Budapest enforces tax hikes and freezes new short-term rental listings for two years
- The Hungarian government has announced a two-year moratorium on new short-term rental registrations in Budapest, starting January 1, 2025, until December 31, 2026.
- A moratorium, is a temporary halt or suspension of an activity, in this case, the registration of new short-term rental properties.
- What this means for Budapest is from January no new Airbnb-style properties can be officially added to the market until the end of 2026.
- Annual flat taxes on short-term rentals will also quadruple from HUF 38,400 (€92.79) per room to HUF 150,000 (€362.45) beginning next year.
- This moratorium is part of Hungary’s New Economic Policy Action Plan, which includes 21 measures aimed at alleviating the housing crisis while achieving economic growth of 3–6% in the coming year.
- Officials cite concerns over the city’s shrinking long-term rental market, currently at 140,000 households, 18% of Budapest’s total households, and blame the proliferation of short-term rental listings, now at nearly 26,000 rooms.
Snigdha’s View:
- This new regulation follows a referendum in September in Budapest’s Terézváros District, which led to a ban on short-term rentals set to take effect in 2026.
- The Hungarian government’s measures are a direct shot at Airbnb, similar to France’s anti-Airbnb law and New York City’s Local Law 18, Airbnb is again blamed for rising rents and housing shortages.
- This moratorium will undoubtedly create challenges for property managers & hosts alike, ashose who were planning to expand their portfolios will find their hands tied, unable to register new properties.
- Property managers should prioritize existing inventory, enrich guest experiences, streamline operations, and optimize pricing to stay competitive in a restricted market.
- Tax hikes will squeeze profits for operators, potentially forcing some to exit, while diversifying into less-regulated towns can still offer growth opportunities free from Budapest’s restrictions.
Blackstone and GSV Invest in Inhabit to Drive Expansion and Growth
- Inhabit, a provider of property management software solutions, has secured a significant equity investment led by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Greater Sum Ventures (GSV).
- Inhabit is an umbrella brand that integrates multiple tools catering to different aspects of property management like LiveRez, Streamline, iTrip, Barefoot, etc.
- Blackstone joins GSV along with existing institutional investors Goldman Sachs, Insight Partners, and PSG as shareholders.
- The investment by Blackstone and GSV aims to accelerate Inhabit’s growth, enhance its platform offerings, and fuel innovation across its portfolio of tools for the residential and vacation property management industries.
About Inhabit:
Inhabit is a PropTech software company founded in 2016, serving residential and vacation property management industries. It provides integrated solutions for operations, accounting, CRM, payments, and insurance, helping property managers streamline operations and scale efficiently. Inhabit functions as a comprehensive platform, integrating a diverse suite of tools designed to address various facets of property management.
About Blackstone:
Blackstone Inc. is an alternative asset manager, specializing in private equity, real estate, credit, and hedge fund investments, with over $1 trillion in assets under management (AUM) as of 2024. Blackstone focuses on building and scaling businesses across industries, delivering long-term value for institutional and individual investors worldwide.
Snigdha’s Views:
- The backing from Blackstone, a major entity known for its strategic investments, and GSV, an entrepreneurial family office with deep expertise in scaling software businesses, signifies that Inhabit has both the tools and the potential to lead innovation in PropTech now.
- With new funding, Inhabit could expand its offerings by acquiring more tools and implementing smarter integrations across its platforms, providing greater benefits for property managers.
- Blackstone’s involvement could indicate a long-term strategy to optimize Inhabit’s growth and profitability, with the potential for an eventual resale when the company reaches peak valuation.
Minut and HostBuddy AI Partner to Automate Noise and Smoking Warnings
- Minut a property monitoring platform, has announced a new partnership with HostBuddy AI, an AI-powered guest messaging platform, to streamline how property managers handle guest communication.
- The collaboration brings together Minut’s privacy-safe property monitoring technology and HostBuddy AI’s generative messaging capabilities together.
- With this integration, Minut’s sensors will detect issues like excessive noise or smoking, and HostBuddy AI will automatically send tailored messages to guests to address these problems.
- This automation aims to help property managers resolve issues swiftly without manual intervention, ensuring smoother operations and an enhanced guest experience.
- This integration marks the first time Minut users can harness generative AI technology for guest communication. Previously, Minut’s sensors provided property insights like noise levels, smoke detection, and environmental changes.
About Minut:
Minut is a privacy-focused property operations platform designed to help property managers monitor and maintain their rental properties effectively. It helps proactively manage noise, occupancy, and environmental factors, creating safe, well-maintained properties.
About HostBuddy:
HostBuddy AI is an AI-powered guest messaging platform designed for short-term rental hosts and property managers. It leverages generative AI to automate guest communication, handling inquiries, pre-booking details, and in-stay messaging.
Snigdha’s Views
- For property managers juggling the complex task of enforcing rules while also maintaining positive guest relationships, communication around noise complaints or smoking violations has long been a pain point.
- These issues, often arising late at night, not only strain the manager-guest dynamic but have also been cited as factors in neighbors lodging complaints about rentals, which in turn have fueled calls for stricter regulations on short-term rentals.
- Minut’s integration automates incident handling, such as loud music at night, by sending polite, personalized messages like, “Hi, we noticed elevated noise levels. Please remember our quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.”
- It uses machine learning to distinguish problematic noises, like loud music or shouting, from normal sounds, such as a door slam or a baby crying. Property managers can customize restrictions, such as setting alerts for noise lasting over 15 minutes or shorter durations.
