I-PRAC: Is it time we embraced uncertainty in the STR industry?

[SPONSORED CONTENT] Global verification and membership platform, I-PRAC, states the case for embracing uncertainty in the short-term rental industry and discusses the launch of its first STR Fraud Awareness Week next month.

While the latest trends in tech, marketing and guest communication inhabit large corners of the internet, there is a severe decline in the number of short-term rental hosts who understand that the industry is still largely untrusted.

The team at I-PRAC are once again unmasking this growing concern, and this time, with a groundbreaking, industry-first awareness week.

A recently updated article from Hotel Tech Report states that a whopping 79 per cent of people prefer traditional hotels over short-term rental accommodation. The same article continues to quote that: “More than 50 per cent of people do not use Airbnb due to safety, privacy, or legality. From shifting local laws to hidden cameras and uneven safety features, Airbnbs are not all created equally.”

Lack of trust continues to be the biggest reason for travellers who choose to book with hotels, over rental accommodation. More often than not, even budget hotel brands offer a level of consistency that the short-term rental industry fails to deliver on. This indeed poses the question – is it high time we remove our rose-tinted glasses?

The answer? Well, that would be a confident yes.

And although some argue that this seems counter-intuitive, the first step in eliminating uncertainty in the short-term rental industry is embracing the fact that it exists.

When the fear of fraud is greater than the desire to book with a short-term rental host

There’s a rising increase in the volume of support and resources available for STR businesses that wish to generate more direct bookings.

However, many of these book direct strategies skip the first [and most crucial] part of the guest experience. That being earning the guests’ trust. Because, whether we admit it or not, the short-term rental landscape is still rife with fraudulent activity.

In the UK alone, almost 280,000 rental properties – with a combined market value of £82.7 billion – are thought to be occupied by fraudsters, according to research analysis from Ocasa.

To paint an even clearer picture, reports from Travel Weekly state that around one million travellers per year are expected to fall victim to Airbnb scams – where fraudsters can easily list non-existent properties and lure innocent people out of thousands of pounds.

Unfortunately, the problem doesn’t just end with the larger OTAs [online travel agencies] such as Airbnb and Vrbo. Fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated with their scams, often investing the time and money to create dishonest websites with stolen images of properties – and even going as far as sending a seemingly ‘trustworthy’ string of direct emails, until an unsuspecting traveller has parted with their money.

The growing accessibility of AI tools such as ChatGPT don’t help with this either – enabling more and more con-artists to create convincing copy and content – that may even be crammed with the right keywords, so the algorithms support their crime.

It’s vital to point out that today’s travellers are no longer ignorant to this issue – as a quick Google search will expose the short-term rental industry’s vulnerability to fraud, lack of consistent regulation[s], and trust. Simply type the words ‘short-term rental fraud’ into your online search engine and a plethora of frightening stories will populate your mobile phone screen.

So, with all the above in mind, do we still believe that the industry is doing enough to educate hosts and travellers about the dangers of fraud, as well as how to eliminate the problem entirely?

Will a prolonged failure to do this ultimately decimate the credibility of our thriving landscape? It certainly seems more than likely.

Introducing Short-Term Rental Fraud Awareness Week – an I-PRAC Initiative

While fraud remains a growing concern in the short-term rental industry, there are an immense number of legitimate operators that offer remarkable experiences and hospitality for guests worldwide.

Short-term rentals have the potential to override the traditional hotel scene – particularly now as they’re more suited to WFH [working from home], hybrid working and travelling nomad culture [as favoured by many millennial and Gen Z travellers]. However, in order for this industry to truly thrive, it’s vital that the damage caused by fraudsters is reversed, and this is very much a ‘long game’.