Short-Term Rental and Vacation Rental News

These are the hospitality trends we were talking about this week.

The island nation of Iceland, which is roughly the size of Portugal and located about 1,100 miles northwest of London, is a flashpoint for the encroaching forces of tourism, globalization, and of course, Airbnb, too.

On several fronts, it's obvious that Airbnb is working hard to diversify and expand its products. And Samara, an Airbnb design studio, which is headed by co-founder and chief product officer Joe Gebbia, is the latest manifestation of that.

For all the challenges facing this year's Summer Games, chief among them a lack of hotel rooms, the beauty of Airbnb's flexible supply scheme makes it ideal for major events like the Olympics.

With the likes of Airbnb playing up the sheer number of properties available, it makes sense for Wyndham to make a point of some of the advantages you get when booking direct with a company.

Metasearch sites such as Kayak, Hipmunk, Trivago, TripAdvisor and Tripping have a lot of heavy lifting to do because consumers will increasingly be demanding better ways to comparison-shop for alternative accommodations that are often unique and difficult to define. All things being equal -- and they aren't -- that's a big market opportunity for these sites.

We're not sure if this promotion alone will prompt anyone to sign up as an Airbnb host or take a cruise. But Fathom, which is still an up-and-coming brand, may earn some attention — and hipster cred — for partnering with the high-profile company.

Can such a thing exist? Yes, but if we want it to work, we need short-term rental platforms and local governments to cooperate with each other.

Last-minute Airbnb bookings are not impossible. You just need to know how to navigate the system.

These are the hospitality trends we were talking about this week.