Blog
40% of Hosts plan to add properties, but they’re stretched. Here’s where managers come in.
TL;DR: PriceLabs (dynamic pricing and revenue management software) surveyed 1,203 hosts with one to four listings in its Global Host ...
Vrbo Plans to Drop Its Price-Matching Rule for Direct Sites, but the 12% Commission Stays
Vrbo plans to drop its requirement that your Vrbo price match your own website. Its new 12% commission still starts ...
Santa Barbara Bars Inland Short-Term Rentals, Ireland Publishes Platform Rules, Orange Township Introduces Permit System
Updates in short-term rental policies this week: Santa Barbara votes to ban short-term rentals from inland residential zones and high-fire ...
Airbnb weather protection: how its rain insurance works
TL;DR: Since October 8, guests who live in 10 European countries can add “weather protection” at Airbnb checkout. This so-called ...
Vrbo college football campaign: a coach for Premier Host
Vrbo has put its name on college football for years, and this season, for the first time, it is using ...
Europe’s short-term rental growth halved in 2026, and the data busts 4 myths
Exclusive Rental Scale-Up analysis of Eurostat’s short-term rental datasets for Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia Group, country by country and region ...
Booking.com Rate Parity in Europe: External Prices No Longer Affect Sponsored Discounts
Booking.com no longer considers your prices on other channels when deciding which European properties get sponsored discounts. Booking.com stops using ...
AI in Vacation Rentals: Build YOUR AGENTS Yourself or Let Your Software PROVIDER Do It? PRICELABS’ Athena Shows the Trade-Off
As you may remember, throughout 2026, we have been talking here on Rental Scale-Up (RSU) about two approaches to AI: ...
Most VAcation rentaL managers are a 2 out of 4 on AI. Score yours with the VRMA 2026 scorecard
At VRMA International in Nashville, I designed and co-presented a session where a room of property managers scored their own ...
Spain Reissues Housing Decrees, Alameda Advances Primary-Residence Rule, Regulatory Worry Increases
Updates in short-term rental policies this week: Spain reissued its two housing decrees on October 6, one day after calling ...
VRMA 2026: AI, Distribution, M&A, and Owner Retention Lead the Agenda
VRMA 2026 runs October 4 to 6 in Nashville, with Booking.com CEO Glenn Fogel headlining Tuesday’s general session. VRMA 26 ...
A Host’s Guide to the Airbnb Fall 2026 Update: New AI and Social Features Explained
TL;DR: Airbnb's 2026 fall update brings more of a guest's planning into the app: where to go, which neighbourhood, and which saved listing to book. Recommendations can now come through a guest's own connections, and AI picks which features of a listing get compared. For hosts, visibility depends more on complete listing data and on guests who arrive already recommended.
Airbnb 2026 Fall Update: How Dynamic Pricing, AI Search and Add-On Services Affect Hosts
Airbnb's 2026 fall update gives hosts dynamic pricing, a top-rated guest discount, an AI earnings dashboard for hosts with five or fewer listings and a multi-listing calendar for those with six or more. For guests, AI search now takes voice, which raises the value of detailed listings, while add-on services like groceries, laundry and baby gear move inside the Airbnb app, fulfilled by Airbnb's partners.
AI for Owner Acquisition: How Property Managers Can Now Find and Sign Owners Faster
TL;DR: Owner acquisition has become far more efficient and faster, but only for managers who set AI up properly first. A live poll found 54% are not using AI for owner acquisition at all. The RSU by PriceLabs webinar with Vintory covered three ways to build a target list of owners in any country, the four files that make an AI model useful for your business, the five assets it then produces, and processes that can help lower owner churn.
Atlanta Drops Its Residency Cap, Spain Taxes Tourist Rentals by Decree, Maui Rejects Most Phaseout Exemptions
This week's short-term rental policies: Atlanta removed its residency cap in a 9-5 vote, clearing enforcement from January 2027. Spain's Royal Decree-law 26/2026 adds 10% VAT on stays up to 30 nights and IBI surcharges up to 150%, pending an October 2 Congress vote. Maui's Planning Commission recommended denying Bill 9 exemptions for 43 of 48 properties. Regulators are trading contested caps for enforceable tools.
Vrbo Moves All Hosts to a Single 12% Commission: What Changes on October 29
TL;DR: Vrbo is moving all hosts to a single 12% commission on October 29, 2026, an increase for per-booking hosts without a PMS (about 8% today) and PMS-connected managers (5%). Unlike Airbnb's host-only fee, Vrbo's guest service fee remains. Vrbo suggests hosts review their rates, but its new Host Terms require rates, fees and availability on Vrbo to be at least as favorable as on other channels, which shapes how hosts can respond.
Heat Waves 2026: Europe’s Hottest Summer Changed Less Than the Numbers Suggest
Europe's hottest summer on record was expected to empty the south and fill the north. Neither happened. Nordic occupancy rose two to three points in July while Spain and Italy gained as well. The visible change was in timing, with September pacing well ahead of last year, and most of the other large 2026 numbers came from new listings, two rental registries and a public holiday that moved.
Oktoberfest 2026: Munich Short-Term Rentals Book Slower but Earn More
TL;DR: Oktoberfest 2026 shows what happens to event demand when travel gets more expensive: fewer guests, but guests willing to pay more. PriceLabs data shows Munich short-term rental occupancy behind last year while nightly rates climbed to nearly double normal levels, leaving revenue per available rental (RevPAR) slightly ahead. For professional short-term rental managers, slower bookings are the risk to watch, because higher rates only just covered them.
Folly Beach Reinstates Its Licence Cap, Greece Matches Platform Data to Tax Returns, Abu Dhabi Opens Licensing to Tenants
Global short-term rental regulations are shifting accountability from property owners to those controlling the listings. Folly Beach, South Carolina, recently renewed its 800-license cap while removing an illegal income-based fee. Greece is now auditing 2025 platform booking data against declared income, penalizing registered property managers for discrepancies. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi expanded license eligibility to tenants and third parties, but strictly mandates a valid license number on every single listing page.
SCALE France turns five: three days that tell you where the French short-term rental market is heading
SCALE France turns five on November 25-26, 2026 at Les Salons de l'Aveyron in Paris, and the programme now stretches to three days. A French-language SCALE With AI opens on November 24, and a new small-group financing session, Money Talks by MPM, closes the second day. Read together, the three formats say the French market has stopped asking only how to grow and started asking how to fund and how to exit.
