Latest news

Every story the desk has filed, newest first: the crackdowns, the platform moves, the money, host life, design, the stays going viral, the markets and the world.

Crackdown The Silent Executions: How Condo Boards Are Wiping Out Urban STR Forget city hall. The real battle for urban short-term rentals isn't fought in council chambers, but in the quiet, brutal efficiency of condo and co-o By Marcus DaneAugust 3, 2026Analysis
Crackdown Permit Lottery: Cities Turn Your STR Dreams Into a High-Stakes Gamble Density caps aren't just red tape; they're a government-issued lottery ticket for a select few, freezing out new blood and turning legal listings into By Marcus DaneAugust 3, 2026Analysis
Crackdown The Permit Armageddon You Didn't See Coming: Your Deadlines Are Ticking Hosts are sleepwalking into a regulatory nightmare, blowing critical renewal deadlines and facing automatic fines, license revocations, and even platf By Marcus DaneAugust 3, 2026Analysis
Exposed The Passive-Income Lie: Why Mailbox Money is the Most Expensive Myth in STR The glossy pitch of easy money and remote management has lured countless into short-term rentals. But behind the promise of 'passive income' lies a br By Marcus DaneAugust 3, 2026Analysis
Exposed Wire Fraud Is Hunting Your Direct Bookings: Don't Get Caught Naked The direct booking dream promises freedom from platform fees and more control, but it carries a hidden, deadly threat. Sophisticated scammers are targ By Marcus DaneAugust 2, 2026Analysis
Exposed The Silent Invasion: Party Promoters Are Turning Your STR into a Cash Cow Venue It starts with a quiet booking, a seemingly innocuous family getaway. But beneath the surface, a dark network of party promoters is actively hunting f By Marcus DaneAugust 2, 2026Analysis
Exposed The Permit Promise: How Shady Consultants Bleed STR Hosts Dry for Nothing A new wave of 'compliance experts' is making grand promises of easy permits in tough markets. But many hosts are finding themselves out thousands of d By Marcus DaneAugust 2, 2026Analysis
Exposed The Host-Guest Claim War: Lies, Losses, and The Fight for Fair Play From guests faking falls to hosts inventing damage, the resolution center is a digital battlefield. Here's how honest operators weaponize evidence to By Marcus DaneAugust 2, 2026Analysis
Exposed Squatter-For-Hire: The Calculated Assault on Your STR Investment A new, insidious scheme is weaponizing tenancy laws, turning furnished rentals into rent-free havens. Hosts are losing thousands, abandoned by platfor By Marcus DaneAugust 1, 2026Analysis
Exposed The 'Guaranteed Rent' Arbitrage Trap: How Fleeting Profits Sink Landlords Slick operators promise passive income, then vanish when the market turns. STR NEWS exposes the hollow mechanics of a scheme that leaves property owne By Marcus DaneAugust 1, 2026Analysis
Exposed When the Management Company Stops Paying: The Ultimate Betrayal A nightmare scenario for STR owners: bookings roll in, guests check out, but your payout never arrives. We expose the commingled cash crisis and revea By Marcus DaneAugust 1, 2026Analysis
Exposed THE STR GURU GRIFT: FAKE WEALTH, REAL DEBT In a market hungry for passive income, a new breed of guru sells get-rich-quick schemes for short-term rentals, preying on dreams and leaving a trail By Marcus DaneAugust 1, 2026Analysis
Exposed The Ghost in the Listing: How Fake Rentals Haunt Real Hosts and Drain Guests A new wave of sophisticated clone scams is eroding trust, stealing guest cash, and dragging innocent short-term rental operators into a nightmare of f By Marcus DaneJuly 31, 2026Analysis
Exposed The Hidden Lens: Why Undisclosed Cameras Are a Death Sentence for STR Hosts A disturbing pattern of secret indoor surveillance has guests scanning for pinholes and platforms bringing the hammer down. For hosts, this isn't just By Marcus DaneJuly 31, 2026Analysis
Exposed The Review Racket: Inside the Gray Market Stealing Stars from Honest Hosts The short-term rental industry’s most insidious secret isn't a secret at all: it’s the shadow economy of fake reviews and weaponized star ratings. STR By Marcus DaneJuly 31, 2026Analysis
Markets The Wild West Is Over: Amateur Hosts Face Extinction as Operators Seize Control The short-term rental market once promised easy riches for anyone with a spare room. Now, a perfect storm of regulation, professionalization, and razo By Dana WhitfieldJuly 31, 2026Analysis
Markets Lake Houses: The Undisputed King of Underrated STR Assets is Under Your Nose Forget the crowded coastlines and overhyped city pads. The real money and guest loyalty in short-term rentals are quietly being made on America's lake By Dana WhitfieldJuly 30, 2026Analysis
Markets Snowbird Season's Brutal Truth: Six Months of Gold, Six Months of Grit The sun-drenched promise of multi-month winter bookings hides a cutthroat reality. Master the seasonal pivot or watch your profits bake in the off-sea By Dana WhitfieldJuly 30, 2026Analysis
Markets Sun Belt STR Glut: The Reckoning for an Industry That Grew Too Fast The gold rush is over. Where builders and investors piled into the Sun Belt, a brutal supply glut has crushed rates and occupancy, forcing a painful s By Dana WhitfieldJuly 30, 2026Analysis
Markets THE ICE AGE COMETH: HOW TO SPOT THE FREEZE BEFORE YOUR STR CALENDAR GOES EMPTY The short-term rental boom isn't infinite. Savvy hosts watch for these crucial signals — from shifting permit rules to subtle pricing wars — that reve By Dana WhitfieldJuly 30, 2026Analysis
Markets National-Park Gateway Towns: The Gold Rush Hits the Wilderness Forget cityscapes. The real money is now in cabins bordering America's most beloved parks. But the regulatory pushback is coming, and it's fiercer tha By Dana WhitfieldJuly 29, 2026Analysis
Markets The Trophy Trap: Why Instagram-Ready Properties Are Killing Host Profits Hosts are flocking to glamorous vacation spots, lured by high ADRs and social media fame. But STR NEWS analysis reveals the brutal truth: the real mon By Dana WhitfieldJuly 29, 2026Analysis
Markets Game Day Gold: Six Weekends Can Make or Break Your Rental Year In college towns, a handful of sporting events drive sky-high rates, delivering disproportionate profits. But building a business on these peak weeken By Dana WhitfieldJuly 29, 2026Analysis
Markets Coastal STRs Face Insurance Apocalypse: Carriers Flee, Premiums Soar, Markets Implode The once-golden goose of beachside short-term rentals is under siege. As climate risk escalates, insurers are abandoning the coast, leaving hosts with By Dana WhitfieldJuly 29, 2026Analysis

The briefsAll briefs →

The Money
Tourist taxes gain political momentum as local funding tools
Tourist taxes are increasingly being used by local governments as a political tool to raise revenue. While these levies are typically presented to the public as a mechanism to manage crowded destinations, Skift reports that their core appeal to local officials is the ability to raise money from visitors who cannot vote against them.
Skift →
Platforms
Hilton chief executive says new AI agents struggle to access rates
Hilton's chief executive officer says he wants to make booking rooms through artificial intelligence agents easy, but current technology struggles to gain access. According to Skift, Meta's Muse AI agent is currently finding it difficult to pull pricing data directly from hotel group websites, meaning online travel agencies may remain the easier entry point for now.
Skift →
Host Life
Short term rental leaders launch new academy to professionalize operators
Industry leaders have launched the STR Academy during the VRMA week in Nashville, Tennessee. Simon Lehmann opened the academy alongside exclusive category partners Beyond, Guesty, Pikl, and Breezeway, according to VRM Intel. The initiative is supported by seven industry ambassadors and aims to provide new operator education as the short-term rental sector professionalizes.
VRM Intel →
Platforms
Marriott signs Thailand first branded apartments in Khao Lak
Marriott International has signed an agreement with KS Hotels and Resorts to open two new properties at Khao Lak's Matalay. The development will feature a 160-room Moxy Hotel alongside Thailand's first Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, which will feature 60 units, according to the company.
Hospitality Net →
Markets
Pavilion rolls up twenty vacation rental managers in business twist
Pavilion has acquired 20 vacation rental property management companies in a new roll-up business model. According to Skift, the strategy will test whether the company can scale efficiently while operating a dozen or more different software systems. Private equity investors are looking for returns, while the majority-owner operators of the acquired local businesses are trying to retain their autonomy.
Skift →
The Money
Hotels face rising AI costs without immediate profit gains
Hotel technology investments continue to rise, but properties are seeing more upfront costs than immediate bottom-line gains from artificial intelligence. According to data analyzed by Skift, hospitality businesses are struggling to balance promises of retaining staff with the pressure to show immediate profit-and-loss improvements from their AI integrations.
Skift →

Sections

Crackdown Platforms The Money Host Life Design Viral Markets Exposed World

Latest news

Get the Gazette in your inbox.