Short-Term Rental and Vacation Rental News

Once a cottage industry operated by entrepreneurial property owners, today’s billion dollar vacation rental market is undergoing massive growth, driven by digital platforms that are evolving in tandem with its users' needs.

Expedia officials can try to assure hoteliers that the rise of alternative accommodations is no big deal for their businesses. But you can be certain that figuring out how to manage this changing dynamic is of paramount concern for all parties involved.

Until recently, Selina has been a glorified hostel operator. Its ambition to provide work-life balance to millennials who travel internationally has been more of a work-in-progress than a consistent offering. Yet massive fresh funding this year will help drive Selina to become one of 2019's most fascinating experiments in hospitality.

Combatting host fatigue is a very real thing, but it'll probably take a lot more than this from Airbnb to make sure those Superhosts remain loyal.

The Amazonification of Airbnb continues, as talk of an initial public offering heats up.

Timing is everything, folks.

We know what you're all thinking: Can Onefinestay be saved? Was AccorHotels' decision to buy a private rental business the right move? Or should it have partnered with one instead?

If Airbnb is indeed seeing a slowdown of its business in more mature markets like Europe and the U.S., that's all the more reason for the company to double down on its efforts in emerging markets like China, and to work on adding more professional inventory, ahem, hotels.

Vacasa's interest in partnering with property developers to put more short-term rentals in multi-family communities is part of a broader trend toward greater professionalization of the market. But not all of the players entering the market may avoid being bruised in an eventual economic recession.

Booking.com wants to service professional managers while going after individual vacation rental owners, too. Airbnb wants to tap into the professional-manager set while branching out into resort areas, and HomeAway wants to get more urban. These companies' offerings will converge, and it's likely their business models will, too.