Vacation Rental News & Insights

Good morning,

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

Hilton is pulling 3,000 Airbnb-style apartments into the Hilton Honors ecosystem, Airbnb adds chef-prepared meal delivery to Airbnb Services, and we break down the 7 biggest takeaways from 1,150 hosts and 1.6 million bookings to see what hosts are prioritizing in 2026.

Lets dive in. 

NEWS

Headline Roundup

• Hilton partners with Placemakr, bringing 3,000 Airbnb-style apartments to Hilton’s system (The Host Report)

• Hosts pause portfolio growth and shift spending toward marketing in 2026 (The Host Report)

• AirDNA published its U.S. market review for December 2025 (AirDNA)

• Architectural Digest ranked the 11 best Airbnbs in Paris (Architectural Digest)

• Airbnb adds chef-prepared meal delivery through partnership with CookUnity (Airbnb Newsroom)

• Wall Street analysts expect 2026 to be ‘less bad’ for the STR industry (CoStar)

• Today’s two-speed hotel market: Luxury moves, middle stalls (Hospitality Investor)

• Hospitable launches trip insurance that pays hosts commissions (The Host Report)

• Mews raises $300 million at a $2.5 billion valuation (Mews)

Since launching the Booking Booster Maps, I've gotten dozens of feature ideas from Airbnb hosts.

But two requests kept coming up:

1) Add titles to maps (city name, property name, etc.)

2) Add branded watermarks (for property managers to show their logo, name, phone number)

So we partnered with Canva to make it happen.

Now you can fully customize your maps - add titles, adjust colors, upload logos, change fonts. Whatever makes it feel like yours, with Canva integrated into our dashboard.

And it's free for all customers (new and existing).

Property managers: we offer discounted Property Packs for 5, 10, and 25 map purchases!

INTERESTING INSIGHTS

Survey results from 1,150 hosts and 1.6 million bookings

This month, three major platforms (Hospitable, Hostaway, and Lodgify) published insights from their users about the state of the STR market heading into 2026.

Combined, the three reports gathered survey results from 1,150 hosts and analyzed 1.6 million bookings.

Each report offers strong insights on its own, but taken together, we get a unique look into operator priorities, pain points, and the real state of the STR market.

Here are The Top 7 Takeaways:

1. Marketing Is Now the #1 Challenge

All three reports agree that marketing, competition, and getting bookings have replaced operational issues (like maintenance) as the #1 challenge for hosts.

• Hostaway: Marketing as the #1 investment area jumped from 4.6% last year to 33.4% this year

• Hospitable: 47.1% cite increased competition as the factor having the greatest impact on their business, closely followed by reduced demand/shorter stays (44.6%).

• Lodgify: 66% cite driving direct bookings/marketing as the top challenge

2. Growth Appetite is Slowing (But Not Disappearing)

Every report shows owners, hosts, and property managers are becoming much more selective about the new properties they take on vs. "scaling for its own sake."

• Hospitable: 40% of hosts don't plan to expand or are unsure

• Hostaway: Only 45% plan to add inventory (down from 63.5%); 36.5% won't acquire new owners

• Lodgify: Only 19% list purchasing properties as a top goal

Lodgify had an interesting stat: ADR growth (+1.6%) trailed inflation (+2.7%) in 2025, meaning hosts effectively saw a dip in real take-home profit and are trying to avoid a "More Work, Less Profit" dynamic.

3. The Direct Booking Paradox

All three reports agree 60%+ of hosts struggle with direct bookings, yet all three ALSO agree direct booking economics are superior (longer stays, longer booking windows, higher ADR). 

It's a clear knowledge vs. execution gap. Everyone knows they should do it. Few know how.

• Hostaway: 62.3% generate less than 25% of bookings directly

• Hospitable: 48% generate only 1-10% directly; 38% get zero

• Lodgify: 31.6% of bookings come directly (Note: Lodgify markets heavily as a website builder for direct bookings, so their data naturally skews toward hosts more successful in that channel)

4. Hosts Are Clustering Where STRs Are Clearly Legal

Despite constant headlines about "STR bans," the majority of operators in all three surveys report no material regulatory impact.

• All three reports show over 50% of respondents (Hostaway 56%, Hospitable 50.5%, Lodgify 76%) seeing no material changes or impact

This likely reflects a survivorship bias. Active hosts are, by definition, operating where STRs are permitted. Those in banned markets wouldn't participate in these surveys.

But I think this ties into a bigger point: hosts are clustering in areas that explicitly allow STRs, which explains why most hosts feel competition increasing: they're all competing in the same territories.

5. AI's Dominant Use Case is Guest Communication

While adoption rates vary, all reports agree "guest communication" is the primary and most trusted application of AI in the industry.

• Hostaway: 60% use for comms

• Hospitable: 80.9% use for comms

• Lodgify: 58% use for messaging

6. Airbnb Still Dominates Bookings

Airbnb remains the primary source of bookings across the board, even as hosts strive for diversification.

• Hospitable: 93.3% say Airbnb delivered best results in 2025

• Lodgify: 47.2% of bookings from Airbnb

• Hostaway: Airbnb most common channel (third year running)

7. Technology is Table Stakes, Not a Differentiator

More than 90% of hosts use a property management system, and over 70% use dynamic pricing tools. The competitive advantage has shifted from having the tools to mastering them.

The Story the Data Tells

Here's what's clear from the data: many hosts aren't fully utilizing strategies proven to work (direct booking, AI optimization, strategic marketing). 

I’m predicting the hosts who thrive in 2026 won't be the ones discovering secret new strategies. They'll be the ones who execute the obvious strategies everyone else is ignoring.

MARKET INSIGHTS

Mortgage Rate Snapshot

Mortgage rates were mostly flat early in the week, then edged lower for several days, ending slightly lower with little market volatility.

Regulations Update

• Summit County, Utah, deployed Azora monitoring software to identify unlicensed STRs, resulting in 800 operators contacted and 350 either obtaining licenses or ceasing operations, with non-compliant hosts now facing $1,000-per-day fines

• San Diego Councilman proposed the Empty Second Home and Vacation Rental Tax imposing $8,000–$12,000 annual fees on whole-home STRs and vacant second homes

• Washington State's House Bill 2559 would allow cities and counties to impose up to 4% additional taxes on short-term rentals starting April 2027, with revenues dedicated to affordable housing initiatives

• Manhattan Beach, California, rejected a temporary STR expansion that would have allowed 450 licenses city-wide during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, maintaining current restrictions to the Coastal Zone

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