RSU by PriceLabs: Short-Term Rental News & Insights

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How short-term rental managers can let AI answer guest questions for them

Before You Slash Rates: 4 Steps to Protect Shoulder Season Revenue

Vrbo Sponsored Listings Are Live: What It Means for Your Premier Host Strategy

Federal court upholds New Orleans limits, Bali’s foreign investment block continues, New York City rolls out surcharge

What Airbnb’s New Ads Tell Us About the Supply It’s Chasing

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ai tool for property managers

How short-term rental managers can let AI answer guest questions for them

TL;DR: Short-term rental managers waste hours re-answering the same guest and staff questions, made worse by staff turnover. NotebookLM, a free AI tool from Google, fixes this by answering only from documents you upload, so it never guesses or hallucinates. Upload your house rules, check-in steps, and vendor contacts, and it becomes an instant, accurate answer source your whole team can use, no matter how many properties you manage.

airbnb experiences tripadvisor viator deep dive

Airbnb Experiences: Our Cross-Selling Screenshots Explain the Tripadvisor Viator Deal

Laptop showing a scenic lake view with two people sitting by the water.

What Airbnb’s New Ads Reveal About Its Next Move in Canada

Airbnb AI pricing model

Airbnb Is Building Its Own AI Pricing Model, and Chesky Says It’s a Bigger Growth Lever Than Reserve Now, Pay Later

Airbnb Q2 2026 earnings

Airbnb Q2 2026: A Record Quarter, Brought to You in Part by Changes Hosts Are Uneasy About

airbnb coworking

Airbnb Launches Coworking Partnerships With Oneder and Work.Life: Will This Attempt Stick?

Watch our latest video reports

Shoulder season isn't just a slower version of summer. It's a full reset, new travelers, a different owner conversation, and revenue, marketing, and operations working from the same page. In this RevLabs by PriceLabs masterclass, Jay Whiteley (Head of Commercial and Revenue at ViewStay by Casago, roughly 4,500 properties across 8 markets) and Uvika Wahi (editor at RSU by PriceLabs) walk through how they approach the transition, from reading summer's data correctly to keeping owners on side once demand softens.
Key takeaways

🔄 Switching season, not slow season: Jay treats the shift out of peak the way most businesses treat a new year, a hard reset on strategy, not a wait-and-see period.
📊 The summer retro that comes first: Before any pricing or marketing change, Jay's team reviews guest feedback, available nights, and where the P&L actually moved, not just top-line occupancy.
🤝 Owners need the story, not just the numbers: With attendees on the live poll split between occupancy and owner expectations as their top challenge, Jay explains why proving your value now prevents owners from shopping around later.

🎙️ Listen to the full audio breakdown on our podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/7x9iavOetm23vsj9DIY9QU/episode/03vGT2U2llcoSVXSabv14F/details

📚Read the recap and analysis on our blog: https://www.rentalscaleup.com/shoulder-season-strategy/

📩 Stay ahead of the market: Join over 10,000 professional operators who get the most important short-term rental news delivered to their inbox every week.

Subscribe to the RSU by PriceLabs newsletter for free here: rentalscaleup.com/newsletter

#ShortTermRentals #PropertyManagement #PriceLabs

Vacation rental shoulder season needs a full reset, not just lower prices

Every property manager deals with the same daily grind: staff asking the same questions over and over, check-in times, door codes, what to do when something breaks. And every time someone new joins your team, you're stuck re-explaining all of it from scratch, which costs you time and leads to mistakes.

In this video, Uvika shows a free tool from Google called NotebookLM that fixes this. Upload your own property documents (check-in instructions, house rules, maintenance contacts) and it becomes an assistant that answers instantly, using only the information you gave it. No internet search, no made-up answers, ever.

What you'll see in this video

🧠 How it works: upload your files once and the tool answers any guest or staff question using only what you gave it, nothing invented
🔧 A live test: watch it correctly walk through AC troubleshooting and give the right number to call when the fix doesn't work
📞 Built-in escalation rules: see it correctly flag a repair over $300 for owner approval, because that rule was already in the uploaded files
👥 One link, whole team: share it with new hires so they get the same correct answers from day one, no retraining needed

📕: Read the step-by-step recap and analysis on our blog: [Insert Blog Link]

📩 Stay ahead of the market: Join over 10,000 professional operators who get the most important short-term rental news and algorithmic breakdowns delivered straight to their inbox every week. Subscribe to the RSU by PriceLabs newsletter for free here: https://rentalscaleup.com/newsletter

How Short-Term Rental Managers Use AI to Answer Every Staff Question Instantly

Shoulder season isn't summer on a dimmer switch. It's a reset, and this episode treats it that way. Jay Whiteley, who runs revenue, marketing, and distribution for ViewStay by Casago's roughly 4,500 properties, joins RSU by PriceLabs editor Uvika Wahi and host Kyle Driskell, Manager, RM Partnerships, to break down what changes when peak season ends: who's actually traveling now, what the summer data should tell you before you touch pricing, and how to bring owners along once demand softens.

Jay treats the shift the way most people treat New Year's: a hard look back before setting the next move, and shares why available nights matter more to revenue than rate does. Uvika brings the traveler side, walking through why remote workers, crowd avoiders, and delayed summer bookers need a different approach than your peak-season guests.

Get this analysis in your inbox every week: ⁠rentalscaleup.com/newsletter

Why shoulder season needs a full team reset, not just a price cut

I booked a trip to a small village in Alsace, and once I was in, I started paying attention to what Airbnb was actually selling me. The homepage had a car rental discount and a luggage storage deal waiting before I'd even packed. My trip page, the first thing I opened after booking, knew my address, my dates, and how many of us were coming, and started selling from there. But when I got to Airbnb's own Experiences tab for the area, there was almost nothing in it: a few generic category tiles and the same car rental card following me around. That's the gap Airbnb's new partnership with Tripadvisor, announced August 11, is built to fill.

Key Takeaways

🧳 What I noticed on my own trip: Airbnb's trip page is some of the best-placed selling real estate in travel, reaching me before any host or search engine could
🧙🏼 Where it fell short: My destination's Experiences tab had barely anything to actually book
🤝 Why the Tripadvisor deal makes sense: Airbnb has the prime spot but not enough supply, Tripadvisor brings a catalog of over 425,000 experiences through Viator and wants more places to sell them

🎙️Listen to this breakdown in our podcast: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/7mRhY1ZfB5b

📚 Read the step-by-step recap and analysis on our blog: https://www.rentalscaleup.com/airbnb-experiences-our-cross-selling-screenshots-explain-the-tripadvisor-viator-deal/

📩 Stay ahead of the market: Join over 10,000 professional operators who get the most important short-term rental news and algorithmic breakdowns delivered straight to their inbox every week.

Subscribe to the RSU by PriceLabs newsletter for free here: https://rentalscaleup.com/newsletter

#shorttermrentals #PropertyManagement #AirbnbExperiences #PriceLabs

Understand the Airbnb Experience's deal with Tripadvisor's Viator

I booked a trip to a small village in Alsace, and once I was in, I started paying attention to what Airbnb was actually selling me. The homepage had a car rental discount and a luggage storage deal waiting before I'd even packed. My trip page, the first thing I opened after booking, knew my address, my dates, and how many of us were coming, and started selling from there. But when I got to Airbnb's own Experiences tab for the area, there was almost nothing in it: a few generic category tiles and the same car rental card following me around. That's the gap Airbnb's new partnership with Tripadvisor, announced August 11, is built to fill.

Key Takeaways

🧳 What I noticed on my own trip: Airbnb's trip page is some of the best-placed selling real estate in travel, reaching me before any host or search engine could
🧙🏼 Where it fell short: My destination's Experiences tab had barely anything to actually book
🤝 Why the Tripadvisor deal makes sense: Airbnb has the prime spot but not enough supply, Tripadvisor brings a catalog of over 425,000 experiences through Viator and wants more places to sell them

📚 Read the step-by-step recap and analysis on our blog: https://www.rentalscaleup.com/airbnb-experiences-our-cross-selling-screenshots-explain-the-tripadvisor-viator-deal/

📩 Stay ahead of the market: Join over 10,000 professional operators who get the most important short-term rental news and algorithmic breakdowns delivered straight to their inbox every week.

Subscribe to the RSU by PriceLabs newsletter for free here: https://rentalscaleup.com/newsletter

#ShortTermRentals #PropertyManagement #AirbnbExperiences #PriceLabs

The Airbnb Experience deal with Tripadvisor Viator explained in Screenshots

Pricing used to be one team's problem to solve alone. Not anymore. In this clip from a past session, 3 Silent Revenue Leaks Costing Your Short-Term Rental Business Thousands explains why marketing, operations, and sales are all watching the numbers now, and why that matters even more once shoulder season hits.

Want the full playbook before it costs you bookings? Join our upcoming session:

Shoulder Season Is Coming: Getting Your Teams Aligned Before It Costs You More

🗓️ August 20 with Jay Whiteley (VueStay Vacations by Casago), Kyle Driskell (PriceLabs), and Uvika Wahi

Key Takeaways

🧠 Team sport, not solo job: Pricing decisions now need input from marketing, operations, and sales, not just one revenue manager

📈 One source of truth: Revenue team numbers are becoming the most trusted data point across the whole company

⏰ Shoulder season raises the stakes: Misaligned teams feel it fastest when demand shifts

📅 Save your spot: Register for the live session here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1117866505953/WN_Q-klJQ-gQmesFghn_QbLzg

#ShortTermRentals #ShoulderSeason #PriceLabs

How many people at your company actually see your revenue numbers

Airbnb has acknowledged that reserve now pay later comes with more cancellations, even as it now drives more than a fifth of all bookings. Airbnb says testing shows the net effect is positive across the whole marketplace, crediting the feature with longer lead times, higher nightly rates, and more first-time guests who book without paying upfront. But a positive marketplace average doesn't guarantee the same on any single host's calendar.

Key takeaways

🛑 The catch: more cancellations, which Airbnb says only offsets at the marketplace level
📈 The scale: reserve now, pay later now accounts for more than a fifth of all Airbnb bookings
🧠 Airbnb's case: longer lead times, higher nightly rates, and more first-time guests who skip paying upfront

📩 Get breakdowns like this delivered weekly.

Subscribe for free: https://rentalscaleup.com/newsletter

#ShortTermRentals #PropertyManagement #AirbnbBookings

A fifth of Airbnb bookings now come with more cancellations

Airbnb confirmed in June and July that every host, everywhere, is moving to a single 15.5% fee structure. Under the old system, part of that fee showed up on the guest side and part was absorbed by the host. Under the new one, the host absorbs the entire fee, though prices can be raised to offset it. The rollout already covers hosts in the EU and hosts connected through property management software, and now expands to everyone.

Key takeaways

🧾 One fee, no choice: hosts move from two possible fee structures to a single 15.5% fee embedded on their side
💸 Who absorbs it: the whole fee now sits with the host instead of being split with the guest
📅 The rollout: already live for EU hosts and hosts using property management software, confirmed for everyone as of June/July

📩 Get breakdowns like this delivered weekly. Subscribe free: https://rentalscaleup.com/newsletter

#ShortTermRentals #PropertyManagement #AirbnbFees

Airbnb's new fee structure means hosts absorb the whole cut

Airbnb added new fees and paid extras, like travel insurance and pay-later booking, and told investors this would grow how much Airbnb earns from every booking. It didn't. Airbnb earned about the same amount per booking as it did a year ago. That money appears to have gone somewhere else instead: funding discounts on hotels, including price matching, credits worth up to 15% off, and cheaper car rentals. Airbnb now sells hotel rooms alongside home listings, so those discounts pull guests toward hotels and away from listings like yours.

Key takeaways

💸 The promise: new fees and paid extras were supposed to earn Airbnb more from every booking
🧾 What actually happened: Airbnb earned about the same per booking as last year, no increase
🏨 Where the money may have gone: discounts on hotels, which now compete directly with home listings for the same guests

📩 Get breakdowns like this delivered weekly.

Subscribe for free: https://rentalscaleup.com/newsletter

#ShortTermRentals #PropertyManagement #AirbnbHotels

Airbnb's new fees didn't earn more; here's where that money may have gone

VRBO TIPS FOR VACATION RENTAL MANAGERS

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Vrbo Q2 2026 Performance: Are Hosts Paying for Its Growth?

Vrbo’s New Ads Bring the Laughs, But ‘Eavesdrop’ Brings the Margins

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AIRBNB NEWS

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Airbnb global ads

What Airbnb’s New Ads Tell Us About the Supply It’s Chasing

airbnb experiences tripadvisor viator deep dive

Airbnb Experiences: Our Cross-Selling Screenshots Explain the Tripadvisor Viator Deal

Laptop showing a scenic lake view with two people sitting by the water.

What Airbnb’s New Ads Reveal About Its Next Move in Canada

Airbnb AI pricing model

Airbnb Is Building Its Own AI Pricing Model, and Chesky Says It’s a Bigger Growth Lever Than Reserve Now, Pay Later

Airbnb Q2 2026 earnings

Airbnb Q2 2026: A Record Quarter, Brought to You in Part by Changes Hosts Are Uneasy About

airbnb coworking

Airbnb Launches Coworking Partnerships With Oneder and Work.Life: Will This Attempt Stick?

Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo Are Changing How Listing Visibility Works, and It’s Going to Cost You

Vrbo Search Is Becoming Conversational. What That Means for Hosts

Vrbo vs. Airbnb Is the Wrong Frame for 2026. It’s Expedia’s Grid vs. Airbnb’s Walls

Booking.com’s Foundations Score, Vrbo’s Useful AI Chatbot, and Airbnb’s January 18 Booking Peak: the OTA Panel at Short Stay Summit 2026

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

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ai tool for property managers

How short-term rental managers can let AI answer guest questions for them

TL;DR: Short-term rental managers waste hours re-answering the same guest and staff questions, made worse by staff turnover. NotebookLM, a free AI tool from Google, fixes this by answering only from documents you upload, so it never guesses or hallucinates. Upload your house rules, check-in steps, and vendor contacts, and it becomes an instant, accurate answer source your whole team can use, no matter how many properties you manage.

A female short-term rental manager working at a desk on a laptop, viewing dashboards for AI workflows including dynamic pricing and guest messaging. A graphic overlay reads "4 FREE AI WORKFLOWS Built Live, Free to Copy".

4 AI Workflows for Short-Term Rental Managers. Built Live, Free to Copy

Zero valid items. That was a polished short-term rental website’s score on Google’s free AI-readability test, against 91 for one Vrbo listing. That gap opened this month’s RSU by PriceLabs webinar where Thibault Masson and Uvika Wahi built four free AI workflows live: AI search visibility, plain-English revenue management questions on Claude, a no-hallucination central brain for your team, and a brand system for every document.

Close-up photorealistic image of a human hand poised above a 'DIRECT BOOKING' button for a modern cabin lodge on a tablet, adjacent to an AI-powered monitor. The scene visually explains the difference between being found by AI (GEO) and chosen by humans for short-term rentals.

Found by AI, Chosen by Humans: The Short-Term Rental Guide to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

Short-term rental managers optimizing for AI search (GEO) are losing human bookings due to weak digital footprints. Neely Khan argues AI visibility is just the first step. To win bookings, properties must leverage the EEAT framework (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust). By ditching generic copy and sharing specific, story-driven local knowledge—especially on LinkedIn—managers build vital trust with human guests while actively training AI to recognize their unique brand.

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AI Agents for Property Managers: Build Your Own in Five Levels

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REVENUE MANAGEMENT

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Shoulder season strategy

Before You Slash Rates: 4 Steps to Protect Shoulder Season Revenue

TL;DR: RSU by PriceLabs and RevLabs by PriceLabs hosted a masterclass on August 20, 2026 with Jay Whiteley of VueStay Vacations by Casago and Uvika Wahi of Rental Scale-Up. The session covered why a review of last season should come before a pricing change, why available nights matter more than rate moves, how to keep owners from drifting during slow months, and how to get three departments solving one problem together.

Airbnb AI pricing model

Airbnb Is Building Its Own AI Pricing Model, and Chesky Says It’s a Bigger Growth Lever Than Reserve Now, Pay Later

TL;DR: Airbnb is building an AI pricing model for hosts, announced by Brian Chesky on the Q2 2026 earnings call. It reads hotel rates, Airbnb rates, local events and booking lead times, and produces a recommended nightly price hosts accept with one tap. Chesky called pricing a growth lever “many multiples bigger” than Reserve Now Pay Later, which now covers over a fifth of all bookings. No launch date has been given.