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Expedia Group on Vrbo’s evolution and what rising traveller expectations mean for the industry
Reading Time: 2 minutesLast month, Expedia Group announced a series of updates to the Vrbo platform, including broader exposure for Vrbo listings across the company’s brand. This includes visibility on its flagship Expedia brand as well as through a B2B distribution network of more than 70,000 businesses and 160,000 travel agents. With these changes designed to improve discoverability, […]
Flataway.ai launches AI website builder
Reading Time: 2 minutesBulgaria: Traveltech startup Flataway.ai has launched Staycy, an AI-powered website builder designed to help professional vacation rental managers create high-converting, direct-booking sites in minutes. The launch follows an $800,000 pre-seed funding round led by Eleven Ventures and Angel Invest, with participation from several angel investors and the company’s founders, who previously sold one of Europe’s […]
Arbio raises $36m Series A to build AI-native rental platform
Reading Time: < 1 minuteGermany: Berlin-based startup Arbio has raised $36 million in a Series A funding round led by Eurazeo, bringing the company’s total funding to more than $45 million. Other backers include OpenOcean, Atlantic Labs, and angel investors Philipp Freise and Justin Reizes (KKR), Johannes Reck and Tao Tao (GetYourGuide), and Din Bisevac (Buena). Arbio describes itself […]
GuestyVal 2025 Highlights
Reading Time: < 1 minute[Mexico City] GuestyVal 2025 brought together leaders, founders and innovators from across the global short-term rental industry for three days of insights, debate and networking in Mexico City. In this video, Short Term Rentalz asked both attendees and Guesty what this event meant to them and what the key takeaways were.
UnderTheDoormat secures $7 million funding
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK / Middle East: Short-term rental solutions provider UnderTheDoormat Group has secured $7 million in a funding round led by tourism development company Omran Group. The round was supported by Smedvig Capital and other existing investors. The London-based STR business said that the funding will be used for international expansion and to support development of its technology […]
Nido Living partners with eviivo to power flex-living strategy in Iberia
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSpain: Student accommodation operator Nido Living has partnered with PMS provider eviivo to expand its ‘flex living’ model across Iberia, adapting student housing for short-stay guests during peak holiday seasons. The collaboration follows Nido’s €1.2 billion acquisition of Brookfield Asset Management’s Iberian student housing portfolio, Livensa Living, in June. Since the partnership began in late […]
Saudi short-term rental platform Gathern raises $72m Series B
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSaudi Arabia: Riyadh-based short-term rental platform Gathern has secured $72 million [SAR 250 million] in Series B funding, valuing the company at over $266 million [SAR 1 billion]. The round was led by Sanabil Investments, with participation from STV, Nuwa Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, and Pinnacle Capital. Founded in 2017, Gathern has become one of the […]
Over 50% of UK second homeowners consider STR letting amid tax changes, Sykes research finds
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: Most second homeowners in England who currently keep their properties for personal use are now considering opening them up to holidaymakers or tenants, according to new research from holiday cottage rental agency Sykes Holiday Cottages. The company’s latest survey of second homeowners who do not currently let their properties found that 71 per cent […]
Hosts embrace AI for guest messaging as Hospitable reports 45% jump
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Hosts are increasingly leaning on artificial intelligence to handle guest communication, according to new data from property management software provider Hospitable. The company reported a 45 per cent increase in use of its AI-Suggested Replies feature in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous six months. Nearly 60 per cent of those […]
RMS launches RMS Pay in North America
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS / Canada: Hospitality technology provider RMS has rolled out its integrated payments solution, RMS Pay, in the United States and Canada. Already adopted across Australia and Europe, RMS Pay enables operators to automate the full payment journey from pre-arrival to check-out. The platform is designed to reduce chargebacks, no-shows, and fraud while streamlining reconciliation […]