Short-term rental ownership comes with a different rulebook than long-term — platform risk, nightly pricing strategy, STR-specific insurance gaps, and a regulatory environment that changes faster than most hosts realize. We cover Airbnb and VRBO hosting from the practical end: what the platforms won’t tell you, what your homeowner’s policy doesn’t cover, and how to run a vacation rental like a business rather than a hobby.
Airbnb’s recent move to retire their legacy “guest service fee” and instead charge a 15.5% host-only fee across nearly all listings has stirred up some very heated commentary online. International short-term rental hosts are livid…
The short-term rental landscape has spent the past year absorbing a structural change served up by the industry’s dominant OTA. Airbnb has been migrating hosts onto a mandatory 15.5% host-only fee in waves. PMS-connected hosts…
When Maui County moved to phase out transient vacation rental (TVR) rights on grandfathered “Minatoya List” properties via Bill 9 in late-2025, the policy was packaged as a direct solution to the island’s acute housing…
With 50 states, 3,000 counties, and 35,000 cities and towns, America is a big place. There are probably new Airbnb laws popping up somewhere nearly every day. Things will settle down eventually, but until then,…
Very few vacation rental owners know how to properly value their STR investment. Ask a typical Airbnb host how much their property is worth, and they’ll probably reference nearby home sales—even if those comparables aren’t…
Consider yourself lucky if you haven’t had to pull the rip cord and use the “free” insurance included with your Airbnb or VRBO bookings. Horror stories abound across host forums and Reddit threads with unruly…
It doesn’t matter if you’re brand new to the vacation rental business or rapidly growing an empire-sized short term rental portfolio. Either way, you’ve got problems to solve and profits to bank. Here are our…
Oahu is perhaps the most locked-down Hawaiian island when it comes to short-term rental rules. The County of Honolulu (which encompasses all of Oahu) has carved out a handful of zones where STRs are legal,…
The best knife set for vacation rentals is a self-sharpening set that maintains its edge automatically. Our top pick: the HENCKELS Statement 13-Piece Self-Sharpening Knife Block Set ($150-180). It includes everything guests need (chef’s knife,…
There’s nothing worse than paying full price to rent a high-end vacation rental home on Airbnb, and then discovering upon arrival that the kitchen is equipped like a Holiday Inn Express. In fact, The Kitchn…
It doesn’t matter if you operate a single Airbnb property or a growing portfolio of short term rentals. Setting up an Airbnb LLC just might be the smartest thing you do all year. Here’s why……
While there’s no shortage of vacation rental tax deductions available in 2026, finding your way through the thicket of confusing regulations and guidance can be tricky. In this timely article, we break down the most…