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Airbnb competitor Wimdu to close by the end of this year
Reading Time: 2 minutesEurope: Wimdu, Europe’s most well-funded clone of Airbnb, is to close by the end of the year owing to ‘significant financial and business challenges’. Partners of the company were informed by the message on Thursday, nine years after Wimdu was founded and labelled as the ‘Airbnb killer’. The news means that Wimdu will have to […]
Durban development introduces short-term rental platform
Reading Time: 2 minutesSouth Africa: The developers of the Lush residential in Durban have introduced a short-term rental platform that will allow the 230 million rand development to extend its investment potential. The platform differs from Airbnb in the sense that a dedicated intermediary body will decide not only who can stay at the listed property but also […]
Airbnb partnership to boost boutique hotel sector in Thailand
Reading Time: 2 minutesThailand: Airbnb has unveiled details of its upcoming partnership with the Thailand Boutique Accommodation Trade Association (TBAA) at a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony. The ceremony took place at Bangkok’s Beat Hotel earlier this week. Under the new partnership, the two companies will unite to boost Thailand’s boutique hotel sector by bringing a number […]
Airbnb hosts lament booking site’s increasing commercialisation
Reading Time: 2 minutesNew Zealand: Airbnb hosts are getting frustrated at how they perceive the vacation ental platform is becoming increasingly commercialised. The booking site has expanded its accommodation range in recent years to list more hotels, motels, eco-lodges and backpacker hotels in addition to its traditional offerings. Airbnb’s Australia and New Zealand country manager Sam McDonagh said […]
Vacation rentals limited to two business districts in Riverside, Illinois
Reading Time: 2 minutesIllinois: Vacation rentals such as Airbnb in Riverside will be confined to two business districts in the village from 1 December. The Riverside Village Board last week voted unanimously to approve an ordinance limiting vacation rentals like Airbnb to the village’s two business districts, which will effectively put the village’s only Airbnb listing out of […]
Thomas Cook links up with Expedia for vacation rental plan
Reading Time: 3 minutesWorldwide: Thomas Cook Group is hoping to start offering vacation rentals to its customers through its partnership with Expedia. The two companies announced their partnership back in September 2017, which went live this summer. The alliance initially covered short-term breaks and Thomas Cook’s hotel-only offering, but with Expedia providing its technological resources, both sides are […]
Mike Curtis to leave Airbnb position as VP of engineering
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAirbnb: Airbnb’s head of engineering, Mike Curtis, is to leave the company later this year to pursue other projects and focus on family commitments. Curtis joined the home-sharing online rental platform in 2013 after two years in a similar position with Facebook. Airbnb will now work with Heidrick & Struggles to find a successor to […]
Airbnb seeks ownership rule change to give hosts equity in its business
Reading Time: 2 minutesUnited States: Airbnb has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reconsider its security ownership rules as it wants to give its hosts equity in its business. The specific regulation that Airbnb is seeking to change is the SEC’s Rule 701, which governs ownership of equity in companies to bring in a new […]
Vancouver insurance brokers issue Airbnb coverage warning
Reading Time: 2 minutesVancouver: Recently-introduced regulations in some municipalities of Metro Vancouver are making it harder for property owners to get insurance coverage for their short-term rentals. One major insurance company, Wawanesa, stopped coverage for Airbnb-type listings in July, leading some brokers to suggest their clients go to more expensive ‘specialty market’ insurers as an alternative. A spokesman […]
Protests in Lisbon over soaring numbers of short-term rentals
Reading Time: 2 minutesLisbon: Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Lisbon on Saturday to voice their anger at soaring numbers of short-term tourist rentals and rising rents. Those marching through the Portuguese capital held up banners displaying slogans such as “Rein in rents, stop expulsions” and “enough tourism rentals”, in a demonstration that resembled others seen […]