Airbnb updates Policy, Vrbo updates Premier Hosts, Using AI to scale an STR business

Dear LinkedIn friend,

I hope that your short-term rental business is doing well. In this week's delivery, I've curated some of my recent articles on A.I., Airbnb , Booking.com , Vrbo , and hospitality. I hope that helps you steer your business in the direction you want.

I’ve been nominated at The Shortyz awards for best “RentalPreneur”, i.e. the person who leverages their experience as a short-term rental owner or manager to educate fellow hosts and managers. If you think I should win, please vote for me using this form in the next 48 hours.

If we’ve been in contact long enough, you may remember that Rental Scale-Up was to be called RentalPreneurs. So, I may have coined the term in 2013, so let’s see whether I can reclaim the name ;-)

By the way, if you are a PriceLabs user, you can also vote for my mother company, as it’s been nominated in the Best Ancillary Product category.

Finally, join me this week for a great discussion on fees and revenues. At a time when guests, governments, and even Airbnb are pushing back on fees, from resort fees to cleaning fees, how can you deal with the corresponding costs? How do you maintain revenue? Should you drop some of them to be more guest-centric?

Grow your network, add me as a LinkedIn connection.

Best regards,

Thibault Masson

THIS WEEK FOR YOU:

Dear vacation rental manager, you’ve been an early adopter of AI for years. Here’s why.

• If you manage vacation rentals, you’re already more familiar with AI than you might think, thanks to dynamic pricing.
• AI does not have to be complicated. Actually, most of you have now been using at least two AI tools: ChatGPT (or Gemini, Jasper) and a dynamic pricing tool (like PriceLabs, Beyond, Wheelhouse).
• We use these examples you know to illustrate how AI tools work, how they give you compelling outputs (texts or prices), how you can customize them for better results, and how you get more out of them if you connect them to your systems (such as your PMS).

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ?HERE

Airbnb Updates Cancellation Policy: Impact For Airbnb Hosts

• Airbnb has refined its cancellation policy framework, transitioning from the Extenuating Circumstances Policy to the Major Disruptive Events Policy, effective June 6, 2024.
• This update narrows the criteria for guest cancellations to specific "major disruptive events," such as severe weather and government travel restrictions, aiming to reduce financial unpredictability for hosts by limiting cancellations to genuinely significant occurrences.
• The new policy provides clearer guidelines on eligible events and how mid-trip cancellations are handled, offering refunds for unspent nights without penalizing hosts.
• Hosts must familiarize themselves with the triggers and implications of this policy, particularly in disaster-prone areas, to manage potential cancellations effectively.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ?HERE

How VRBO’s 2024 Premier Host Program Updates Impact Vacation Rental Managers

• Significant 2024 updates to VRBO's Premier Host program include ending the Boost visibility program and introducing stricter Premier Host eligibility criteria.
• The Boost program, designed to gamify listing visibility, was discontinued due to its complexity and limited alignment with VRBO's goals.
• Initially mirroring Airbnb's SuperHost program, VRBO now faces new challenges as Airbnb raises the bar with listing-specific recognitions like Guest Favorite and Top 1% listings.
• These changes signal a competitive shift in host recognition standards, impacting vacation rental managers' strategies on VRBO

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ?HERE

[WORKSHOP TAKEAWAYS] How To Optimize Listings At Scale With Custom AI

• Here are key takeaways from our workshop on developing your own version of ChatGPT tailored to optimize listings in a way that’s both effective and efficient.
• Leading the discussion with me was Jean-Emmanuel Losi, the Co-Founder of?SuiteOp, who employed custom AI solutions to transform his business,?SoSuite, making short-term rental management smoother and more personalized.
• During the workshop attendees learned to personalize ChatGPT or create their own CustomGPT, enabling a unique approach to handling and optimizing numerous rental listings, ensuring consistency across brand voice and operational efficiency.
• We shared practical steps to set up Custom Instructions in ChatGPT, simplifying the optimization process for your entire portfolio of listings, from adjusting tone and response length to integrating business-specific data.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ?HERE

Greenwashing? Booking.com Ditches Travel Sustainable Program in Favor of Third-Party Certifications

• Booking-com is?discontinuing its Travel Sustainable program.
• The significant change entails the discontinuation of the platform’s self-managed “Travel Sustainable” program, including?the retirement of its associated name, logo, and the tiered levels system previously utilized?to indicate different degrees of sustainability commitment by properties.?
• The initiative will be replaced by a focus on properties with external third-party sustainability certifications.
• This decision reflects the platform’s effort to address criticisms from the Dutch competition authority (ACM) and align with a global call for more transparent, effective, and standardized sustainable practices in the hospitality sector.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

The Art of Overdelivering: ‘Unreasonable Hospitality’ Lessons for Short-Term Rental Managers

• Will Guidara, celebrated for his revolutionary approach at Eleven Madison Park in New York, presents "Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect," a guide filled with invaluable insights for vacation rental managers.
• Guidara introduces the concept of "unreasonable hospitality," a method of delivering service so exceptional it surpasses all expectations.
• This article delves into Guidara's core principles and demonstrates how short-term rental managers can integrate these strategies into their operations.
• For instance, a key takeaway from Guidara's work is the empowerment of employees in decision-making. For rental managers, this means granting your team the freedom to address guest concerns independently, such as enabling staff to offer gestures of goodwill to resolve minor complaints, enhancing guest satisfaction and loyalty.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ?HERE

Best regards,

Thibault Masson