Hostaway Rolls Out AI Messaging, Airbnb Challenges Restrictions in Australia, Lodgify Debuts Payments and Financing Tools

Hostaway unveils AI Auto Reply to cut response times for guest queries

• Hostaway has launched AI Auto Reply, a messaging tool that uses generative AI to draft personalized responses to common guest questions.
• It works by pulling details from a property’s reservations, listing content, past guest conversations, and host instructions to ensure replies are accurate and relevant.
• The feature is designed to save managers time while maintaining accurate, personalized communication.
• The tool is in early access from August 5 and is scheduled for full rollout in October.
• Because it works entirely within the Hostaway platform, managers don’t need to set up external plug-ins or train the system.
• Users can choose to review messages before sending or enable full automation for faster turnaround.
• Hostaway says this addition builds on a period of strong AI adoption among its customers, usage of its AI features has tripled since January, and adoption is up 170% year-over-year. 
• The release follows other AI updates earlier this year, including AI Review Sentiment Analysis and the Host Quality Dashboard.
• Vacation rental managers can join the waitlist for Hostaway’s AI Auto Reply here.

About Hostaway:

Hostaway is a comprehensive vacation rental property management software platform designed to help property managers and owners streamline their operations, grow their portfolios, and enhance guest experiences. Some of the features they offer include channel management, automation tools, and more.

Snigdha’s Views

• Hostaway is addressing the challenge of high guest message volumes by providing property managers with a tool that maintains high response quality without overloading their teams.
• From check-in logistics to amenity confirmations, the tasks are repetitive but important; they still demand accuracy, a personal touch, and timely delivery.
• If it works as promised, it could let managers handle guest communication entirely within Hostaway, eliminating the need to switch between separate messaging tools or third-party integrations.
• We spoke with Marcus Räder, CEO of Hostaway, earlier this year, and he told us more AI tools were on the way. 
• This conversation followed Hostaway’s $365 million funding round, which has helped fuel its recent product launches
• According to Booking.com’s recent report, trust in AI among respondents is low, with just 6% fully trusting it, 12% are comfortable letting it make decisions without human input, and 25% say they don’t trust it at all.
• This confidence gap suggests that even the most advanced AI tools need to be built and used in ways that feel human.

Airbnb-Commissioned Study Claims Night Caps On Short-Term Rentals Unlikely To Ease Australia’s Housing Shortage

• A new Airbnb-funded YouGov poll of 1,012 Australian hosts finds that stricter STR night caps would have minimal impact on increasing long-term housing availability.
• Conducted between April and June 2025, the survey tested the assumption behind many local regulations, that reducing STR nights will push properties back into the long-term rental market.
• Only 12% of respondents said they would likely list their homes for long-term rental if caps were tightened. 
• In contrast, 88% said they would take other actions, such as using their homes only part of the year, keeping them empty, or continuing to rent them short-term within the cap limits. 
• Most cited reasons like the property is a primary residence, a holiday home, or unsuitable for long-term tenants.
• To reinforce its case, Airbnb pointed to independent research from the University of Canberra and Urbis, both of which found STRs account for only 1–2% of Australia’s total housing stock and have no consistent impact on affordability.

Snigdha’s Views

• This is part of Airbnb’s ongoing strategy in cities like NYC, Barcelona, and Brazil, using commissioned surveys to challenge proposed stricter rules.
• This time, the focus is on Australia, where cities like Greater Sydney have proposed, and others have already enforced them, to curb STR activity and push more properties into the long-term housing market.
• Airbnb is challenging the assumption that reducing STR activity will automatically return those properties to the long-term rental market.
• Many STR listings aren’t suitable for full-time long-term rental, some are second homes, others are only part-time owner-occupied, and some wouldn’t exist in the market at all without the option to rent short term.
• Rental caps as a regulatory tool are gaining traction in global markets. Amsterdam is moving ahead with a strict 15-night annual cap, Nice is introducing a 60-night limit, and Montreal is restricting STRs to just three months per year.
• Airbnb’s challenge to night caps in Australia will serve as a test case. A win here could set a precedent for how other cities design or defend similar restrictions.

Lodgify Launches Payments and Financing Features to Help Hosts Manage Cash Flow

• Lodgify has introduced two new features: Lodgify Payments and Lodgify Capital, aimed at solving two of the biggest pain points for independent hosts and small property managers: getting paid quickly and accessing capital without unnecessary hurdles.
• Lodgify Payments replaces external payment gateways, allowing hosts to manage the entire booking-to-payout process directly within Lodgify.
• Lodgify Capital gives eligible U.S.-based hosts access to short-term working capital. It offers approval without credit checks or lengthy applications, with funds typically available in one to two business days, based on at least six months of Lodgify account activity.
• The company says these tools were developed in direct response to findings from its 2024 Vacation Rental Industry Report, which identified rising operating costs as one of hosts’ top challenges.

About Lodgify:

Lodgify is a vacation rental management platform that helps independent hosts and property managers run their businesses more efficiently. It offers tools for building direct booking websites, handling payments, and syncing listings across major OTAs like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com.

Snigdha’s Views

• For independent hosts and small-scale managers, financial fragmentation can be a major operational roadblock. 
• By consolidating payments into the same platform where hosts already manage property details and bookings, Lodgify removes the need to juggle multiple systems, cutting down on friction, costs, and slow third-party payment processors.
• What Lodgify is offering here is an attempt to streamline two of those frictions. The ability to get funds quickly, without credit checks, could be appealing for hosts who are looking to fund upgrades or handle slower months without turning to traditional banks.
• While bundling everything into one platform can make operations smoother, it also means a single point of failure. If that system has an outage, it could disrupt multiple parts of a host’s business at once.