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Of course! Yes, you are correct. It is simply a new "filter" that VRBO released to highlight last-minute stays on searches.
Hi Danny! Chase Travel partnered with Expedia Group to offer vacation rentals through the Chase Travel portal. Since Expedia Group includes Vrbo, the best way to get your vacation rentals in front of Chase cardholders is to ensure your properties are listed on Vrbo or Expedia.
Thanks for clarifying, Zach. I've got last minute discounts in place already. The wording made it seem like something else needed to be done to "activate" the feature with Vrbo. Sounds like that isn't the case -- thanks!
Hi everyone!
Great question! Here’s our support document that walks you through setting up last-minute discounts: Last Minute Discounts.
Hope this helps and leads to more bookings this summer!
Meet the husband and wife team behind Porchlit Properties, a growing short-term rental business based in Alabama. What began with a career shift and a couple of thoughtfully designed Airbnb rentals has grown into a full portfolio under their brand, Porchlit Properties LLC. With a focus on hospitality, strong systems, and guest experience, they’ve built a business that not only delivers memorable stays but also supports their local community.
My journey into vacation rentals began with a dislike of my current job and a desire to create memorable stays for guests. What started as my husband's company with a couple of thoughtfully designed Airbnb rentals has grown into a portfolio of uniquely styled short-term rentals under our business, Porchlit Properties LLC. We have focused on building systems that provide a consistently high-quality guest experience while supporting the local community and contractors.
We are a small business owner, a lifelong Alabama resident, and a couple who thrives on both structure and creativity. Our background spans healthcare, entrepreneurship, fitness, and customer service—all of which blend seamlessly into the vacation rental world. We also are travelers ourself, so we understand what makes a stay feel like home.
Before vacation rentals, I worked in the corporate healthcare industry and my husband did everything from fitness to massage therapy to car sales. I learned early on how important attention to detail, communication, and systems are—skills that directly shaped the way I manage properties now. But really my husband taught me everything I know, and he learned all from trial and error.
We were raised in Alabama, so our properties are located right where my roots are. That local insight helps me recommend experiences and neighborhoods guests might otherwise miss. However, we do have one property in Tennessee and we are looking to expand more.
I love the creativity and connection. Designing each space is deeply personal, and hosting allows me to meet people from all walks of life while making their travels easier and more enjoyable. It’s incredibly rewarding.
The unpredictability can be challenging—especially when you’re balancing back-to-back turnovers, last-minute issues, or unreasonable guest expectations. But even then, I’ve learned that the right systems and communication can resolve almost anything.
OwnerRez is the backbone of my business. I use it for channel management, direct bookings, automated messaging, payment processing, and assigning tasks to my team. It keeps me organized and lets me focus more on hospitality than admin work.
Automation. From messaging to payment reminders, OwnerRez saves me hours every week. The integrations with tools like Zapier and QuickBooks are also game-changers for streamlining operations. I am still learning Zapier but it seems like an amazing tool!
Porchlit Properties is building something special, rooted in hospitality and strong local ties. We look forward to seeing their continued success as they expand into Tennessee and beyond.
How do you add your vacation rentals to Chase‘s platform?
Yes please; is this something we need to activate?
I second Alece’s question
We’re pleased to announce our new integration with BetterSTR, a guest experience platform built by experienced Superhosts. Their personalized digital guidebook now integrates seamlessly with OwnerRez, giving you an easy way to share check-in details, door codes, and property info, all in one place.
BetterSTR is built by experienced Superhosts who know what it takes to earn 5-star reviews. Our mission is to simplify and elevate the guest experience with tools designed to make hosting easier and more professional.
At the heart of BetterSTR is the Better Guidebook—a dynamic, personalized digital guidebook that automatically syncs with your reservation data. For each guest, it generates a unique guide with check-in/out times, door codes, and essential property details. You can embed video walkthroughs, print QR codes for appliances and remotes, and even control visibility so each guest sees only what’s relevant to their stay. BetterSTR supports SMS delivery, integrates with local weather and Viator activity widgets, and offers powerful tools to help you create seamless, 5-star stays every time.
Access to the Better Guidebook is completely free – no subscriptions. If you choose to deliver your guidebook via mobile SMS/TXT, messages are charged at just $0.10 NZD per message. This is a great option for hosts who want to ensure important info reaches guests instantly and reliably.
Get started with BetterSTR by visiting here and checking out the OwnerRez support article for integrating OwnerRez with BetterSTR.
Thanks, OR team!
Regarding your Vrbo blurb, you state: "If you’ve got unbooked nights coming up, adopting this new feature could be a simple way to increase visibility and secure more reservations." How exactly do we "adopt this new feature"?
This week’s roundup covers Vrbo’s new push to fill last-minute gaps, Chase Travel’s continued expansion into vacation rentals, growing U.S. investment in Italian homes, and a key court ruling reinforcing Spain’s sweeping STR crackdown. Let’s dive in.
Vrbo has rolled out Last Minute Deals, featuring discounted rentals available for check-in within 30 days. This new filter is designed to attract spontaneous travelers and help hosts fill last-minute calendar gaps, just in time for the summer travel rush. If you’ve got unbooked nights coming up, offering last-minute discounts could be a simple way to increase visibility and secure more reservations.
Chase Travel expands vacation home access for cardholders. Starting in July, Chase is expanding access to vacation home listings in its Travel portal, giving more cardholders the ability to book properties from platforms like Vrbo. While details are still rolling out, this move could drive more visibility and traffic to vacation rentals, a promising sign for property owners this summer.
A growing trend shows Americans buying second homes in rural Italy, attracted by lower prices and steady demand. With the powerful tools and integrations offered by OwnerRez, managing from afar is easier than ever. If you're considering expanding internationally, this is a trend worth watching.
Spain court backs STR crackdown, rejects Airbnb appeal. Following our previous update on May 23rd, Spain’s top administrative court has rejected Airbnb’s appeal, clearing the way for the removal of over 65,000 unlicensed listings. This ruling supports the Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ efforts to enforce licensing and ownership disclosure requirements amid the ongoing housing crisis.
That’s all for now. We’ll be keeping an eye on global regulations, shifting booking strategies, and how the summer travel season plays out, so stay tuned for more updates next week.
We’re excited to welcome Noshable as a new integrated partner! This integration lets you offer grocery delivery and stocking as a seamless add-on to the guest experience.
Noshable is a turnkey grocery concierge service designed for vacation rentals. We make it easy for property managers to offer guests a fully stocked kitchen upon arrival—boosting guest satisfaction and creating an effortless upsell opportunity. Through our platform, guests can shop pre-arrival and have their groceries delivered and neatly stocked before check-in. Noshable handles everything from fulfillment to substitutions, making it a hands-off revenue stream for hosts.
Features
No Membership or service fees, just pay for a practice order that you build from the customer’s POV to ensure a smooth experience and to handle any troubleshooting before offering this service to your guest.
Get started with Noshable by visiting here and checking out the OwnerRez support article for integrating OwnerRez with Noshable.
Hi! If you're interested in learning more about the Certified Advisor Program, please see this Support Doc:
https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/certified-advisor-program
If you're interested in pursuing the Badge, fill out our application form here to start your certification journey.
On the other hand, if you're trying to find a Certified Advisor, you can locate them on our public OwnerRez Certified Advisors page.
If you have any questions, please feel free to send an email to Help@OwnerRez.com with a subject line of "Certified Advisor Question".
Great news, there are so many updates I cannot keep up! How do we contact this area?
Reading your story makes me want to visit Orange Beach, Alabama. If I didn't manage beach rentals myself - this is where I would go vacation after reading your story that overlaps mine so much from how you started to how you found OwnerRez. Love love love your story! When I am able to travel - will definitely consider this. Need to check out weather conditions for Thanksgiving and Christmas - maybe a mini-family reunion is in order. Congratulations on your success and here's to many more years of it!
Cathie Harrison
Owner of My Galveston Getaway
Still waiting for a call/email to connect with them and learn more...
Thanks WWVR! We probably won't be doing a webinar on these May releases, but keep an eye on our Webinars page. Remember that all the information in these monthly Product Updates is added to our Support Center articles.
Thanks, Alece. I agree that having the Check-in Status condition available for inquiry triggers would be super helpful for Airbnb inquiries. I suggest you submit a Feature Request, just like your Filter by Response Written or Not Written. Thank you for being a valuable and active part of our OwnerRez community!
This week’s roundup covers Vrbo’s top Southern beach spots, major rental crackdowns in Maui and B.C., Marriott’s new rain guarantee, and the rise of AI in vacation rentals.
According to Vrbo, 30A (FL), Wilmington (NC), Hilton Head (SC), and Gulf Shores (AL) are this summer’s most in-demand beach destinations in the U.S. South. 30A offers picturesque coastal towns and family-friendly activities, Wilmington is celebrated for its scenic beaches and vibrant local culture, Hilton Head combines golf and outdoor recreation with relaxation, and Gulf Shores draws visitors with its sugar-white sands and water sports. Vrbo recommends booking vacation homes at least two months in advance, though last-minute deals are still available.
Maui County’s Housing and Land Use Committee debated Bill 9, Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposal to phase out about 6,000 vacation rentals in apartment zones to address the local housing crisis, on June 9th. Emotional testimony from supporters emphasized housing shortages for residents, while opponents warned of severe economic impacts and legal issues. The hearing will resume on June 18.
Airbnb is canceling thousands of bookings in British Columbia, citing issues with the province’s new short-term rental registration system. The company blames technical glitches and is urging the government to delay the June 23 deadline, while officials insist the system is working and accuse Airbnb of political tactics.
Marriott Homes & Villas partnered with WeatherPromise to offer guests a unique “rain protection” guarantee on vacation rentals. Travelers selecting coverage receive automatic compensation if rainfall exceeds preset thresholds during their stay, without needing to file claims.
AI is quietly transforming the vacation rental industry, with tools like chatbots, smart pricing, and automated guest messaging improving efficiency. Though less than a third of property managers currently use AI, adoption is growing as more explore its potential for operations, personalization, and revenue management. We'll be sharing information about our AI assistant, Rezzy, next month and are thrilled to get it into the hands of as many OwnerRez users as possible!
As peak season unfolds, expect more shifts in regulation, technology, and traveler behavior. Check back next week for the latest in the evolving vacation rental landscape.
Destin Breaks is a boutique management company that has been managing upscale beachfront vacation rentals in Destin, Florida, since 2016. Their ultimate goal is to create an environment where every guest can enjoy the perfect vacation.
I bought my first beachfront vacation rental in Destin, FL in 2016. It quickly proved to be a good business for me, and I bought four more in the same building. While managing my own vacation rentals, I began the certification to be a Florida Real Estate Broker so that I could begin managing a few units for others, too. My ultimate focus has always been on guest satisfaction; therefore, I didn't want a big business where I would lose my focus. I called it a 'boutique management company', and only accepted to work with property owners who invested in their properties and had good personalities. Now I manage 22 units in the Destin, FL area.
This is my 2nd career. I worked in Siemens and Nokia for over 20 years, and lived in 5 countries for my job. I began managing my own properties as a side project while still working at my full time job. In time, it evolved and let me get out of the corporate life.
I am from Turkey, a country with a lot of beaches and vacation opportunities. I moved to the US in 2014, since then I've lived in Dallas, Texas but often travel to Destin, Florida. We travel a lot and have travelled all over the US. When we went for a vacation to Destin, FL; we were so impressed with the town and its crystal-clear waters. It was no match to anywhere else in the US. That made me think that it would be a good business year around.
Once properly set up, OwnerRez offloaded ALL of my routine tasks so that I can focus on the guests and still have time for my family. I have my own website getting 40%+ of my bookings. It is not easy to rank on the first page, it takes time, knowledge and effort. But when you achieve it, you get bookings, everything is automatically processed, and guests are provided with tons of information by email and text. I can also follow-up on how they're doing, using the triggers on OwnerRez. When I began property management, owners loved the statements and the dashboard they can see. It takes me around 30 minutes to consolidate and pay them at the end of the month.
I love all features but if I ranked them, it would be:
3. Free widgets
Destin Breaks has grown from one rental into a thriving boutique business by focusing on what matters most, creating great experiences for their guests. With 22 beautiful properties in Destin, FL, they’re a wonderful example of how OwnerRez helps property managers grow their business and deliver exceptional service.
We are happy to announce our integration with Yada to offer our users an AI-powered platform designed to automate guest messaging.
Make more money and streamline guest communication with Yada - an AI-powered platform designed to automate guest messaging while growing revenue for your hospitality business. Yada features 24/7 auto-response capabilities that handle over 70% of guest inquiries, digital guidebooks with QR-enabled property information, and powerful revenue tools like high-value upsells and marketing automations. With seamless integration, Yada instantly syncs with OwnerRez to pull in guest data and messages, and even offers a telephony option that provides full guest context on incoming calls while enabling remarketing opportunities.
Starting at $9.99/month/property. You can view all the pricing details here.
Get started with Yada by visiting here and checking out the OwnerRez support article for integrating OwnerRez with Yada.
With a background in resort management, property maintenance, and guest services, the owners of Heron Holiday Homes bring decades of experience to the vacation rental industry. Their expertise in hospitality and HVAC services made the transition to managing a thriving vacation rental portfolio a seamless fit.
I began my career in the hospitality industry in January 2000, starting as a maintenance technician and working my way up to General Manager of a timeshare resort. Over the years, I managed several large resorts in the Orlando area. After a decade in hospitality, I decided to pursue a different path, joining my father’s air conditioning business. Eventually, I started my own company in that field. My wife, Letica, owned a residential cleaning company, and we had extensive experience in property maintenance and guest services.
Through our work, we crossed paths with the original owner of Heron Holiday Homes. I provided HVAC services for her vacation properties while my wife managed the cleaning services. When her husband passed away, she decided to step away from the business and approached us with the opportunity to take over. Given our hospitality, maintenance, and cleaning background, it was a natural fit. We took the leap, and since then, we’ve grown Heron Holiday Homes from 10 properties to 30, focusing on providing high-quality, personalized service.
My career started in hospitality, managing timeshare resorts before I moved into the air conditioning business. I worked for a local vacation home management company for about five years.
Before vacation rentals, I worked in hospitality for 10 years and ran my own air conditioning company.
I moved to Florida in 1985 and have been here ever since. I graduated from Boone High School in Orlando and earned a Business Degree from Rollins College in Winter Park.
Florida has been home for most of my life. Its thriving tourism industry, beautiful weather, and family-friendly attractions made it an ideal place to build a career in hospitality and vacation rentals.
The best part of the vacation rental business is the opportunity to create unforgettable guest experiences. I love meeting people worldwide, helping them make lifelong memories, and seeing their excitement when they stay in one of our homes. Providing a comfortable, welcoming space where families can relax and enjoy their vacations is incredibly rewarding.
The biggest challenge in this industry is dealing with the unpredictability of guest expectations and last-minute changes. While we strive to provide exceptional service, there are always situations beyond our control—unexpected maintenance issues, difficult guests, or market fluctuations. However, we take pride in handling these challenges quickly and efficiently to ensure a smooth experience for our guests.
OwnerRez is an essential tool for streamlining our vacation rental management. We use it for automation, guest communication, and ensuring seamless bookings. The platform allows us to manage reservations across multiple channels, handle payments efficiently, and automate guest messaging. It has significantly reduced the manual workload, allowing us to focus more on providing excellent guest experiences.
One of the most valuable features of OwnerRez is its automation capabilities. It simplifies everything from booking confirmations to follow-up emails, saving us countless hours of manual work. The ability to integrate with our direct booking website through its WordPress plugin has been a game changer, ensuring real-time updates across all platforms. Additionally, their customer support and user community are outstanding, always providing quick and helpful responses whenever we need assistance.
Richard and Letica have truly made Heron Holiday Homes a standout in the vacation rental industry. We look forward to seeing how they continue to grow their business!
Allison Hasler, founder of Southern Illinois Vacation Rentals, turned her passion for hospitality into a thriving business. From running a yacht charter on Kentucky Lake to creating upscale tiny house cabins, she has built a rental portfolio focused on quality and guest experience. With a background in public health and a love for the ever-changing vacation rental industry, she now manages 40 properties.
Our career in hospitality started in 2015 when my husband sold a business. We took our first installment from the business and purchased a 50 ft. Silverton motor yacht on Kentucky Lake as our next business venture: Kentucky Lake Boat Charters- the first and only privately owned pleasure boat chartering company on Kentucky Lake & Lake Barkley. As you can imagine... it was a fun and exhausting season of our life. We learned two things from that venture: 1) We love the hospitality industry and sharing our passions with others. 2) We can do something similar a LOT more convenient than an hour's commute and spending all of our weekends working. So, we decided to sell the yacht and focus on our cabin venture.
After deciding on "tiny house" style cabins, I pledged I would only build a business that I would be willing to spend my own money on staying in —chic, modern, comfortable. Thus, Dam Near Lake of Egypt Cabins, LLC, was launched in 2018. It is a cheeky name for a surprisingly delightful experience (1 mile from Lake of Egypt's dam).
Fast-forward again. Thanks to OwnerRez, we kept the back end of the business a well-oiled machine. We then branched out to help other property owners with their own short-term rentals. Thus, Southern Illinois Vacation Rentals was born, focusing on unique and upscale properties.
My background is in public health, and I spent over 11 years in the field, with a concentrated knowledge in rural health disparities. I spent most of my career in various roles in government entities- local, county, state, and federal government. In 2021, I left my final government role to pursue the property management company full-time. Southern Illinois Vacation Rentals consisted of 8+ short-term rental properties throughout Southern Illinois.
We moved to Southern Illinois in 2005 after I returned home from a military deployment to Iraq. It was an easy decision as my husband and I grew up in central Illinois and what most would think of as Illinois when not picturing Chicago- "the land of corn and beans." But Southern Illinois is very different. It is hilly and beautiful; much of it is covered by Shawnee National Forest. There are wineries and orchards, lakes, hiking, and even wetlands. We would "staycation" in the area when we were dating, so it made sense to move a couple of hours south to enjoy it more.
I love that no two days are the same. There is always a challenge, a pivot, or a new dynamic to understand. Systems that worked for five properties didn't work for ten, and we still have major operational shifts every five or so properties that we grow. I still love the hospitality part of the business and try to talk to as many visitors as possible, but the VR business is ever-changing, and I find that fascinating.
People management. I laugh as I write that because I have learned so much about business and myself in the years my business has grown. No fantastic property is worth a terrible client (homeowner), and no exceptional cleaner is worth keeping on the team if they have a bad attitude or cause a negative team dynamic. I've had to learn this the hard way. Even in the most rural areas, like my own, you can be selective with who you work with, and that is the beauty of owning your own VR business.
I use every nook and cranny of the OR system, with the exception of the PM Statements. It was the sole reason I was able to grow from 2 owned properties in 2018 to 40 managed (4 owned) by the end of 2024. Automation and integration are everything.
I could go on and on about my favorite features. So, I'll keep it to the top 3 in no particular order:
1) Custom fields—Thanks to property custom fields, I have one welcome message for 40 very different properties.
2) Owner Statements—I'm excited for the launch of the "overhaul," but the owner statements—the ability to customize what is shown, upload receipts and other documents to expenses, and create an owner portal for clients to enter—are wonderful.
3) API - I make decisions based on API options with OR. The portfolio is just too extensive now to join a platform or add to my tech stack that doesn't have the capability to integrate with OwnerRez.
From launching a yacht charter to creating upscale tiny house cabins, and growing a portfolio of 40 properties, Allison's journey is a true testament to passion and dedication. Wishing Southern Illinois Vacation Rentals continued success as Allison continues to elevate the vacation rental experience and deliver exceptional hospitality to her guests.
Meet Stephanie, a dedicated vacation rental owner and property manager who turned her love for the beach into a thriving business, Sea South Properties. What started as a personal investment in 2005 quickly evolved into a full-fledged career after realizing the value of hands-on management.
My husband and I began vacationing in Orange Beach, Alabama in 2000. We quickly came to love the sand between our toes and the beach community's vibe. We wanted more time at the beach to build memories with our three children. We purchased our first beach vacation home in 2005. I thought it would be difficult to manage the property from another state, so we began the short-term rental journey with a large, local property management company. We aimed to rent the condo when we were not using it and have vacationers cover the expenses. Sounds great, right? Not so fast… I quickly realized I would need to manage the property myself to give the high standard of customer service I expected. I gave undertaking the management myself a great deal of consideration before making the decision to begin the process, but now realize it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! I trusted myself to do a better job. I had another career, so it was not on my radar to become a full-time property manager.
This is my third career. While I worked in my other positions, I had condo owners in the area approaching me about managing their vacation properties for them. I enjoyed managing mine so much that I decided to obtain my real estate license and see what I could build out of this side hustle. I put the work into learning the industry and moved forward with taking new properties to manage, eventually growing to 34 properties.
I retired as the CEO of a home maintenance and remodeling company after 26 years of service. This is where I learned how to provide excellent customer service. At our company, we did not compromise. The company expanded greatly through word-of-mouth referrals, and it did grow! It was a challenge, but I worked for a wonderful owner who strived for excellence in everything the company performed. After retiring, I wanted to challenge myself and work in a completely different industry. I dove headfirst into the banking field at a credit union. I retired as the Executive Vice President after 8 years. During both of these careers, I managed my own properties, and then, as other owners asked me to manage theirs, I became a realtor and began Sea South Properties.
I am an Alabama resident but keep my home in Louisiana. I have surrounded myself with an excellent team of assistants, runners, cleaners, and maintenance people. They make the wheels turn, and I could not operate without them.
I love that I am helping families make memories at the beach. For years after a family beach vacation, families will have birthday and Christmas parties, and there will always be someone fondly reminiscing about the last beach trip. I love knowing I contributed to that in a small way. Alternatively, I strive to be the property manager I wish I had when I first became a short-term vacation rental owner. I enjoy the industry and burst with pride at every 5-star review I receive. I’m tenacious and am always working on improving my systems. The OwnerRez software helps me with the details and is a big part of the growth and improvement of Sea South Properties.
Since doing this for many years, I’ve seen the positives and the negatives in the property management field. Things can change for the worse on a dime, and you need to constantly have your antenna up and pay attention to what’s happening in the industry. It can be a tropical storm, hurricane, an oil spill, a real estate bust, or a global pandemic that can turn your world upside down. Paying attention to trends and acting quickly is essential. When I first began managing my own condo, I only accepted checks. Now, with the help of OwnerRez, I manage 34 condos and take many different forms of payment. In the early 2000s, everyone booked seven-day vacations many months in advance. Today, I receive same-day bookings regularly during the high season.
I researched many options, and after speaking with other property managers, I began researching OwnerRez. The software, website, and the integrations available to users were what I required for a seamless operation. The software integrations would do so much of the work for me, and having reports at my fingertips would give me the information necessary to make decisions instantly. As I began to work with the software and learn everything it could do, I knew I had made the right decision. Over the years, as OwnerRez grew and improved, so did I. I look at it as a partnership. I’ve received nothing but stellar service from the OwnerRez team. There’s not one problem I’ve had with the software that we could not work through and resolve. It’s been a privilege to work with their team. They understand the property management business, and the software reflects that. It’s not perfect yet, but they are continuously improving and introducing new software features.
For me, it’s hands down the website. Presenting a professional front for Sea South Properties allowed me to gain traction as I jumped into this full-time. A close second is the integration with ResortClean, RemoteLock, and the Oracode Kaba lock site. These seamless integrations allow me more time to focus on other, more critical aspects of the business. Another crucial benefit for me is operating the software from my smartphone. This was a game-changer. I am now able to be more mobile and am still able to give excellent response times to my guests. I am definitely team OwnerRez and wouldn’t dream of using another PM software.
It’s wonderful to see how Stephanie has turned her passion for the beach and her background in customer service into a successful vacation rental business. Wishing her continued growth and success as she helps families create lasting memories at Sea South Properties!
So many great new features! Thank you!
Wow!!! So many new features. This is truly amazing. Will there be a webinar that we could go over all of these items in a short session? Looking forward to implementing many of the new features. Thank you so much for your hard work at keeping the business ahead of the rest!
Tighter rules and shifting demand are reshaping the vacation rental landscape. From Maui to Greece, governments are cracking down to address housing concerns, signaling a wave of change ahead of peak travel season.
Maui County is advancing legislation to phase out short-term vacation rentals in apartment-zoned areas, aiming to address the island’s housing crisis. Bill 9, introduced by Mayor Richard Bissen, targets approximately 2,200 units, revising earlier estimates of 7,000. The proposal has sparked debate, with supporters viewing it as a necessary step to increase long-term housing availability, while critics argue it could harm the local economy and tourism industry. Amendments under consideration include delaying enforcement until 2030 and exempting timeshare units. The Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee is set to review the bill in a public hearing on Monday, June 9, at 10 a.m.
Caribbean nations are adopting varied strategies to manage Airbnb and similar short-term rentals, balancing tourism benefits with housing concerns. During Caribbean Week in New York, tourism ministers from different islands discussed their approaches. Some are implementing regulations to ensure fair competition and community well-being, while others are embracing these platforms to boost tourism. The diversity in policies reflects each island’s unique economic and social priorities.
Short-term rentals in Greece have surpassed hotels in popularity among tourists, particularly in Athens, where platforms like Airbnb now offer more accommodations than traditional hotels. This surge has led to housing shortages and rising rents, prompting the government to implement a one-year ban on new short-term rental licenses in central Athens starting January 1, 2025. Additionally, a new daily tax on such rentals has been introduced to address the impact of overtourism and fund infrastructure improvements. These measures aim to balance the economic benefits of tourism with the need to preserve local communities and ensure housing availability for residents.
Demand for U.S. vacation homes has dropped to its lowest level since 2018, with second-home mortgage approvals down 66% from the pandemic peak. Rising costs, tighter short-term rental rules, and less remote work are key factors, with Florida markets like Miami and Orlando seeing steep declines. Even wealthy buyers are pulling back, signaling a broader shift toward more cautious spending.
Twimo has introduced a private vacation rental platform that lets homeowners securely rent, share, or swap properties within a trusted network. Designed to avoid public listing sites and rising STR regulations, it offers guest verification, calendar syncing, and no service fees, helping owners retain more income.
As summer travel ramps up, expect continued shakeups in policy, demand, and market dynamics. Check back next week for the latest developments in the short-term rental world.
Some great discussion here and glad to see folks are interested in learning more. I agree that Stay is an early stage, up and coming opportunity - that's why I decided to jump in early and see where it can lead. In discussions, they've assured me that in 1-2 months, inquiries will start rolling in. There is some benefit in getting in early and getting some individualized marketing and attention to your property. I used another very established by owner site for 3x the cost per year and received just 5 inquiries the whole year (some of which were spam)......Established does not mean proven. Based on Jeff's (CEO) focus on search and retargeting in his comment on this thread, I'm confident that they have a plan to monitor performance and iterate on their business model to ensure happy rental owners.
Can anyone comment on Topkey's pricing model and provide a rough sense of the cost (per month or year)?
Looking at their website, they don't provide any information on pricing. They say to email or to use a link to ask for a demo or you can email for pricing. I don't really want to sit through a demo to have to wait to hear pricing information at the end.
I am email to see what I learn and will share that so that others can be spared the extra steps.
