Good morning,

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

Airbnb’s testing airport pickups in select cities, a Florida vacation rental company just added a humanoid robot concierge as an amenity, and AirDNA released their first-ever STR investor survey of over 650 investors.

Lets dive in. 

NEWS

Headline Roundup

• Airbnb tests airport pickups (The Host Report)

• Robots are making their way into the STR industry. Would you buy one? (Faraday Future)

• Airbnb offers $750 to new hosts in all 16 World Cup cities (The Host Report)

• OTAs' marketing spend exceeded $20B in 2025 (PhocusWire)

• UAE and Qatar to cover hotel and meal costs for stranded tourists until Iran crisis ends (Euronews)

• Casago expands into northeast Florida and coastal Georgia (The Host Report)

• RMS launched its Advanced Payment Schedules feature for automated invoicing (RMS)

• Bounce acquires European rival Nannybag, expanding to 30,000+ luggage storage locations globally (PhocusWire)

The #1 Priority for 84% of people booking a place to stay is The Location!

INTERESTING INSIGHTS

AirDNA's first STR Investor Survey

AirDNA just published their first-ever Short-Term Rental Investor Survey, polling over 650 investors. Here are the most interesting charts:

This relates to two findings we’ve been talking about for a while: overall purchase sentiment is uncertain, but acquisition intent rises with portfolio size. 

The small operators are hesitant. The experienced ones are still buying. And the investors who are buying aren’t rushing, they’re doing it slowly and deliberately.

This one’s really interesting. The top constraints for buying a STR depends entirely on where people are in their journey:

• Investors with 1-4 properties say price is the biggest barrier.

• At 5-9 properties, it's rising operating costs.

• At 10+ properties, it’s regulations and market competition.

Financing tells the same story. The majority of investors with one property use a conventional mortgage. But there's a sharp rise in creative financing (DSCR loans, portfolio loans, seller financing) as portfolios grow.

This tracks. Conventional loans get harder to qualify for after your third or fourth property. Investors who keep growing have to get creative. And the fact that DSCR loans show up so prominently tells you the lending market has matured alongside the investor base.

Over 50% of first-time investors have less than $100K allocated for down payment + setup costs + reserves. Expect more new competition at the lower end of the market, because that's what most new entrants can afford.

Coastal and beach markets are the single most popular market type in the survey. If you operate in a beach market, you already know it's competitive. This data says it's not slowing down.

MARKET INSIGHTS

Mortgage Rate Snapshot

Mortgage rates held near 6% all last week, but that streak broke on Monday when rates jumped as markets reacted to the Iran crisis and rising oil prices.

Regulations Update

• Maui's Planning Commission rejected a bill to create two new hotel zoning districts, leaving thousands of apartment-zoned vacation rentals without a legal path to continue operating

• Ocean City, Maryland, unanimously rescinded its STR moratorium after a 1,200-signature petition from property owners opposing the restrictions

• Green Bay's Plan Commission approved new rules allowing the city to suspend or revoke STR permits for nuisance violations

• Hocking County, Ohio, proposed detailed STR regulations that local lodging owners say could force many operators to sell their properties

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