Budapest’s 6th District Set to Ban Short-Term Rentals Starting 2026
- Budapest’s 6th District will become the first in Hungary to ban short-term rentals (STRs) starting January 1, 2026.
- Budapest now has more Airbnb rentals than hotel rooms, and Airbnb accounts for 40% of all guest nights
- The Mayor Tamas Soproni says the move is needed to address overtourism and make space for more long-term housing, especially in buildings where STRs make up over 50% of units.
- The referendum was passed with 54% voting in favor, but only 20.5% turnout. The backlash has been swift. Host associations warn of lost income, shuttered local businesses, and diminished tourism tax revenue, roughly 1 billion forints (€2.6M) annually.
- Critics say the ban penalizes law-abiding hosts while ignoring illegal operators and structural issues in the rental market.
Snigdha’s views:
- Hungary’s national government has already capped new STR registrations and allows districts to impose local rules.
- Budapest’s 6th District is home to Andrassy Avenue, the Hungarian State Opera, and a major cluster of tourist hotspots. If a high-demand area like this is drawing the line, other districts could follow.
- The decision stems from an online referendum with very low turnout, raising fair concerns about how representative the mandate really is, especially for a policy that could disrupt thousands of livelihoods and local businesses.
- For operators, this is a clear nudge to start reassessing their portfolios. That might mean shifting toward mid-term rentals, scouting less-restricted neighborhoods, or preparing exit strategies.
- And if we look at cities like New York, blunt bans don’t always deliver housing relief. Instead, they can push STR activity underground and drive hotel rates up.
- And if we take the example of NYC’s 2023 near-ban that led to large drops in supply but no relief on rent, which shows blunt bans don’t always deliver housing relief.
- There’s no doubt Budapest has a problem to solve, but whether this is the right fix remains to be seen.
- Managers with units in EU heritage districts should monitor this closely, historic cores across Europe (e.g., Lisbon, Amsterdam, Prague) are under similar pressure
Evolve Acquires 1,000 Former Vacasa Homes from Guestworks as Casago Doubles Down on Local Franchises
- Evolve has acquired the portfolio of Guestworks, Vacasa’s former low-touch, tech-enabled offering, with around 1,000 homes now transitioning to Evolve’s platform.
- This was an asset sale, not a corporate acquisition, from Casago, which inherited Guestworks after purchasing Vacasa. The portfolio no longer aligned with Casago’s franchise-first, full-service model.
- In contrast, Evolve offers a hybrid model combining centralized service, automation, and a flat 10% fee.
- Casago CEO Steve Schwab emphasized the “respectful transition” as a way to realign around Casago’s hyperlocal franchise operators.
- Evolve’s Brian Egan noted the acquisition strengthens their positioning as a data-powered platform offering AI tools, dynamic pricing, and performance dashboards.
About Evolve:
A U.S.-based vacation rental platform offering marketing, pricing, and guest support for a flat 10% fee. It operates without local teams, focusing on centralized services and scalable tech.
About Casago:
Casago is a franchise-based vacation rental management company focused on local, full-service operations. It has acquired Vacasa and is transitioning former properties into its hyperlocal franchise network.
About Guestworks:
Guestworks had originally been Vacasa’s attempt at a lighter, tech-forward product targeting hands-off homeowners.
Snigdha’s views:
- This is part of a larger post-Vacasa reset, where legacy portfolios are being redistributed into new operating models. We’ve seen this play out with Big Bear, Casago San Diego, and Bolivar Vacations.
- On the other hand, Evolve’s acquisition of Guestworks homes shows a very different bet: they’re offering owners a remote, tech-driven model that prioritizes automation, centralized service, and lower fees.
- Back in 2022, we covered how Evolve positioned itself as the low-fee, tech-powered alternative to Vacasa’s high-touch model. Fast forward to now, and Evolve is absorbing properties that were once part of Vacasa’s network.
- Markets where Guestworks had a presence may now see increased competition from Evolve’s 10% fee model. Managers should keep an eye on owner expectations shifting toward lower-fee, remote-service models.
Airbnb-Friendly Apartments Hit 1,300 Buildings: What’s in It for Property Managers Now?
- Airbnb just marked three years of its Airbnb-Friendly Apartments program, which is now present in 1,300+ buildings across 75+ markets, with expansion into Brazil and the UK.
- Airbnb is emphasizing stronger institutional acceptance from both housing platforms and policymakers
- This program lets renters legally host part-time on Airbnb, in buildings where landlords have agreed to allow it, and renters in these buildings earned $13 million this year from Airbnb hosting.
- New partnerships are also giving the model more muscle, which are partially discovery tools: Apartment List added a dedicated Airbnb-friendly filter for rental discovery, while Entrata lets prospective tenants stay in Airbnb units before leasing, essentially test-driving the lifestyle.
- In the U.S., Airbnb also helped push through a federal policy change with Freddie Mac that doesn’t broadly legalize hosting, but it does permit tenant hosting only under capped, lender-approved conditions.
Snigdha’s views:
- Airbnb’s pipeline of renter-friendly supply traces back to 2019, when Greystar, the U.S.’s largest apartment operator, launched Urbandoor, an extended-stay platform Airbnb later acquired to enter the world of professionally managed rentals.
- By 2023, Greystar had listed 100+ buildings in Airbnb’s Friendly Apartments program, pre-approved for hosting, with built-in oversight, a far cry from the regulatory fights of the past.
- Airbnb is now scaling this model with other partners, platforms like Zumper, Apartment List, and Entrata help renters host legally and make the process smoother for landlords.
- Airbnb is building a full-stack travel platform, offering everything from hotels to vacation rentals, long-term stays, and local experiences, to keep all kinds of travelers and hosts within its ecosystem longer.
- To normalize the idea of renters becoming hosts and expand the supply of compliant listings, Airbnb’s latest ad spotlights a renter-turned-host.
- This creates a new semi-professional segment of hosts who may need help with compliance, turnover, and revenue management, an opportunity for PMs willing to standardize light-touch services
Snigdha Parghan is a Content Marketer at RSU by PriceLabs, where she creates articles, manages daily social media, and repurposes news and analysis into podcasts and video content for short-term rental professionals. With a focus on technology, operations, and marketing, Snigdha helps property managers stay informed and adapt to industry shifts.
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