This Week’s News & Insights

Good morning,

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

Airbnb is deploying new AI systems to block party-prone guests before Memorial Day hits, summer road trips are back as Americans ditch airfare in droves, and Expedia says travelers are still booking trips based on what influencers tell them to do.

This week in the markets: 30-year mortgage rates are holding near 7% after a brief dip fueled by softer economic data. And Spain ordered Airbnb to remove 65,000+ unlicensed listings, while new STR tax legislation is advancing in New Orleans and South Carolina, with potential implications for host compliance and costs.

Lets dive in. 

NEWS

Headline Roundup

• Summer travel trends: Americans are ditching flights for road trips and local getaways (The Host Report)

• Airbnb reactivates anti-party AI to block rowdy bookings before Memorial Day (Airbnb)

• Tariff hikes could derail the fix-and-flip model—and shift investor strategy in 2025 (John Burns Research & Consulting)

• FTC’s junk fee crackdown just rewrote the playbook for hotel pricing transparency (Hotel Dive)

• 5 trends that Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking just told Wall Street (The Host Report)

• April inflation hits 4-year low, giving hosts and homebuyers a small sigh of relief (Realtor.com)

• Influencer marketing still works: 73% of travelers booked trips based on what they saw online (Expedia Group)

• ICYMI: Airbnb adds Luxury Services Offering, Redesigned Experiences (The Host Report)

INTERESTING INSIGHTS

April Data: Bookings Up, Beaches Booming, Budgets Breaking

April gave STR hosts a reason to exhale. According to AirDNA’s latest April 2025 U.S. Market Review, demand rose 10.1% year-over-year, with Spring Break timing and steady performance across the board lifting the numbers. 

But the real winners? Coastal resorts, which surged 16.5% YoY and led all markets in month-over-month growth (+3.6%) as Americans packed their flip-flops and headed for the beach.

Booked nights jumped 8.2%, signaling strong forward momentum. And while we’re not quite back to pre-pandemic occupancy highs (April 2019 hovered around 56.5%), April 2025’s 53.4% occupancy rate is up a solid 7.2% from last year—a healthy rebound as supply grows slowly.

Meanwhile, ADR growth accelerated to 5.1% year-over-year, giving hosts a bit more pricing power. 

But not all segments are sharing in the sunshine. Urban markets—especially downtown areas reliant on international travelers—are falling behind, while lower-priced listings are feeling the pinch as budget-conscious guests hesitate or hold off entirely.

The takeaway? High-quality listings in leisure-driven markets are in a great position heading into summer. If you're hosting in a beach town, small city, or rural destination, the tailwinds are in your favor.

MARKET INSIGHTS

Mortgage Rate Snapshot

30-year Mortgage rates have spent most of May grinding higher, briefly topping 7% again as bond markets weakened. This week’s slight dip was driven by cooler economic data and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s measured tone, though there was no clear signal that rate cuts are on the horizon. As of now, average 30-year fixed rates are hovering around 7%, still near the month’s highest levels.

Regulations Update

• Spain has dramatically escalated enforcement against unlicensed short-term rentals, ordering Airbnb to block over 65,000 listings in major tourist destinations like Madrid and Barcelona

• New Orleans advancing a bill that could increase STR taxes by up to 1%

• South Carolina's proposed bill would shift tax collection responsibilities from platforms to individual property managers threatens to increase administrative burdens and compliance costs for hosts.

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