Short-Term Rental and Vacation Rental News

Hotels

Ten vacation rentals with quirky and environmentally conscious designs

These picks, from a seashell-inspired beach home to a suspended tree house, are nestled in the crooks of nature, but offer many of the amenities found at a five-star hotel -- and the price tag too!

Skift | 12 years ago

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb rival HouseTrip gets backing of top three European VC firms in $40 million deal

Accel Partners joins existing investors Balderton and Index to back what they see as a better alternative to Airbnb (and all of its clones) in the European market.

Skift | 12 years ago

Short-Term Rentals

Cities like San Francisco struggle with embracing Airbnb or cracking down on its illegal rentals

Before Airbnb gets IPO-big, they'll need to figure out how to make their rentals legal in big cities like San Francisco or New York where a big chunk of their future will be determined.

Skift | 12 years ago

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb offers more than a place to stay, launches Local Lists to popular local businesses

Airbnb wants to pop the tourist bubble to bring economic benefits to local neighborhoods, and its new, locally crafted mini-guides take advantage of active users to put this promise into print.

Samantha Shankman, Skift | 12 years ago

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb looks to mobile to make hosts more responsive and boost revenue

The peer-to-peer rental movement already is transforming the lodging industry, and mobile adoption, as evidenced by the Airbnb statistics, will help bring it more into the mainstream.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 12 years ago

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb’s most notorious illegal hotel operator tries to go legit with highly dubious endeavor

Nobody was happy with Toshi's Airbnb's properties except Toshi and the law-breaking landlords who liked the kickbacks on his illegally rented units. And Airbnb, too, which took its fees despite numerous warnings that his properties were both illegal and unsatisfactory.

Skift | 12 years ago

Hotels

Is Airbnb headed for an IPO after it raises its next $100 million round of funding?

The site is a likely inspiration for all aspiring travel startups with a steady growth rate and profitable business model, but the upcoming challenge of international expansion and continued regulatory hurdles in the U.S. could determine the startup’s fate on its path to IPO.

Skift | 12 years ago

Short-Term Rentals

Time-share executives say they see some light at the end of the tunnel

Unless they work on a bit of re-invention, the hard-sell tactics of time-share companies and the C-list quality of their properties will always make the field seem like the used-car lot of the travel industry.

Sarah K. Clarke, Orlando Sentinel | 12 years ago

Short-Term Rentals

Luxury Retreats takes $5 million in funding for expanding villa rentals

Short-Term Rentals

HomeAway and VRBO’s new rate plans mean increases for some owners, savings for others

Vacation rental owners will get added muscle with the new ability to subscribe to one plan and list consistently across 15 of HomeAway's international sites. The normalizing of rate plans, though, will mean a financial hit for some VRBO advertisers.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 12 years ago