Short-Term Rental and Vacation Rental News

Google is bending somewhat to intense regulatory pressure in Europe. But its answers in travel to date aren't very meaningful.

Sporting some red ink in its financial results doesn't spell doom and gloom for Airbnb's prospects of going public in 2020. On the other hand, the question for employees and investors becomes — at what valuation?

U.S. hoteliers are finding their pricing options constrained because of an influx of both short-term rental supply during peak periods, and because of hotel construction. Hoteliers may decide to get into the short-term rental market or not, but they increasingly have to take it into account when fine-tuning pricing strategies.

Adding someone as experienced as Frits van Paasschen to its board is a sure sign that Sonder is serious about making a big leap forward in 2020.

Booking sites' guests reviews on Google have been a highly charged issue for years. The latest is that Airbnb and TripAdvisor are willingly giving Google their guest reviews of vacation rentals, but they are busy figuring out how not to give away the store in the process.

Airbnb chose Tinseltown to audaciously begin cracking down on party houses. Good PR. Expect to see more adjustments in Airbnb policy as it moves forward with an emphasis on community safety and standards.

The tug-of-war between hotels and short-term rentals intensified in 2019, with both sides making strategic moves to display their strength. There were wins and losses for everyone, and the result so far has been a deeper blurring of the lines between the two sectors.

Many Airbnb hosts of the mom-and-pop variety — yes, there are a few left — feel aggrieved when they welcome guests into their homes and have to bear the consequences of hostile reviews penned with the worst intentions. Airbnb is trying to tip the balance back toward hosts — and is probably making neither party totally happy.

The short-term rental market is a long-term growth sector. Yet its dynamics are being upended as professional management becomes popular and online travel companies seek smarter ways to sell the lodging. Here are several takeaways from Skift's first event to focus on the sector's opportunities.

People may see short-term rentals as a good get-rich-quick scheme. But according to former Airbnb CFO Laurence Tosi, it's not a simple business. The most successful companies in the space, he said, are also the most sophisticated.