Airbnb News and Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb continues to be a major force in the travel industry, redefining how people book and experience accommodations worldwide. At PhocusWire, we bring you the latest Airbnb news, along with broader coverage of the short-term rental sector, including platform innovation, market trends, and regulatory developments that shape this fast-moving space.

Updates on Airbnb, short-term rental trends, and regulatory shifts

Track how Airbnb is evolving its product offerings, enhancing guest and host tools, and adapting to consumer demand for more flexible, immersive travel. Our stories examine the intersection of tech innovation, policy, and platform strategy—providing insight into how short-term rentals continue to influence the broader hospitality landscape.

Startup Pitch: Hostfully puts service in the pocket of private accommodation users
News / Online
Startup Pitch: Hostfully puts service in the pocket of private accommodation users
By Kevin May | June 20, 2017
Hostfully is another of the brands to emerge in a bid to benefit from the widening ecosystem around private accommodation. The service produces guides for a guest at a property, on behalf of the ho Read More
Designing a loyalty programme around the modern-day traveller
News / Distribution
Designing a loyalty programme around the modern-day traveller
By Viewpoints | June 19, 2017
There are some influential forces at work in travel, shaping how the market is evolving and challenging brands to think carefully about the future. Alternative accommodation options such as Airbnb, Read More
Meeting marketplace sector consolidates as Gaest acquires Bokarum
News / Distribution
Meeting marketplace sector consolidates as Gaest acquires Bokarum
By Kevin May | June 15, 2017
A six-month-old Danish room booking service in hotels has acquired its Swedish competitor in a bid to corner the Nordic region. Gaest was launched in January this year and has bought Bokarum for an Read More
Airbnb claims 40% of listings are now instantly bookable
News / Online
Airbnb claims 40% of listings are now instantly bookable
By Kevin May | June 14, 2017
Airbnb has taken another step in the direction of its rivals in the vacation rental sector, with what it claims are milestones on booking and technology. For all its popularity and the apparent tec Read More
HomeAway and Airbnb home in on Japan
News / Distribution
HomeAway and Airbnb home in on Japan
By Martin Cowen | June 8, 2017
Japan is emerging as the latest front in the vacation rental/home-sharing battle, with HomeAway and Airbnb taking advantage of an improved regulatory environment. Expedia Inc's HomeAway, which says Read More
How hotels can compete in the new accommodation economy
News / Distribution
How hotels can compete in the new accommodation economy
By Viewpoints | June 5, 2017
We all know the message that Airbnb is supposedly beating the hotel sector in a number of ways. While the hotel industry is experiencing strong growth since the downturn of the economy, alternative Read More
Travel tech investment deals hit four-year high
News
Travel tech investment deals hit four-year high
By Kevin May | May 24, 2017
The number of new funding rounds into travel tech businesses increased by 12% between 2015 and 2016. Although the volume of individual deals climbed during last year, actual levels of funding were Read More
Hitting the mainstream - nothing alternative about alternative accommodation now
News / Distribution
Hitting the mainstream - nothing alternative about alternative accommodation now
By Kevin May | May 22, 2017
It suited the industry vernacular for a long time to pigeon hole everything that wasn't a hotel into the term "alternative accommodation". Long before the emergence of Airbnb and even HomeAway, bra Read More
HomeAway quietly introduces $1 million liability insurance
News / Online
HomeAway quietly introduces $1 million liability insurance
By Kevin May | May 16, 2017
Vacation rental giant HomeAway has started rolling out an insurance programme - the first time it has taken responsibility for the connections it makes between guests and homeowners. The $1 Million Read More
Facebook Reactions - a year of wow and haha for travel and tourism?
News / Online
Facebook Reactions - a year of wow and haha for travel and tourism?
By Nick Vivion | May 11, 2017
Facebook Reactions has just celebrated its first birthday - a reason if any to share a love heart-style - or angry - emoji. But, seriously, while not everyone greeted Reactions with excitement, the Read More
Airbnb seen as cheapest option for accommodation by many millennials
News / Online
Airbnb seen as cheapest option for accommodation by many millennials
By Kevin May | May 9, 2017
Either the marketing continues to wow younger travellers or it is correct that Airbnb is the cheaper provider of somewhere to stay when compared to hotels. That's an outcome to consider by hotel ma Read More
Content marketing - the new search?
News / Distribution
Content marketing - the new search?
By Viewpoints | May 5, 2017
Since the early days of “search”, travel brands have led the way in building new business models that cater to the changing ways that consumers shop online, engaging consumers at targeted moments when Read More
Airbnb's new business travel program offers all the comforts of home
News / Distribution
Airbnb's new business travel program offers all the comforts of home
By Michele McDonald | May 1, 2017
Airbnb introduced “Business Travel Ready,” a program that aims to provide business travelers with the most appropriate accommodations. It also offers a range of tools for corporate travel managers. Read More
Can technology address the concerns of business travellers?
News / Distribution
Can technology address the concerns of business travellers?
By Marisa Garcia | April 26, 2017
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives and American Express Global Business Travel have released a study of traveller trends including security and the so-called sharing economy. The 'Check Read More
Business travellers in the dark over Airbnb-style stays in company policy
News / Distribution
Business travellers in the dark over Airbnb-style stays in company policy
By Kevin May | April 20, 2017
Almost 40% of business trippers believe that staying in an Airbnb or similar property is allowed under corporate travel policy. But - and here's the rub - just one in six business travellers are ac Read More
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