STR News.

Beyond Pricing introduces the 'Automation Score,' a new feature simplifying pricing strategy visibility. It breaks down dynamic pricing into default, customizable, and recommended layers, empowering hosts to understand and control their pricing.

Scott Bittner of My Costa Rica Homes uses OwnerRez to manage his nine properties remotely. He emphasizes OwnerRez's role as an operational hub for reservations, guest communications, and payment processing, highlighting its benefit for multi-market management.

Houfy offers a commission-free booking platform for STR hosts. It allows direct bookings, putting payment and cancellation handling on the host. While saving fees, it requires hosts to generate their own demand and manage guest trust.

Airbnb partners with IAFCI to combat summer travel scams. 42% of Americans lost $2k on average to online scams, with AI increasing fraud detection difficulty. Hosts should prioritize platform safety and vigilance.

Airbnb partners with experts to provide essential tips for hosts on identifying and preventing summer travel scams. Focus on verifying bookings, secure payment methods, and recognizing red flags to protect both hosts and guests.

OwnerRez announces integration with IntelliHost, an AI revenue manager. IntelliHost uses OTA click traffic and AI to optimize pricing and listings daily, pushing approved changes directly to OwnerRez. Features include automated pricing, listing optimization, and sentiment analysis.

The Airbnb billionaire is testing the 'live anywhere' concept by residing in Airbnb listings across various cities. This move highlights a unique personal use of the platform and explores flexible living arrangements for individuals.

Oracle is integrating AI tools into its Opera Cloud hotel operations software at no extra cost. These AI features aim to reduce interruptions for hotel staff by assisting with tasks like running reports and handling guest issues directly within the system.

KeyData appoints Scott McLeod as President to drive growth, focusing on product expansion and strengthening relationships with property managers and DMOs. The company recently launched an Owner Acquisition Platform to help managers secure high-value properties more strategically.

Hostfully has published the largest-ever study on STR & vacation rental technology, analyzing a vast range of tools. This comprehensive report provides insights into the evolving tech landscape for hosts and property managers.

Marriott is rolling out an AI trip planner on its app and website, shifting from traditional search boxes to conversational queries. This beta feature, accessible to select members, aims to simplify hotel selection from over 10,000 properties.

RentalReady introduces AI tools like MCP server and enhanced Maia Insights to analyze operational data. These tools offer direct access to reservations, tasks, reviews, and financials, enabling natural language queries for faster decision-making.

Awaze has partnered with Ohme as its official home EV charging solution. This collaboration aims to simplify EV charging for Awaze properties, enhancing the guest experience and potentially attracting EV-driving travelers.

BrokerBot, an AI platform for real estate brokerages, is automating administrative tasks and improving agent efficiency. Launched in early 2025, it has gained traction by answering agent questions, enforcing compliance, and reducing contract errors by 70%. The platform is now evolving to handle transactional tasks.

RealTime Reservation is acquiring STAY, a guest experience platform, to unify hotel ancillary revenue tech. This aims to solve the fragmentation of systems for services like spas and restaurants, enabling single transactions and better revenue measurement for hotels.

Whimstay is launching same-day vacation rental bookings across the US. This new service allows travelers to find and book last-minute accommodations, potentially boosting occupancy for hosts.

The Walk 'n Talk podcast (EP15) explores the conflict between hospitality and operational processes in STRs. Hosts Paul Waldschmidt and Chris Hynes discuss how rental agreements, fees, and security can negatively impact the guest experience and drive travelers back to hotels.

Tragic incident where twin sisters, 5, died after being found unresponsive in a pool at a Florida vacation rental. This highlights critical safety concerns for STRs, especially those with water features. Hosts must prioritize guest safety to prevent such devastating accidents.

Airbnb's Host Damage Protection is enhancing coverage, signaling a shift towards greater host security. This update could redefine expectations for protection against guest damages, impacting how hosts approach risk management and insurance.

IHG invested 8 years and significant capital into rebuilding its hotel technology infrastructure, now reporting initial payoffs in franchisee margins. The overhaul includes systems from Amadeus and Revenue Analytics, and cloud hosting with Google, enabling scale in personalization and dynamic pricing for their loyalty members.

Airbnb's Host Damage Protection is undergoing a subscription-based reshuffle, impacting how hosts manage risk coverage. This change requires hosts to adapt their insurance strategies and understand the new terms of protection.

Self-managing STRs remotely is feasible in 2026 with automation, smart tech, and vendor systems. This model yields higher profits and control than hiring property managers, making it the preferred choice for many investors.

A tragic incident occurred at a vacation rental where twin 5-year-old girls drowned in the pool. This event highlights critical safety concerns for short-term rentals and underscores the importance of robust safety measures for family-friendly accommodations.

A tragic incident occurred where twin 5-year-old girls drowned in a vacation rental's pool. This highlights critical safety concerns for STR properties, emphasizing the need for robust safety measures to prevent such devastating accidents and ensure guest well-being.