Short-Term Rental Hosts Confront Cleaning Fee Conundrum

Morocco will co-host the 2030 edition of the FIFA World Cup, an immense opportunity for any nation, but one that has tourism chiefs worrying about where hordes of football fans will go. Overtourism is among Morocco’s biggest concerns as it heads towards the sporting event, trying to make sure travelers don’t swarm only the host cities.

Hotels still dominate over short-term rentals when U.S. travelers are deciding where to stay. But several trends show the challenges hotels face — and the growth opportunities for short-term rentals.

Last week, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm before ripping through six states leaving a path of destruction in its wake and killing more than 100 people. The record-breaking storm – which clocked 140 mph winds and a storm surge that reached more than 15 feet above ground in the Florida Big Bend region – has left millions to deal with flooded roads, flattened homes and buildings, and power outages. North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama have all made disaster declarations as emergency responders work to rescue missing persons and more than 1.2 million are still without power as of Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us. Popular North Carolina mountain towns – including Asheville – which have become top tourist destinations in the fall, have been reduced to debris as residents are left to rebuild their lives. Carrie Tucker of Charlotte, North Carolina, told Travel + Leisure in the wake of Hurricane Helene, western North Carolina is “completely cut off from life – no roads, no gas, no food.”

This summer, my wife, Cree, and I went to Dublin to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We chose it over more exotic destinations because it made sense to us: I’m a book critic and she’s a writer. How could we not go to Dublin, perhaps the most literature-soaked city in the world? The literary ghosts still stalk the medieval streetscapes — so many ghosts that they collide into one another and seem to make up a spectral and talkative rugby team.

Orlando is well known as the theme park capital of the world, but it also holds the title of the world's largest rental car market. Many of the city's rental cars originate from Orlando International Airport (MCO). Unfortunately, all those rental cars take up too much space in the airport's surface lots and parking garages.

Sit and enjoy the mountain view in a building with a cozy cabin feel, complete with free books and refreshments.

Waiting in a rental car line is high on my list of things I try to avoid after a flight. This was confirmed on a recent trip to Washington when I saw hectic crowds squeezing around the construction at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. This time around, I avoided them all with Kyte, a rental car company started in 2020 that delivers cars right to you or offers pick-ups and drop-offs at lots near select airports.

“S cottsdale topped the list of destinations for my sister’s bachelorette,” says Alexis Vazquez. Vazquez wrapped her maid of honor duties last month. Her voice has an edge of relief as she chronicles the logistics of planning her sister Reina’s dream bachelorette in Arizona. “Planning a wedding can be a nightmare, but people underestimate how complicated it is to throw a successful multi-day bachelorette party.”

With four theme parks and two water parks to explore, any fan knows it takes more than a day to experience Walt Disney World Resort. Thirteen miles from the “Most Magical Place on Earth”, Kissimmee is the best place to stay for a Disney marathon. Florida’s lakeside city has its own airport and Amtrak station and offers a wealth of restaurants, entertainment, and amenities to streamline a stay.

Twenty miles south of Orlando, Kissimmee is a hub for family vacations in Florida. Walt Disney World Resort is a 15-minute drive from the lakeside city which makes an equally convenient base for LEGOLAND Florida, Peppa Pig Theme Park, Cape Canaveral, and the Atlantic coast. The “Vacation Home Capital of the World” isn’t short on thrilling rentals with themed bedrooms to delight toddlers through to grandparents. These are the coolest Kissimmee vacation rentals for families in Florida’s entertainment capital.

Leading full-service luxury villa company Rental Escapes has added as many as 65 hand-selected villas to its impressive collection of unique stays around the world.

Elivaas, a tech-driven luxury villa and apartment management Indian startup, has secured $5 million in a funding round led by Bengaluru-based 3one4 Capital, with participation from Peak XV’s Surge and other angel investors.