Vacation Rental News & Insights

Good morning,

Here’s what’s going on in the vacation rental world this week:

Airbnb’s legal version of rental arbitrage is gaining real traction with 1,300 buildings now onboard, a new survey of 2,000 travelers shows preferences tilting between hotels and vacation rentals, and hosts near World Cup cities are already seeing a demand surge for 2026.

On the regulations front: Austin approved a $2.5 million contract to deploy automated enforcement against thousands of unlicensed STRs, Ocean City is pushing for new STR limits even after voters rejected similar restrictions this summer, and Fayetteville is weighing tougher occupancy rules before year-end.

Lets dive in. 

NEWS

Headline Roundup

• Airbnb's landlord-approved rental program reaches 1,300 buildings after three years (The Host Report)

• New survey polled over 2,000 U.S. travelers asking if they preferred vacation rentals or hotels (Upgraded Points)

• STR demand surges ahead of the 2026 World Cup as fans are locking in stays early (InsideHook)

• Capital One rolls out targeted Vrbo offer with 10,000-mile bonus on $1,000 stays (Frequent Miler)

• Guesty launches AI agent for revenue management (The Host Report)

• Savvy and Homescreen CEOs discuss trends, changes, and the future of vacation rentals (PhocusWire)

• Expedia appoints first chief AI and data officer (HospitalityNet)

• Forge Holiday Group selects Guesty as its channel manager (LinkedIn)

• Deluxe Holiday Homes earns global recognition as a leader in Dubai’s STR market (Gulf News)

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That's why we created the Booking Booster Map. It's specifically designed for hosts to create a custom map in less than 5 mins:

INTERESTING INSIGHTS

Casago Hands Off 1,000 Homes to Evolve

It was a slow news week due to Thanksgiving, but one deal stood out. Two of the biggest players in STR property management quietly traded a thousand homes, and the results will tell us a lot about where this industry is heading.

A quick rewind

Back in May 2025, Casago bought Vacasa’s entire vacation rental property management portfolio for $130 million. That deal included roughly 38,000 homes and signaled the end of Vacasa.

Vacasa had raised more than $630 million, went public with a $4.5 billion valuation, then saw everything unravel as the centralized model failed under its own weight.

Casago stepped in, scooped up the leftovers, and instantly jumped from managing about 5,000 homes to more than 40,000.

Fast forward to this week

Casago turned around and sold about 1,000 of those newly acquired homes to Evolve. On paper, it’s just a small slice of the portfolio. The purchase price and terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the logic is obvious.

These 1,000 homes came from Guestworks, Vacasa’s old hybrid program built around a flat 10% fee. Guestworks was never a natural fit for Casago’s full-service, locally run franchise model. It was, however, very similar to a platform like Evolve.

Three companies, three very different philosophies

• Vacasa tried to run everything from headquarters. Operations, pricing, maintenance, communications, all managed from a centralized corporate tower. It looked efficient on a slide deck. It was a slow-motion train wreck in real life.

• Casago believes local operators always outperform a national command center. Their franchise model gives each operator full ownership of their own P&L, supported by Casago’s systems, standards, and national brand.

• Evolve runs a hybrid model. They’re centralized and use tech to handle the digital work: pricing, marketing, guest communications, and a lot of automation. But they don't handle the boots-on-the-ground operations like cleaning, restocking, and maintenance (owners stay responsible for that).

Why the deal makes perfect sense

Guestworks already operated like a cousin of Evolve’s system, so shifting those homes over is a classic “right asset, wrong parent” correction.

For Casago, removing a misaligned product line helps them focus on full-service management. For Evolve, it is a clean way to add scale in their sweet spot without the overhead of absorbing Vacasa’s entire portfolio.

What matters next

Now that Casago and Evolve are operating at similar scale, the industry gets a natural experiment. Two large companies, two different models, two completely different cost structures.

Casago will attract owners who want a fully hands-off investment. Evolve will attract owners who want to be involved and maybe save money by self-performing cleanings or maintenance, but don't want to handle the marketing, pricing, or guest communication.

Which will be more profitable? Which produces happier owners? Which produces happier guests? The next few years will be interesting.

MARKET INSIGHTS

Mortgage Rate Snapshot

Mortgage rates stayed calm through the holiday week, holding near long-term lows with almost no movement. After the break, rates jumped back up, wiping out the small drop seen the week before. The rest of the week is expected to be more volatile because several major economic reports could push rates up or down.

Regulations Update

• Austin, Texas approved $2.5 million in contracts with Deckard Technologies to modernize STR licensing and enforcement, targeting thousands of unlicensed operations through automated violation detection

• Ocean City, Maryland is pursuing new STR restrictions including 5-7 night minimum stays, license caps via lotteries, bans on corporate ownership, and 30-minute local agent response requirements despite voters rejecting similar restrictions in July 2025

• Fayetteville, Arkansas is considering amendments to tighten occupancy limits, strengthen enforcement, and introduce restrictions on rental frequency before its current ordinance sunsets on December 30, 2025

See this weeks full regulations report here: (The Host Report)