Short-Term Rental and Vacation Rental News

Hotels

Online Reviews in an Airbnb World Are Much More Positive

A fascinating peek into how user reviews get changed in a sharing economy platform site like Airbnb, but this paper leaves the possibility of tons more research that could be done from here.

Rafat Ali, Skift | 9 years ago

Hotels

Airbnb to Begin Collecting Taxes in Four New Cities

Samantha Shankman, Skift | 9 years ago

Hotels

Judge Dismisses HomeAway’s Lawsuit Against the City of San Francisco

The judge's ruling tossing out HomeAway's suit against the City of San Francisco's short-term rental law may not be the end of the story. HomeAway could still be liable for collecting occupancy tax under the city's pre-existing ordinance.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 9 years ago

Hotels

Airbnb’s New Campaign Gives Hosts $10 to Be Brand Evangelists

Whether it's a spending study that says how much Airbnb contributes to a community or a campaign like this, Airbnb excels at community-minded moves that are squarely focused on its bottom line first.

Samantha Shankman, Skift | 9 years ago

Hotels

Airbnb’s Head of Hospitality on Improving the Guest Experience

Airbnb needs to figure out a way to work neighbors into the equation.

Jason Clampet, Skift | 9 years ago

Hotels

Hotel Urbano Launches Short-Term Rental Site With Installment Payment Option

Hotel Urbano is now offering short-term rentals while Expedia is showing HomeAway's vacation rentals and Booking.com has lots of apartment hotels. Convergence extraordinaire.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 9 years ago

Hotels

Several States Could Regulate and Tax Short-Term Rentals in 2015

It is interesting to see that the Travel Technology Association, which takes the online travel agency side on the hotel tax issue, is siding with members HomeAway and Airbnb on short-term rental legislation.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 9 years ago

Hotels

New Insurance Policy for Airbnb Hosts Reveals Cracks in the Sharing Economy

Always read the fine print.

Jason Clampet, Skift | 9 years ago

Hotels

San Francisco Seeks Dismissal of HomeAway Lawsuit Alleging Airbnb Favoritism

There are holes in the arguments of both the City of San Francisco and HomeAway. The new short-term rental law would indeed put HomeAway in the new position of collecting taxes from renters, and HomeAway could find a way in its business model to make that happen. Still, the new law does appear to favor Airbnb, which already collects fees from guests.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 9 years ago

Hotels

Airbnb Gains From Dissatisfaction With HomeAway’s Changing Business Model

Airbnb's business model (3% commissions) is more host-friendly than HomeAway's (10% commissions). It's good news, except that it runs contrary to all the company's marketing messaging.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 9 years ago