' Lawsuit Ignites New Front in STR War
A lawsuit over Rhode Island's so-called 'Taylor Swift Tax' is more than a local spat. It’s a chilling signal to every host and manager: cities are com
-
Crackdown
Folly Beach Declares All-Out War: Moratorium Hits After Court Ruling, Industry Reels
The battle for control of short-term rentals just claimed another beachhead. Folly Beach's council is appealing a court loss and slamming the door shu
-
Exposed
Vegas Plays Hardball: Cities Are Done Chasing Hosts, Now They're Coming for Airbnb
The Wild West is over. Las Vegas is poised to fine platforms for unlicensed listings, signaling a brutal new chapter where cities put the burden of en
-
Crackdown
FOLLY BEACH SHUTS DOWN NEW STRs: A Coastal Town's War on Rentals Heats Up
The battle over short-term rentals takes a dramatic turn on Folly Beach, as local officials move to appeal a key court ruling and freeze new permits f
-
Platforms
Vrbo Just Lit the Fuse: The Great Pay-to-Play War for Listing Visibility Has Begun
The short-term rental giant's new 'Sponsored Listings' aren't just a feature; they're a tectonic shift, forcing hosts to buy their way to the top and
-
Crackdown
Barcelona Drops the Hammer: A Total Ban on Airbnb-Style Rentals. This Changes Everything.
The short-term rental industry just got a gut punch from Barcelona, announcing a complete ban on all tourist apartments. This isn't just a warning sho
-
Crackdown
Clark County Unleashes Legal Bomb on Airbnb, Vrbo: The War for Vegas STR Just Got Personal
Vegas regulators just voted to ban platforms from processing bookings for unlicensed short-term rentals, unleashing a legal and operational nightmare
The daily briefing, free
Get the Gazette in your inbox.
The day's crackdowns and platform moves, the money, the design and the stays going viral, plus the desk's verdict, in one short email every morning.