Industry Conversations

Has anyone ever gone to the trouble of asking Vrbo to turn OFF the syndication of your Vrbo listings to Google Vacation Rentals (GVR)? Any luck in doing that?The reasoning is that when multiple booking sites syndicate to GVR, it can cause duplicates if GVR isn’t able to match and merge the listing from its various sources. Another reason would be to give guests fewer choices when looking at your listing on GVR, to steer them toward your Direct site rather than Vrbo. I’ve wasted a couple hours so far trying to get support from Vrbo on this. They keep telling me random things such as I need to turn off Instant Book (bogus), or that GVR is picking up my Vrbo listings organically (also bogus). 

Greetings all-  I am a relatively new host (July 2025).  As i have been getting smarter on my listing optimization, I am now generally generating 2-3 times more views than " similar listings" averagingnabout 15 views per day  However- for a week in October, I went 4-5 days in a row of zero views. I had never had a zero views day nor had i ever been under the similar listing views up to that point.  Additionally I got a couple of inquiries during that time which would be impossible without a view.  I contacted airbnb customer service and was told everything was fine with my listing. And then all of a sudden I went from zero to 20 views in one day.    Since that time I have not had any issue until last week when I flatlined all week at 3 views per day despite getting 2 bookings during that time.  Similar listings were avg 10 per day.  Again I contacted airbnb and again was told nothing was wrong with my account.  As I type this at 6AM on Sunday...I show i already

Hi all!I noticed one of my listing lost its ‘category’ that it was listed under. Then I started to do some digging and I can't find the help support page that used to talk about the ‘listing categories’ on airbnb. I'm wondering if airbnb is going to get away from these categories? Anyone notice something similar?

Hosting a new property and owner wants it to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. Is there a good resource to study specific to the STR world?

I have a townhouse unit that is connected to a studio, where guests can book one, the other, or both. The dividing door between the areas needs to be locked unless the the guest books both areas, in which case the door should be able to be opened from either side. Has anyone found a solution to this? I have been unable to find a smart or coded lock with a keypad on both sides. 

Bed sheet brand & color? Whats your favorite and Why?Go!

During the off-season, my cleaners have trouble getting staff who are happy to work on Sundays. If I wanted to configure my calendar between now and March, such that if there is a booking that ends on a Sunday, then block off Sunday night (so it can be cleaned on Monday)… and if there is a booking that starts on a Sunday, block off Saturday night (so it can be cleaned on Saturday)… How would I go about that? In other words, “No same-day turnovers on Sundays”, but only for a certain range of dates. I’ve been blocking nights manually for now but I’m curious if it can be done systematically.

When a guest enters one of my listings, the property literally springs to life. They are welcomed by name by an AI Avatar on the TV, rolling out a digital 'red carpet' immediately. Within seconds, guests can tell the smart home their ideal temperature, or even mention they're hungry—prompting the microwave to fire up and start popping popcorn.But my favorite automation solves the classic 'Group Amnesia' problem. We've all had bookings where the lead guest knows the rules, but the rest of the group is totally clueless, right? To fix this, I have a motion-triggered announcement that plays the night before departure. It ensures the whole group hears the checkout time and procedures, so no one is left guessing. Or if I need a vehicle moved or the trash to be taken out, I use my mobile smart remote to both program the message and set the motion trigger.When it's time to leave, guests simply load the dishwasher and hit a physical 'Checkout' button on their way out.

Received an email today about the new PL listing optimization tool and jumped on it right away. We have used tools like RankBreeze in the past with limited success. We tried it for 2 listings - one fairly new and another 1 year in the making - and I would say that for $12.99, we certainly got our moneys worth. What it offers:Listing check across 9 categories - some only relevant based on time on platform Detailed and specific feedback based on visuals and written words Airbnb rankings based on different guest counts and relative changes in ranking Comparisons agains near competitor set I have attached some screenshots for your reference, but if you are already a PL customer, you can easily drop in some Airbnb listing IDs, opt for the $12.99 one month trial and check out the results. I am not sure I would pay for this as an ongoing subscription unless I have an ultra high rev-gen listing and I want to continuously eval my ran

Hey Fellow Hosts and Property Managers If you are in a World Cup city, it appears that Airbnb will pay you a referral bonus (and/or a corresponding host account bonus in some cases if you are a property manager) for all new properties brought on board in specific Zips (and postal codes here in Canada) between now and the end of February.  You might be wondering “how is this different than the normal referral program from Airbnb?”. In this case, API-connected hosts (a la you on Hospitable) are ALSO eligible. Under the regular referral program, API hosts are specifically EXCLUDED (BTW - you can ask me how we generally get around that requirement and get rewarded EVERY time we bring on a new account - but that’s a separate tale). Anyway, if you are in Toronto, Vancouver, Boston, Atlanta, LA, Mexico City, etc (World Cup host cities) check out this referral program from Airbnb.

Why the Host Fee rate differs from transaction to transaction? range from 3.5% to 20%?

I still rather routinely have alteration request errors. For example, a recent guest is trying to alter the reservation from one guest to three guests, and the Airbnb platform is saying this will result in $111 decrease in the price of the reservation. There is nothing in our policies about this at all, and it makes no sense. I have two different reservations that are having issues like this. Anyone else?

I’ve been reviewing our owner statements and noticed an inconsistency in how our commissions are being calculated. Our agreement sets a flat 20% fee on the commissionable base for every property. However, the reservation-level payouts we’re receiving as a co-host aren’t consistently hitting that 20%. Some are coming in at 18%, others at 19.2%, 19.8%, etc.Since all properties are on the same 20% structure, the commissionable base and the payout should always match that rate. I want to make sure we identify why the calculation is fluctuating and get everything aligned going forward.

Hi everyone. just wanted to share something that’s been working surprisingly well in my Airbnb. I added a digital guest kiosk in the unit a few months ago—basically a sleek little station that sells things guests often forget (toiletries, towels, pain meds chargers, snacks, etc.)It’s free to set up, I choose what’s stocked, and I keep all the revenue. I’ve also added a QR code to my direct booking site on the kiosk, which has already led to a couple return guests booking directly with me.Didn’t expect it to be such a hit, but guests mention it in reviews and it’s been a nice passive income boost. If anyone’s curious, happy to share what I’m using. ✌️

I manage $1.3 million in bookings  and 2200 reservations a year and I’m on many platforms. Booking.com is by far the absolute worst. I do everything you’re supposed to do, we require a deposit, we require ID verification all that kind of stuff through charge automation but somehow we still just get absolute nightmare guests. Anytime I have to interact with Booking.com‘s customer support. It is a joke. Case in point, a guest recently Booked for six people at my house, paid the damage deposit, gave the names and ages of the guests, and then 30 people showed up at my house. When I contacted Booking.com about this, they said that they cannot cancel this guests reservation without their consent, which is just incredible. Does anyone have any contact with people that actually work in Booking.com like some kind of higher level rep or someone in the PR team or something? I just don’t understand how their service offerings can be so bad.

Hi. I am very new to Booking.com and I find the platform to just be very confusing. I had one booking through Booking.com and they already stayed at my rental. I cannot figure out if they paid or not. The reservation just says “no payment on file”. I am set up with Booking.com payments but I’m not sure it was set up at the time of booking. I also tried to call customer service and I just get a message that says “down for maintenance”. I’m not sure what I do from here. 

Hello - how is everyone setting up on the taxes % on direct feature - before i create the site it is asking me to set up this  - this is for a unit in UAE ? Thank you 

Hi everyone,I have a quick question for all property managers who manage units on behalf of owners. I’m curious how you calculate your management commission:Do you base your fee on the Airbnb payout (i.e., the amount after Airbnb fees)? Or do you use “Accommodation after Discounts” as the calculation basis? Or do you follow a different method? We currently calculate our commission using Accommodation after Discounts, which (from what I’ve read and seen in hospitality best-practice materials) seems to be the industry standard. However, owners sometimes ask why we don’t calculate based on the payout instead — so I’d love to hear how others handle this to benchmark our approach. Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

📊 Feeling Your Bookings Slow Down?If your calendar isn’t filling the way it used to — don’t rush to slash prices.Sometimes the issue isn’t demand… it’s presentation, positioning, search visibility, and rate strategy.I’m offering a free Listing performance report to help hosts understand why their calendar isn’t filling the way it should.Share your Airbnb link below. Each week, I’ll select 2–3 listings and send a quick full breakdown directly to you by message: Search ranking health Photo audit & visual hierarchy (what guests see first vs what should be first) Title + amenity relevance Review pattern risks affecting conversions Pricing vs market comparison Calendar pacing & competition signals No public critique, no video — just a private, actiona

Have a house in Banner Elk NC and selling it - not performing nearly as well as expected. Anyone have any ski town recommendations to check out for good ROI? Preferably East Coast or Colorado. Please don’t say Banner Elk :)

Hi community!I’m going to begin hosting in Portugal and I know they have some requirements and I wanted to see how other hosts are using Hospitable or other software to make it easier and follow all regulations. 

I’m trying to add a action button on my fb page and thought it would be good if this was integrated.

Hi, a strange thing is happening recently that is quite consequential. We have several properties in Durango Colorado. When I search in for Durango, Colorado, the homes are not showing up properly. They may even show up on the 15th or 16th page. When I search for Durango, CO 81301 which is the ZIP Code or other locations in Durango itself, the home show up on the first or second page. I have reached out to Airbnb several times and are not getting any help from them. They are saying things are normal and some listings show up later. However, there is some glitch that I'm not sure how to get rectified. We went from having bookings quite often to almost no bookings. Also, I am using rank breeze and our home is not showing up on the first 17 pages. I spoke to somebody from rank breeze and they also told me that for whatever reason that Durango Colorado search is not producing our home in the search results. Has anybody seen something like this occurred before

I wanted to throw out a Town Hall guest idea — Justin from HiChee.com It’s a free tool that shows guests where they can book the same property cheaper, which ostensibly would be your direct site! (Airbnb, VRBO, or DIRECT), So it helps hosts push more direct bookings which I think totally lines up with what Hospitable ultimately wants for its subscribers.. We need to get hosts to suggest it to their guests because once people know about this they will use it to book direct, whether it's with us or another host. It will benefit us in direct bookings! I'm really passionate about this because I am so sick of Airbnb! Would love to see him on a future Town Hall! But any hosts seeing this check out his website. Hichee.com . I'm not a paid promoter. I just want more direct booking LOL — Kim

Hi CommunityWe’ve noticed an uptick in reservation cancellations recently, some of them about 30 days before check in. These are mostly on Airbnb, where we have the Firm policy in place, we have this for VRBO as well.  We’ve automated a message to politely ask why people cancel, is there anything else others are doing to reduce cancellations or any advice?ThanksClaire