Articles tagged “short-term rentals”

In a very crowded and highly competitive short-term rental field, it makes sense that Expedia Group's Vrbo would try to stand out, albeit as a travel business serving families. Why go after the backpackers and younger generation when that isn't your core customer anyway?

No pain, no gain, right? Expedia's Vrbo unit, which is almost an afterthought when it comes to discussions about Airbnb, Booking.com, and Google, has been undergoing a difficult transition. In itself, changing the leadership isn't the answer, but along with other changes, perhaps it won't hurt.

Airbnb has avoided these policies under the guise of being just a platform, much like the rest of the tech platform companies. We just hope at some point that tragedies are not the only way to propel change that lots of stakeholders have been asking for all along.

House parties and out-of-control guests are the scourge of Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms. The industry has to fix this — fast.

When guests stay in short-term rentals, they shouldn't have to worry that hosts might be sharing their intimate photos and personal information on Facebook, whether it be in nominally private groups or not. Airbnb, Vrbo, Facebook, and others need to be more vigilant so that their hosts aren't violating privacy policies on their platforms or elsewhere.

Luxury short-term rentals sit at the intersection of old-world hospitality, expert-led curation, and innovative new-world tech, but they'll need unique models to stand apart in the rapidly growing alternative accommodations sector.

Altido, a short-term property management group based in Europe, plans to grow through bite-size mergers in 2020. Its new CEO seems right in saying that the dynamics driving the company's strategy speak to larger dynamics in the sector.

The online juggernaut isn't satisfied with dominating urban markets. Airbnb wants to take the beaches and the mountains, too, in the battle for short-term rental bookings. So the company is becoming savvier in how it approaches local property managers.

If you believe internet ratings, you’d think everything sold online is above average. Booking.com appears to be trying to combat that problem in the short-term rentals sector by rolling out a rating system. The company risks upsetting some property managers by acting as self-appointed judge and jury of unit quality. But some travelers may like the additional context.

Airbnb has nothing to worry about. Marriott is mainly interested in using rentals as a tool to build brand loyalty. So the Bethesda, Maryland-based hotel giant won't threaten the established players in short-term rental booking.