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.

New Tnooz Report: What the sharing economy’s success means for your travel business
Webinars / Online
New Tnooz Report: What the sharing economy’s success means for your travel business
By Sean O'Neil | May 12, 2016
The travel industry worldwide has been witnessing a modern-day gold rush called the sharing economy. Emerging companies such as Airbnb, HomeAway’s Travelmob, Breather, Uber, Lyft, Didi Kuaidi, Turo Read More
VCs highlight over and under-invested travel sectors
News / Online
VCs highlight over and under-invested travel sectors
By Kevin May | May 11, 2016
Any new travel business plotting to capture some of the action in the rental and sharing sector should probably think again. Or, at the very least, they should not be assuming the financial backers Read More
Bnbsitter, the concierge service for home rentals, raises $2.5 million
News
Bnbsitter, the concierge service for home rentals, raises $2.5 million
By Sean O'Neil | May 2, 2016
Last year, BnbSitter, a Parisian startup that offers on-demand concierge for hosts of short-term rentals on Airbnb and other platforms, landed more than $450,000 in seed funding. Now the company ha Read More
Airbnb goes after vacation rental owners with technology push
News / Distribution
Airbnb goes after vacation rental owners with technology push
By Kevin May | April 27, 2016
Airbnb is increasing its ability to capture business from the traditional vacation rental industry, with a series of connections with technology providers. After testing its API with four tech comp Read More
Ride-sharing tipped to be a $6.5 billion sector by 2020
News / Distribution
Ride-sharing tipped to be a $6.5 billion sector by 2020
By Kevin May | April 26, 2016
Ride-sharing brands will see revenues grow to an estimated $6.5 billion within four years, a report into the sharing economy has suggested. Juniper Research forecasts the $3.3 billion the sector ma Read More
Lords above! OTAs face possible UK competition investigation
News / Distribution
Lords above! OTAs face possible UK competition investigation
By Martin Cowen | April 22, 2016
UK-based lawyers at Expedia, Priceline and TripAdvisor are rubbing their hands with glee at the possibility the UK government's Competition Authority might launch an investigation into the entire onli Read More
Move along tourists as Airbnb campaigns for the local experience
News / Technology
Move along tourists as Airbnb campaigns for the local experience
By Linda Fox | April 20, 2016
Airbnb says personalisation is at the heart of its updated mobile application launched this week alongside 'Live There' - it's largest brand campaign. The enhanced app aims to understand travellers Read More
Airbnb continues to build presence in India
News / Distribution
Airbnb continues to build presence in India
By Martin Cowen | April 18, 2016
Airbnb has announced a strategic partnership with India's largest media conglomerate The Times Group. Some reports in media outlets owned by the Times Group say that its investment arm - Times Glob Read More
Airbnb hosts get destination guide building service
News / Online
Airbnb hosts get destination guide building service
By Kevin May | April 15, 2016
The idea of "living like a local" is, in reality, a fallacy - a local often has far more mundane and real-life things to do than experience their own city. But the rise of so-called sharing economy Read More
Airbnb acquires a team of blockchain techies
News
Airbnb acquires a team of blockchain techies
By Sean O'Neil | April 13, 2016
Home rental giant Airbnb has acquired several top employees of ChangeCoin, a startup that created a micro-payments platform based on blockchain technology. The news was first reported by Quartz and Read More
Airbnb is forecast to have $12.3 billion in bookings in 2016
News / Distribution
Airbnb is forecast to have $12.3 billion in bookings in 2016
By Sean O'Neil | April 11, 2016
Hard data on the financials of private company Airbnb are notoriously difficult to nail down. But a new estimate by US investment bank Cowen & Company predicts that the bookings site will process Read More
HomeRez woos Euro 4 million from Expedia vet and others, plots expansion
News / Distribution
HomeRez woos Euro 4 million from Expedia vet and others, plots expansion
By Kevin May | April 11, 2016
Vacation rental online booking and distribution service HomeRez has banked Euro 4 million from a panel of angel investors and two financial houses. Investing in the two-year-old company are Entrepr Read More
Artificial intelligence-based travel concierge - not hard to break it
News / Technology
Artificial intelligence-based travel concierge - not hard to break it
By Kevin May | March 23, 2016
Trip planning startup Tripoto recently announced rather grandly that it has created the "world's first AI-based travel concierge". Online virtual assistants in the travel industry are not new by an Read More
HomeAway's new fee sparks some anger the company tries to quell
News / Online
HomeAway's new fee sparks some anger the company tries to quell
By Sean O'Neil | March 15, 2016
Dozens of owners of vacation rental properties have spoken out online against HomeAway's new fees, introduced as part of a switch in model from classified listings to an instantly bookable, transactio Read More
Airbnb to let neighbors report on bad hosts
News / Online
Airbnb to let neighbors report on bad hosts
By Sean O'Neil | March 14, 2016
Next month, Airbnb is going to enable neighbors to provide comments on nearby hosts, a company executive said on Monday. The virtual comment box will debut in Japan and then roll out worldwide, sai Read More
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