Short-Term Rental and Vacation Rental News

Airbnb needs to go local in China and bringing on board investors with ample roots and experience in China is a savvy move.

Airbnb's capability for growth is much greater than any traditional hotel chain but it can also disappear faster than you can type "enforcement of municipal zoning and/or condo board rules."

While many hoteliers are dismissive of the sharing economy, Hyatt and Hilton Worldwide are either learning from it or at least taking a balanced view about the trend. Don't expect either to rent out couches anytime soon, though.

Kayak already displays some vacation rental listings from sister site Booking.com although HomeAway's properties, many from individual owners, would give Kayak users additional choice. The Kayak-HomeAway partnership could be a nice test for Kayak parent the Priceline Group to see if it wants to cozy up in some form with HomeAway.

Expect more fascinating results from this big collision happening on the alternative accommodation side, and not only will it affect the traditional online travel agencies, but also the organized hotel sector as well.

Airbnb has spawned an ecosystem of startups offering ancillary services, but Handy has a leg up on its competition with a brand and customer base already built up around the country.

The City of Portland, Oregon recently proposed similar amendments to its short-term rental law but was slow to impose any penalties. Since Airbnb is headquartered in San Francisco you can only imagine how much bloodier this battle has become.

HomeAway is facing a relatively tough time in Europe where its subscription listing business is off and foreign exchange woes are impacting performance.

The Evercore report might be read as ammunition for one of the big online travel agencies to acquire HomeAway. On the other hand, it shows that the commission model in vacation rentals will face much resistance.

New competition means hotels need to fight back and put hospitality and community first.