Short-term Rental News Digest – July 2023

Travelers aren’t the only ones on the move. Leading software solutions and travel platforms have been busy introducing new tools, features, and platforms, to put one foot forward of the competition and deliver a better service to property managers, hosts, and guests.  

Skift, one of the leading travel industry news sites, has also released its anticipated State of Travel 2023 report this month. From top destinations to popular amenities, find out what’s fueling travelers’ choices. 

Beyond Launches a New Tool

Beyond, one of the leading revenue management solutions used by short-term rental businesses, has launched a new tool, Market Insights. With the help of this tool, Beyond users can access detailed data insights about local market dynamics. 

David Kelso, co-founder of Beyond, explains, “We’ve exposed the data we’ve always used within our pricing algorithm and put it in our customers’ hands with Market Insights. We’ve curated the critical data points that will help hosts and property managers make revenue management decisions quickly and confidently.”

This data can be used in various ways. For example, property managers and hosts can apply it to identify the best booking platform and in-demand amenities. It can also be used to work out key metrics like average length of stay, booking lead time, and revenue per available night. 

This new tool is included in Beyond’s Pro package. In addition to Market Insights, the Pro plan also includes other useful features like automation and sophisticated competitive analysis. As a matter of fact, according to Beyond, early adopters of this feature have already managed to increase their revenue per available night by 9%. 

AirDNA Expands Functionality With Acquisition

The popular short-term rental data provider AirDNA has acquired Arrivalist, a location intelligence platform. This acquisition will help them to improve the standard of data-driven, decision-making and fast-track their growth. 

What’s more, with the two teams joining forces, property managers and owners can also look forward to more advanced solutions. Users are also expected to benefit from enhanced support moving forward. 

Skift Releases State of Travel 2023 Report

Skift has released its 2023 State of Travel report. The 284-page read includes the following key findings:

• Bangkok, Paris, and London are the most searched destinations for travel in summer 2023. 
• Austria, the United Arab Emirates, and Dominican Republic are the fastest growing destinations for international arrivals.
• Flexible bookings and travel insurance appear to be pandemic booking habits that are here to stay. 
• Urban areas in the United States are making an impressive comeback. 
• In Europe, vacation rentals continue to be the top-performing industry. 
• 75% of travelers want to choose sustainable travel in the future, but a quarter feel that these options are too expensive. 
• The share of short-term rentals has increased, with Skift Research estimating it at $67 billion in the US which accounts for 18.6% of the overall accommodation market. 
• The average daily rates have continued to increase and compared to April 2019, individual hosts’ ADR is up by 34%. 
• Hotels score better in terms of customer service and reliability compared to vacation rentals. 

HomeToGo Incorporates AI

HomeToGo, a vacation rental marketplace headquartered in Germany that operates in dozens of countries across Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia-Pacific, has become one of the latest platforms to leverage artificial intelligence (AI). Its new feature, Modes, is a generative AI-powered travel planner. 

It aims to enhance the whole experience by offering hyper-personalized recommendations. From destinations to properties, it will use various tools and filters to highlight the most relevant suggestions. 

Expedia Introduces a New Loyalty Program

Expedia, one of the major online travel agencies (OTA), has launched a new, four-tier loyalty program. One Key is currently available across all of its three travel brands (Expedia, Vrbo, and Hotels.com) in the United States, with plans to extend it to other regions in 2024. 

In addition to hotel and vacation rental accommodation, it can also be used for flights, car rentals, and other types of transport like airport shuttles. This is part of their vision to reward any type of traveler and simplify travel rewards. 

Airbnb Identifies Most Hospitable Hosts

From quick replies to prioritizing cleanliness, there are more ways than one how Airbnb hosts demonstrate their friendliness and commitment to letting their guests feel right at home. To give recognition to where it’s due, Airbnb created a map that highlights the most hospitable host in every US state. It gives a whole new meaning to getting your listing on the map. 

The vast majority (80%) of these hosts are located in rural areas. Another interesting stat is that 70% of these hosts live onsite. 

To create this interactive map, they used the following criteria:

• Hosts must have received 100% five-star ratings for communication, check-in, and cleanliness. 
• They should have received at least 100 reviews.