Vacation Rental News & Insights

Airbnb tests Instacart partnership that finally pays hosts

Author

Dom Trovato
November 19, 2025

Good morning,

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

The U.S. vacation rental market is picking up steam ahead of the holidays, wealthy travelers are setting new spending records on high-end stays, and Marriott is accusing Sonder of attempted extortion as their legal battle escalates.

On the regulations front: Sedona is lobbying for city-level control over STR zoning and density caps in Arizona, Galveston rolled out a three-strike system that can pull an STR license after repeated violations, and Montana proposed a second-home tax that could raise property taxes by roughly 50% on most STRs.

Lets dive in. 

NEWS

Headline Roundup

  • US vacation rental market rebounds heading into the holidays (The Host Report)

  • High-income travelers drive record spending on luxury stays (Wall Street Journal)

  • Marriott accuses Sonder of attempted extortion in new legal filing (Hotel Investment Today)

  • Vrbo climbs in travel app rankings as its new Promotion Suite tools capture price-sensitive travelers (PYMNTS)

  • Airbnb files lawsuit alleging the City of Biloxi, Mississippi and hotel lobby colluded to keep out STRs (WLOX)

  • Boom adds Beyond’s dynamic pricing engine to its AI-native PMS (The Host Report)

  • Apaleo appoints new CFO and director of people and culture to fuel rapid growth (Apaleo)

  • David Angotti joins Casago as chief digital officer (Business Wire)

  • Inspirato’s CFO steps down after company posts loss and membership drops (AINvest)

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

INTERESTING INSIGHTS

Airbnb Tests Instacart Partnership That Finally Pays Hosts

Airbnb is launching a new partnership with Instacart to test a “kitchen stocking” service that lets guests order groceries directly through the Airbnb app. This expands Airbnb’s new Services category and finally compensates hosts as a part of the service. 

I didn’t like Airbnb’s first rollout of “Services” and “Experiences” because they left out a key part… they didn’t give hosts any share of the profits when their guests booked those add-ons.

That was a miss. 

If Airbnb had offered commissions to hosts, everyone’s interests would have been aligned. They could have had over 5 million hosts promoting the new system, but hosts never had a real reason to get involved.

That’s finally changing.

The Instacart pilot, running in Phoenix, Orlando, and Los Angeles in January 2026, pays hosts $100 for the first kitchen-stocking order a guest makes and $25 for every order after that. 

However, hosts don’t get paid just because a guest places an Instacart order in the Airbnb app. The host (or a team member) has to accept the delivery, unpack the groceries, and stock the kitchen before the guest arrives to earn the commission.

Here’s the full host payout structure:

  • First-order bonus: hosts earn $100 after completing their first kitchen-stocking order.

  • Per-order payment: hosts earn $25 for each order they finish by receiving and unpacking groceries before the guest arrives.

  • Participation: hosts must opt-in and agree to handle deliveries and prep the kitchen for guests.

Final Thoughts:

The biggest winner here is the guest. A smooth arrival and a stocked kitchen will appeal to a ton of travelers, and this kind of convenience can help hosts earn better reviews and more repeat bookings.

For hosts, the additional compensation model is still early and limited to three cities, but it marks meaningful progress toward aligning incentives across the platform.

MARKET INSIGHTS

Mortgage Rate Snapshot

Mortgage rates stayed close to two-month highs all week, slipping briefly on weak payroll data before rising again as the government reopened. Markets are now waiting for major economic reports to return, including the long-delayed jobs report.

Regulations Update

  • Galveston, Texas, unanimously approved a three-strike ordinance allowing the STR Licensing Board to recommend license revocation after three violations within 12 months for issues including noise, parking, trash, fireworks, and overcrowding.

  • Montana's Department of Revenue proposed rules for a 2026 second-home tax that will increase property tax rates by approximately 50% on most short-term rentals unless they qualify for homestead exemptions through proof of primary residence or long-term leasing for at least seven months per year.

  • Kansas City approved a new temporary 90-day short-term rental permit for $50 during major declared events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup, significantly lower than the standard $200 annual fee.

  • Sedona, Arizona approved $100,000 to hire a lobbyist for the 2026 legislative session to push bills allowing cities to control STR zoning, impose caps, set area-specific limits, and establish minimum distances between rentals.

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