July Fourth Short-Term Rental Bookings Surge on the U.S. Coasts

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will launch a new flight between Portland, Oregon, and Amsterdam in October, replacing a flight from partner Delta Air Lines between the two cities.

The islands of the Aegean are the jewels of Greece, but that doesn’t mean getting to them is a breeze. Until now, Greek island hopping — glamorous as it is — has required lengthy ferry rides, inconvenient flight schedules, cruises, or, if you're lucky, your own private yacht.

Nothing is more instructive than being wrong, and there’s no quicker way to be wrong than to have expectations. My arrival to Aktau, in Kazakhstan's Mangystau region, was by cargo ship, and over that 24-hour voyage, spent with long-haul truckers drinking duty-free whisky, I had plenty of time to imagine what awaited me on shore: a port city that was rough, brutalist, suspicious. At first sight, Aktau was brutalist, if only architecturally, but it was far from rough or suspicious. And while not beautiful, or even very pretty, there was something alluring about the place from the get-go.

Another month, another story about a destination cracking down on the short-term rental market.

A Margaritaville at Sea passenger is suing its parent company, Classica Cruise Operator, claiming she was raped by an employee of a hotel booked by the company.

Americans are heading to New York City for the Fourth of July weekend, but they’re not booking short-term rentals as much as last year. 

On this episode of The Last Resort, host Christina Jelski talks to Brandon White, owner of Share the Magic Travel, to talk about his recent visit to the Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Looking to combat soaring housing costs, Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni announced plans to ban short-term apartment rentals by the end of 2028.

Barcelona plans to end short-term rentals after complaints that tourism has priced locals out of the housing market.

Airbnb’s head of policy Jay Carney said recently that New York City Local Law 18 is an example of how not to regulate short-term rentals. But Barcelona officials don’t agree – and think regulations can go further.

Holidays can be a great time to travel if you have kids in school or you're running low on vacation time at work, and sometimes they're your only chance to get together with extended family. The downside? Prices tend to spike around Thanksgiving, Christmas and even long holiday weekends like Labor Day.

The lights of Las Vegas shine so bright that it’s the only city in the United States that astronauts can see from space. But when you add in a 4th of July fireworks extravaganza that blankets the entire valley, the destination might just be the brightest city on earth this holiday.