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.

Uber raises $1.2 billion in investment and puts valuation at eye-watering $17 billion
News / Distribution
Uber raises $1.2 billion in investment and puts valuation at eye-watering $17 billion
By Kevin May | June 6, 2014
The founders of Uber will indeed be treating themselves this weekend after announcing a mammoth $1.2 billion investment round. The US-based, private car rental service has secured its latest inject Read More
Airbnb continues to experiment, asking hosts to throw dinners for strangers
News / Distribution
Airbnb continues to experiment, asking hosts to throw dinners for strangers
By Nick Vivion | June 4, 2014
Airbnb is stepping into yet another sub-category of the sharing economy: dinner with strangers. This is territory defined by smaller startups such as EatWith and Feastly, which have used minimal re Read More
Sharing managed travel - how much are Google employees spending with Airbnb?
News / Distribution
Sharing managed travel - how much are Google employees spending with Airbnb?
By Kevin May | May 23, 2014
Depending on who you ask, "sharing economy" brands sites such as Airbnb will either be a huge threat or have no impact at all on corporate travel. The smarter industry commentators know that the re Read More
Airbnb to turn over over anonymized records to New York authorities
News
Airbnb to turn over over anonymized records to New York authorities
By Sean O'Neil | May 21, 2014
In an announcement today, Airbnb, the peer-to-peer short-term housing rental network, agreed to a request from New York State's Attorney General for anonymized records of users in the city. This en Read More
Booking.com launches rental site Villas.com
News / Distribution
Booking.com launches rental site Villas.com
By Kevin May | May 13, 2014
Major product extension for Booking.com as it launches its first standalone brand in the guise of Villas.com. The Priceline-owned accommodation giant officially unveiled the site this week in a bid Read More
Airbnb quietly tries a new approach to selling tours and activities
News
Airbnb quietly tries a new approach to selling tours and activities
By Kevin May | May 12, 2014
Airbnb is struggling to stay out of the news with various regulatory issues in the US  - but behind the scenes it's still trying out new things. As it looks to fend off growing levels noise from th Read More
B&Bs: Don't let Airbnb eat you for breakfast
News / Online
B&Bs: Don't let Airbnb eat you for breakfast
By Viewpoints | May 6, 2014
Airbnb has taken the world by storm, but not without controversy. NB: This is an opinion from Mary White, CEO of BnBFinder, bed-and-breakfast directory. Just last week the American Hotel and Lod Read More
A possible blueprint for success with tours and activities marketplaces
News / Distribution
A possible blueprint for success with tours and activities marketplaces
By Viewpoints | May 5, 2014
The meteoric growth of collaborative and P2P consumption in travel is creating new ways for people to connect and to exchange services. NB: This is an analysis by David Urmann, founder of Touristli Read More
Hotels: take your heads out of the sand and get over the Airbnb threat
News / Distribution
Hotels: take your heads out of the sand and get over the Airbnb threat
By Viewpoints | May 2, 2014
Have you heard the one about wrestling with the jewel case to listen to your new CD? *Crickets* NB: This is an opinion from Susan Barry, president at Hive Marketing. Of course you haven’t – a Read More
American hotel association to fight Airbnb and short-term rentals
News / Online
American hotel association to fight Airbnb and short-term rentals
By Sean O'Neil | April 30, 2014
The hotel industry is finally mustering its considerable public relations and lobbying muscle to tackle the topic of short-term online rental companies, such as Airbnb. In a message to its members Read More
HouseTrip axes private rooms from portfolio, will lose 5% of product
News / Online
HouseTrip axes private rooms from portfolio, will lose 5% of product
By Kevin May | April 15, 2014
Shifting of the sand in the vacation rental marketplace with confirmation that HouseTrip is scrapping all listings of private rooms from its database. HouseTrip informed hosts of the "important cha Read More
Investors don't mind legal bills of risk takers such as Airbnb and Uber
News
Investors don't mind legal bills of risk takers such as Airbnb and Uber
By PhocusWire | April 7, 2014
STARTUPS: The legal minefield that has become the sharing economy over the past 12 months or so would, under perhaps normal circumstances, put off anyone with half a brain. But the potential rewards Read More
The future of SEO: Personalized search results, Google data collection and the IoT [VIDEO]
News / Technology
The future of SEO: Personalized search results, Google data collection and the IoT [VIDEO]
By Nick Vivion | April 3, 2014
[video_popup width="805" height="454" video_link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMVYSVHW2gc" video_image_link="https://www.tnooz.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/DealScoopr-main1.jpg"] SEOs from ac Read More
Airbnb's Shared City initiative spawns paid hotel taxes in Portland, San Francisco
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Airbnb's Shared City initiative spawns paid hotel taxes in Portland, San Francisco
By Nick Vivion | April 1, 2014
Accommodations booked through hosts on Airbnb will soon be charged hotel taxes in both Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, California. The announcement comes on the heels of CEO Brian Chesky's ove Read More
Should every company wake up to the sharing economy?
News / Distribution
Should every company wake up to the sharing economy?
By PhocusWire | March 17, 2014
SOCIAL: A string of new businesses have emerged in recent years which have re-shaped parts of how the travel industry operate. But the idea that every company should be thinking about how they can t Read More
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