Tagged: airbnb

What a Shrinking Airbnb Could Mean for the Future of Travel

Like every other travel company, Airbnb was hit hard by the pandemic. In May, CEO Brian Chesky admitted that the company’s future was in doubt this spring. Airbnb reacted by cutting…

HomeAway to Go Away—What That Means for Your Rental

Expedia Group is dropping its HomeAway platform for vacation rentals. Instead, the online travel company is focusing its rental business on the similar Vrbo brand. Starting next…

What Are Airbnb and Other Rental Sites Doing to Keep Vacation Homes Clean and Safe?

MAY 14, 2020 The travel industry has an existential problem. How to convince the public that leaving home will be a safe and enjoyable activity in a drastically changed world? I think…

In an Isolation Innovation, Walking Tour Guides Mount Live Virtual "Tours" You Take from Home

"Thank you for your booking," says my new tour guide, Eleonore. "Thanks to your presence here, I am able to go back to work. I am very happy." Then we descend 60 feet below the streets…

Airbnb Launches Online Experiences You Pay For

Airbnb has introduced an all-digital version of its Experiences platform for tours and activities. With the company's new Online Experiences, experts around the world can teach you…

Staying in Amsterdam Will Cost You Extra This Year

An increase in Amsterdam's tourist tax went into effect on January 1. Going forward, visitors who stay in hotels in the Dutch capital will be charged a fee of €3 (US $3.35) per person…

Vacation Rental Law Hits Hawaii Hard—How to Navigate Tough Rental Regulations

Long before Airbnb was a twinkle on founder Brian Chesky’s browser, New York State had a law severely limiting short-term rentals. Called the "Multiple Dwelling Law," it has, in its…

Arthur Frommer: It's Smart to Make Sure Your Airbnb Host is at Home

A massive battle is being waged in courtrooms all over the world between supporters of short-term apartment rentals and cities wanting to put an end to those uses. The cities claim…

A Website Called Fairbnb Has Flung an "Ethical" Challenge to Airbnb

Although it has successfully helped millions of travelers to find overnight accommodations in an apartment or home, Airbnb is still mired in controversy and fending off attacks. It…

This Airbnb Scam Is Costing People Thousands: How to Protect Yourself

If you've ever booked a vacation rental, this will seem perfectly normal at first. You find a good listing, maybe on Craigslist or maybe on another vacation rental site. It's exactly…

When Is a Home Rental Legal in New York City? Ask Arthur Frommer, a Former Lawyer

There is perhaps nowhere in America that more needs the services of Airbnb than New York City.  Its hotels are frequently sold out, and even when available are sky-high in price. So…

I’m Now One of Those People: A Traveler with an Airbnb Horror Story

It didn’t happen because I’m a careless idiot, or a very picky, persnickity traveler. It happened because I’m a (bit) lazy. I was heading to Chicago for work and an unrelated…

Barcelona Unveils Website for Finding Legal Apartment Rentals

Barcelona has been cracking down on illegal apartment rentals lately.The Spanish city has closed about 2,000 of them for operating without a license, and slapped Airbnb with a fine of…

New Booking Site for Clothing-Optional Stays

We're strong believers in packing light—all that luggage will only slow you down—but the champions in that department have got to be those who are fond of vacationing in the nude.…

Hugely Popular European Destination Bans Apartment Rentals

Between 2015 and 2017, illegal vacation rentals, fueled by services such as Airbnb, shot up 50%. As a consequence, rent for locals skyrocketed 40%.For a small Mediterranean island…

Thinking of Taking a Shopping Tour with a Stylist? Tips and Observations

Aneta was a petite blonde with architectural glasses and artistically shredded jeans. Robyn was a demure brunette in a taupe sweater, well-tailored skirt, and pointy heels. They shared…

The Ever-Expanding Footprint of Airbnb and What It Means

With speed more head-spinning than Linda Blair's in The Exorcist, Airbnb has been growing and changing and growing once again. In just the past 18 months or so, it has added online…

Airbnb Just Made Planning Group Trips a Lot Easier

Humans have always traveled in packs. But booking this style of travel online has always been difficult—few sites allow users to divvy up payments among several travelers. Airbnb to…

One Key to a Successful European Vacation Is Planning Several Months Ahead

When is it best to begin planning your trip to Europe? Though some of the experts disagree, the majority of them say just after the start of the new year, when airline tickets tend to…

The Travel Industry Steps Up for Hurricane Harvey—And Rewards Those Who Help

As Biblical flood scenes flash across T.V. screens, and the battered residents of Texas brace for a clean-up of massive proportions, help is on its way from the travel industry. We’ve…

Airbnb Now Has More Rooms Than the Top 5 Hotel Companies Combined

Airbnb passed a big milestone recently.The San Francisco-based home-sharing service now has more than 4 million listings in 191 countries. That's more inventory than what the world's…

Eight Observations About Travel That May Be of Use for Your Next Vacation

JULY 21, 2017Here are eight random thoughts about travel that may have a bearing on your next trip:A Worldwide Airbnb: Smart travelers should realize that the services of Airbnb are…

A Virtual Avalanche of Websites Renting Short-Term Apartments Has Followed the Much-Publicized Success of Airbnb

When an internet company earns billions of dollars of profit each year, you can bet that numerous other companies will immediately proceed to imitate or supplement its product. That is…

8 Ways Millennials Are Changing Travel

Read enough think pieces about millennials—people in their 20s and 30s who came of age around the beginning of the 21st century—and you’re liable to get a contradictory image of the…

Muzbnb: Everything You'd Expect From a Home-Sharing Service, Minus Islamophobia

A new startup will aim to help Muslim travelers find the things they'll need most when they leave home: places that welcome them.Muzbnb, the latest peer-to-peer home-sharing service to…