Short-term rentals tips

Everything got scrambled by the pandemic. Skift’s Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill gives an overview of 2023 Megatrends in the hospitality space, where a great merging in customer lives will start to challenge leaders in thinking outside the box.

Three travel tech startups have raised $9.3 million in the past week.

The longtime business models of online travel companies ranging from Airbnb to Expedia and Booking.com are getting increased scrutiny from the media and short-term rental hosts because these companies hold onto customer funds, and invest them for profits before disbursing them, sometimes months later.

British birdwatcher Harriet Babeo arrived at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs earlier this week and promptly racked up 80 species for her list including the world’s smallest hummingbird and the elusive red, white and blue Cuban trogon, rarities found only the island.

Five years ago, Airbnb toyed with the idea of launching a a “superguest” loyalty program, but CEO Brian Chesky seemed to shoot down the notion of a rewards program a couple of weeks ago.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, February 27. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Two travel tech startups raised $31.6 million this week. 

Berlin-based MYNE, which manages co-ownership of holiday properties, acquired its rival VillaCircle. 

The Swiss city of Lucerne is the latest to place restrictions on short-term rentals. Lucerne citizens voted (64 percent) to limit short-term rental stays to a maximum of 90 days per year.  

Three travel tech startups raised $23.5 million this week.

Four travel tech startups raised $29 million in venture capital this week. 

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, March 16. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Exactly a year ago Skift reported private equity chasing investments in short-term rentals and vacation rentals. At the time though, a short-term rental real estate investment trust (REIT) seemed distant. 

Hilton transitioned its central reservations system into the cloud in 2020, enabling guests to book connected rooms, but it is testing several new features to more deeply personalize guest bookings and stays.

Consolidation is coming to short-term rentals. It’s just a matter of how, when and of what nature?

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, April 6. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Airbnb has suspended hosting of all lodgings in Myanmar as the country has implemented strict laws prohibiting foreign tourists from staying at unregistered guesthouses or hotels.

Recent breakthroughs in Generative AI have had an electrifying effect on the tech world in recent weeks. Many have compared these first artificial intelligence tools, which create new content, such as images or text from simple prompts, to the early days of smartphones or the internet. With the potential for such wholesale disruption, what does generative AI mean for the travel industry? And how do we separate the hype around this new tech from the reality of what it will look like in use by travel companies.Skift Research’s latest report will attempt to tackle those questions by diving into Generative AI’s impact on the travel industry. This report will focus specifically on large language models and their use cases within the travel business.We examine seven different cases for how AI will be used across travel, including its implications for chatbots, operational efficiency, and search. Across most of these scenarios, we see multi-billion dollar markets being created. Skift Research estimates that altogether generative AI poses a $28 billion-plus opportunity for the travel industry.

Four travel tech startups raised $29 million this week. 

Despite a couple of rounds of layoffs since the middle of last year, Sonder hired 97 new, non-executive employees, and gave them all stocks options, as is the company’s practice.

The global score of the Skift Travel Health Index remained stable at 97, as per our latest March 2023 update. This is unchanged from the previous month.