Industry News
Stay informed on the latest developments in the vacation rental and short-term rental industry. This category provides vacation rental managers and short-term rental managers with news on industry growth, trends, events, and insights into the future of short-term rental property management. From major updates across European markets to professional insights into industry shifts, explore the news shaping the landscape of vacation rentals.
The EU Is Investigating How Booking.com Fights Scams. Here’s What It Means for Managers.
The EU’s first Digital Services Act investigation into Booking.com puts scam prevention, guest data and paid visibility under the same ...
Airbnb’s Temporary Phone Numbers and New Contact Rules: What Guests Gain and Managers Lose
From November 20, Airbnb hosts will no longer be able to collect guest contact details. Airbnb is also masking guest ...
Before You Cut 2027 Rates, Check Which of Your Homes Book Late
Last-minute bookings bring in little revenue, managers’ own websites are losing bookings, and most teams still use AI only as ...
Airbnb Is Rebuilding Luxe, and Your Existing High-End Listings May Be Part of It
Amex just tied its biggest Platinum Card perk to Airbnb Luxe, and Airbnb’s own job postings show it is rebuilding ...
What Airbnb’s Japan Ads Reveal About Its Country-by-Country Playbook
Airbnb’s new Japan ads target the young friend groups its US system screens as a party risk, a clear sign ...
Cape Town Proposes Registration, Wales Sets a March Deadline, Budapest’s Castle District Polls in Favor of a Ban
Key takeaways for property managers Registration links this week’s three stories: who has to register, and what that lets the ...
France 2027 Budget Takes Aim at the Last Big Tax Break for Vacation Rentals
France’s government wants to cap one of the last big tax advantages left to vacation rental owners, and some members ...
We tested Airbnb’s new house rules checker. Here’s what it flags, and what it means for managers
“IT’S NOT ABOUT THE DAMN DISHES!” That was Ginger Harrelson, owner and corporate counsel at Beachball Properties on the Alabama ...
Guests Comparing Your Rental to a Hotel Usually Book the Hotel. Two of the Reasons Are in Your Hands
When travelers weigh a hotel against a short-term rental, most book the hotel, and two of the top reasons they ...
Airbnb’s new house rules policy: what hosts can and can’t ask guests to do from November 20
Updated October 22, 2026: This article now covers what Airbnb hasn’t yet clarified, including safety signs, pool and hot tub ...
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 ...
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.
