# Vacation Rental Consultants > Vacation Rental Consulting ## Pages - [Short-Term Rental M&A Playbook](https://yes.consulting/short-term-rental-ma-playbook/): Discover insights from our Free 2025 M&A Report, designed for vacation rental consultants to navigate the evolving market landscape. - [Free 2025 M&A Report](https://yes.consulting/free-2025-ma-report/): Discover insights from our Free 2025 M&A Report, designed for vacation rental consultants to navigate the evolving market landscape. - [Privacy Policy](https://yes.consulting/privacy-policy-2/): Last Updated: November 2025 Yes. Consulting (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates [Insert Website URL] (the “Service”). This page informs you... - [Terms of Service](https://yes.consulting/terms-of-service/): Last Updated: November 2025 1. Acceptance of Terms By accessing and using the website, services, and content provided by Yes.... - [Editorial Policy](https://yes.consulting/editorial-policy/): Editorial Policy & Standards for Yes. Consulting™ Short Term Rentals News We are committed to the highest standards of journalistic... - [If you are not focused on AI, Quality, Trust & Culture it could be Terminal!](https://yes.consulting/short-term-rentals-ai-quality-trust-culture/): Recent conferences have revealed that our vacation rental industry lags behind the corporate world in tool adoption, including essential AI. - [WORKING WITHOUT OTAS (WWOTAS)](https://yes.consulting/working-without-otas-wwotas/): JOIN THE THRONG This page is dedicated to those managers who have been fighting the continual creep of the OTAs... - [Airbnb Commission Strategy - Infographic](https://yes.consulting/airbnb-commission-strategy-infographic/): Created by Google Gemini – No editing The Strategic Alchemy of Incremental Pricing The Strategic Alchemy of Incremental Pricing An... - [May 2025 Newsletter](https://yes.consulting/may-2025-short-term-rental-newsletter-vacasa/): Vacation rental news for short-term rentals in May 2025. Airbnb, Vacasa, Casago, Loyalty programs, AI, Google SEO & Holidu & DesignedVR - [DYNAMIC PRICING AND WHY IT IS INCREASINGLY CHALLENGING FOR STRs.](https://yes.consulting/dynamic-pricing-challenges/): 2025 will be the year where data becomes very important to professional companies as they work to maximise margins and... - [Choosing a Short Term Rental Agency](https://yes.consulting/choosing-a-short-term-rental-agency/): How to choose a shirt tenr rental or vacation rental manager or agency. Tips and tricks and lots of advice to avoid conflict & disappoitment, - [No Access](https://yes.consulting/no-access/) - [Past Conference Presentations](https://yes.consulting/past-conference-presentations/): Conference presentations from Richard Vaughton over the last couple of years covering a range of subjects in the vacation rental industry. - [VRWS 2024 - STR Business Metrics](https://yes.consulting/vacation-rental-world-summit-making-money/): A presentation focused on making money and industry metrics in the vacation rental business. How much is spent on tech, etc and net profits - [iCal Validator](https://yes.consulting/ical-validator/): iCal Validator for the vacation rental and short term rental industry. Check an iCal string and whether a calendar is valid. - [Short Term Rentals](https://yes.consulting/): Vacation rental consultants and board advisory postions. We specialise in tech, M&A and management or agency growth and modelling for exit. - [Header Style 1](https://yes.consulting/header-style-1/) - [Header Style](https://yes.consulting/header-style/): [vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column]... - [Articles and News](https://yes.consulting/articles-news/): Articles and news about vacation rentals and short term rentals from Ys Consulting. Covering numerous important topics for managers & hosts. - [Our Short Term Rental Services](https://yes.consulting/vacation-rental-services/): Yes Consulting offers a range of services tailored to the vacation rental industry, including M&A, tech solutions, and growth management. Our Vacation Rental Services are designed to help you succeed. - [Contact](https://yes.consulting/contact-us-vacation-rental-consultants/): For vacation rental advice on technology, growth management, distribution, M&A and more, call or contact Yes Consulting - [About Us](https://yes.consulting/about-us-vacation-rental-consultants/): Yes Consulting is an organisation that specialises in vacation rentals or short term rentals. Focussed on management, growth, M&A and tech. - [Blog](https://yes.consulting/blog/) ## Posts - [Launch of CEOSure](https://yes.consulting/launch-of-ceosure/): Discover CEOsure's unique approach to company validation via CEOs. Join us as we embark on this exciting journey in the industry. - [What Do Short-Term Rental Consultants Do?](https://yes.consulting/what-do-short-term-rental-consultants-do/): The short-term rental industry has evolved significantly, making expertise from Short-Term Rental Consultants crucial for achieving success. - [The best of the best! Coming Soon](https://yes.consulting/the-best-of-the-best/): Discover how CEOSure helps elevate companies to the best of the best in the vacation rental industry and supports those aiming for excellence. - [AI Short Term Rental Tools Directory](https://yes.consulting/ai-short-term-rental-tools-directory/): We are now awash with AI Short Term Rental Tools for the vacation rental industry. This is increasing daily as... - [HometoGo (Incl. Interhome) Announces 1st Qrt Results](https://yes.consulting/hometogo-inc-interhome-announces-1st-qrt-results/): It appears HomeToGo has made an aggressive operational pivot toward a business-to-business model, relying heavily on its acquisition of Interhome... - [How OTAs succeeded & The Battle is just beginning, again!](https://yes.consulting/how-otas-succeeded-insights-for-vacation-rentals/): Discover expert strategies to thrive in the evolving vacation rental landscape and succeed in this new era and how OTAs succeeded - [Removing Founder Dependency](https://yes.consulting/removing-founder-dependency/): Discover strategies to eliminate founder dependency in vacation rental businesses for sustainable growth and success. - [The Short-Term Rental M&A Playbook](https://yes.consulting/the-short-term-rental-ma-playbook/): Maximise your exit value with our playbook, offering a strategic framework for M&A in the short-term rental market. Discover insights on m&a. - [Professional STR Management Is Growing Up!](https://yes.consulting/professional-str-management-is-growing-up-with-data/): We are entering a new era of STRs, highlighting the importance of professional STR Management and use of Benchmarked Data, AI and clear focus - [Airbnb, Stable Coins, Go Big, GEO, UCP, Product of 2025 & More](https://yes.consulting/airbnb-stable-coins-go-big-geo-ucp-product-of-2025/): Explore how Airbnb and stable coins impact vacation rentals in 2025. Insights for rental consultants and property managers, with GEO, Awards, M&A. - [Revenue Management: Small to Mid STR Framework](https://yes.consulting/revenue-management-segmented-strategic-framework/): Explore essential strategies in Revenue Management for the evolving short-term rental industry to enhance profitability and growth. - [Short-Term Rental M&A Playbook.](https://yes.consulting/short-term-rental-ma-playbook/): Explore critical strategies for success in the evolving short-term rental market and discover the benefits of short-term rental m&a. - [M&A and Investment Report 2025](https://yes.consulting/m-a-investment-report-2025-ma/): This 2025 Global Short-Term Rental M&A Report provides an analysis of the shifting financial and operational landscape within the flexible accommodation sector. It... - [Do you know a Revenue Manager?](https://yes.consulting/do-you-know-a-revenue-manager/): Discover how a revenue manager can optimise your vacation rental's profitability and success in 2025. Get professional guidance today. - [2025 Conversations and Advisory Work](https://yes.consulting/2025-conversations-and-advisory-work/): Countries that we, Yes Consulting have advised or conversed with in 2025 - [If you are not focused on AI, Quality, Trust & Culture it could be Terminal!](https://yes.consulting/ai-culture-and-quality-in-short-term-rentals/): Recent conferences reveal our industry is lagging in adopting tools, especially ai, compared to the corporate world—this could be terminal! - [Presentation ~ Tech Friend or Foe](https://yes.consulting/presentation-pdf-tech-friend-or-foe/): The following presentation is in pdf format and was created for PASCUK (UK Rental Association) regional conferences in Devon and... - [Websites that Empower Success in Next-Gen Rentals](https://yes.consulting/websites-that-empower-success-in-next-gen-rentals/): The entire web playing field is about to change because of AI. Are you ready or at least thinking about... - [Website Analysis Report](https://yes.consulting/website-analysis-report/): REPORT NOW AVAILABLE CLICK HERE Coming soon a comprehensive analysis on Short Term Rental Websites and why the industry needs... - [Hijacked by the Gatekeepers:](https://yes.consulting/hijacked-by-the-ota-gatekeepers/): Airbnb and the silence that followed have made one thing painfully clear: many OTAs have lost sight of who their real stakeholders are. - [May 2025 Newsletter - Its been a busy time for STRS!](https://yes.consulting/may-2025-newsletter-its-been-a-busy-time-for-strs/): Legislation, ViDA - [Air Success Presentation](https://yes.consulting/air-success-presentation/): Legislation, ViDA - [April Newsletter & AI Tech Strategy](https://yes.consulting/april-newsletter-ai-tech-strategy/): Legislation, ViDA - [UK and European Legislation Updates](https://yes.consulting/uk-eu-spain-legislation-rules-and-regulations/): Legislation, ViDA - [DYNAMIC PRICING AND WHY IT IS INCREASINGLY CHALLENGING FOR STRs.](https://yes.consulting/dynamic-pricing-and-why-it-is-increasingly-challenging-for-strs/): Dynamic pricing and its challenges in short term rentals. The rise of Revenue Management and the human touch in a world of tech. - [We have been busy!](https://yes.consulting/we-have-been-busy/): Since January we have been snowed under as the STR industry comes alive with its plans for 2025. So what... - [2024 M&A Report for Short Term Rentals](https://yes.consulting/2024-ma-report/): Published on the Yes Consulting LinkedIn page. The report may be downloaded as a pdf from this link Keep up... - [24.5 bn people will travel! Are you ready?](https://yes.consulting/24-5-bn-people-will-travel-are-you-ready/): Huge travel predictions In 2052 (just think 2025 in a few years) and will need accommodation to service 24bn travellers. Are you ready? - [UK & EU Autumn Conferences 2024](https://yes.consulting/uk-eu-autumn-conferences-2024/): The short-term rental industry enjoys multiple conferences yearly, some of which Yes Consulting attends and often presents at. We participated... - [AI is a game changer for vacation rental business](https://yes.consulting/ai-is-a-game-changer-for-vacation-rental-business/): A single system, multi-internal AI embraced module approach will undoubtedly become the software of choice for vacation rental managers. - ["Jurassic Corporations: The Rise of Predatory Giants in the Short-Term Rental Industry"](https://yes.consulting/the-rise-of-giants-in-vacation-rentals/): A new vacation rental era is in transition, from the Directocene to the OTAcene to the Corpocene, control is being handed to bg investment. - [Death by unknown data! Get involved!](https://yes.consulting/death-by-unknown-data/): Death by unkown data is a presentation reflecting on the metrics of 20 companies reviewed by Yes Consulting and how much margins is available. - [The Vacation Rental Newsletter is back.](https://yes.consulting/the-vacation-rental-newsletter-is-coming-back/): The vacation rental newsletter from Yes Consulting is coming back into circulation. Deeply researched topics from an established consultancy. - [Vacation Rental Consultants - Why?](https://yes.consulting/vacation-rental-consultants-why/): Vacation rental consultants or advisors need to be extremely experienced and networked to real value to software and managers & rental agents - [Vacation Rental Manager Checklist](https://yes.consulting/ultimate-vacation-rental-checklist/): Maximise your growth with our ultimate guide, featuring a comprehensive Vacation Rental Checklist to manage your short-term rental business effectively. - [Choosing a PMS?](https://yes.consulting/choosing-a-pms-buyer-beware/): Choosing a PMS for Short term rentals or Vacation Rentals is no easy task especially with so many available. - [Legislative Advisory Documents](https://yes.consulting/legislative-advisory-documents/): Legislation in the short term rental industry. Compiling a list of local and national regulations around the world. - [SCALE BARCELONA 2024](https://yes.consulting/scale-rentals-barcelona/): Another successful show ~2024 There have been hundreds of posts, images, and videos about the Scale Barcelona show earlier this... - [FHL ~ Removal of tax benefits. What is the impact on STRs?](https://yes.consulting/fhl-removal-of-tax-benefits-what-is-the-impact-on-strs/): “A nation of shopkeepers Airbnbers” That’s what the government thinks! BBC News on the 8th of 2024 covered the removal... - [Airbnb vs Pro Managers ~ Where is the long-term value?](https://yes.consulting/airbnb-vs-pro-managers-where-is-the-long-term-value/): Airbnb proclaims exclusivity and owner appreciation, but how important are managers to their shareholders? Is it leaking money from managers... - [Defining Ultra-Luxury: Establishing Brand Standards Amid Market Diversity](https://yes.consulting/defining-ultra-luxury-establishing-brand-standards-amid-market-diversity/): & the need for a private members listing platform This document has been created to highlight the need for a... - [Airbnb - 2024? A deep dive into what it holds in store.](https://yes.consulting/airbnb-2024-a-deep-dive-into-what-it-holds-in-store/): UPDATE: This article was written in the first week of January, and today, Feb 11th, the price is $152. 73... - [Strategic Consulting Alliance](https://yes.consulting/strategic-consulting-alliance/): We are delighted to announce a strategic advisory alliance between Yes Consulting and Tara Consulting, are deeply rooted in vacation rentals. - [A roundup of interesting 2023 deals](https://yes.consulting/a-roundup-of-interesting-2023-deals/): We cover the 2023 deals that have been made public and/or are of interest. There are considerably smaller deals across... - [Veeve & Underthedoormat (client article)](https://yes.consulting/how-to-achieve-with-successfull-career/): INSIDE THE VEEVE-UNDERTHEDOORMAT MERGER: FUNDING, GROWTH TACTICS, AND WHAT’S NEXT – Written for RentalScaleup (owned by PriceLabs) The recent merging... - [Smart Hosts (old article, but still relevant)](https://yes.consulting/de-risking-vacation-rentals/): De-risking short term or vacation rentals is super important, as shown by Covid and the nibbling away of margins by tech and OTA companies. - [Vacation Rental Growth Checklist](https://yes.consulting/vacation-rental-growth-checklist/): [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] With so many things to consider. A 30-page guide. This document is designed to help growing or aspirational management... - [Written for Beach Retreats - AI IN THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR](https://yes.consulting/written-for-beach-retreats-ai-in-the-hospitality-sector/): Welcome to Part 2 of our blog series about AI, written by our friends at Yes Consulting. Part 1 covered what AI is,... - [Written For Beach Retreats - INTRODUCTION TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)](https://yes.consulting/written-for-beach-retreats-introduction-to-artificial-intelligence-ai/): Welcome to part 1 of 2 of our blog series about AI, written by our friends at Yes Consulting. These... - [Don't Ignore Your Data!](https://yes.consulting/dont-ignore-your-data/): Use of data in short-term rentals. Interpretations, statistics, analysis, AI, ML and more - [Toilet Bowl Apocalypse: Cleaning Frenzy Ahead!](https://yes.consulting/toilet-bowl-apocalypse-cleaning-frenzy-ahead/): “2023: The Year of the Scrub Brush. ” There are plenty of predictions from industry gurus for 2023 and reviews... - [2022 VITUR, VRWS (inc Web3) Conference TakeAways](https://yes.consulting/2022-web3-vrws-vitur-conference-takeaways/): A few takeaways from both the recent “ViturSummit” in Malaga, Spain and the “Vacation Rental World Summit” (VRWS) in Porto,... - [Is it just me? ~ The Lighthouse Newsletter](https://yes.consulting/is-there-anything-new/): The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for January and February 2021. Airbnb, booking.com data, Looking at trends, events & news - [Tariff challenges ahead ~ The Lighthouse Newsletter](https://yes.consulting/tariffs-challenges-ahead-the-lighthouse-newsletter/): The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for January and February 2021. Airbnb, booking.com data, Looking at trends, events & news - [The Lighthouse Newsletter ~ STR Industry Reset 2022](https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-str-industry-reset-2022/): The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for January and February 2021. Airbnb, booking.com data, Looking at trends, events & news - [Ukranian Donations from the Vacation Rental World](https://yes.consulting/ukranian-donations-from-the-vacation-rental-world/): This is the growing lists of businesses in the rental world that can help you contribute to the cause. Please... - [The Lighthouse Newsletter ~ Vacation Rentals ~ Sept/Oct 2021](https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-vacation-rentals-sept-oct-2021/): The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for January and February 2021. Airbnb, booking.com data, Looking at trends, events & news - [The Lighthouse Newsletter ~ Vacation Rentals ~ Jan/feb 2021](https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-vacation-rentals-jan-feb/): The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for January and February 2021. Airbnb, booking.com data, Looking at trends, events & news - [The Lighthouse Newsletter ~ Vacation Rentals ~ Oct/Nov 2020](https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-vacation-rentals-oct-nov-2020/): The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for November. Airbnb IPO, data, events, tips & tricks, network news and Blockchain rentals - [The Measured Value of Professional Photography](https://yes.consulting/the-measured-value-of-professional-photography/): High-quality, finely-crafted professional photographs will maximise your holiday home’s appeal to potential guests without question. - [The Lighthouse Newsletter ~ Vacation Rentals ~ Sept. 2020](https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-september-2020/): The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for September. Big Business with commentary:Booking.com vs Airbnb, data, events, tips & tricks, network news - [The Lighthouse ~ Newsletter August 2020](https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-august-2020/): The Yes Consulting newsletter. Don't miss a thing! For hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term and vacation rental sector. - [The Lighthouse ~ Newsletter July 2020](https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-july-2020/): The Yes Consulting newsletter. Don't miss a thing! For hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term and vacation rental sector. - [Web 3. What the future of rentals looks like - Webinar](https://yes.consulting/web-3-what-the-future-of-rentals-looks-like-webinar/): Two of our network involved and organised by one: Luca de Giglio (thank you Luca) in this webinar last week... - [Surgeons, Cleaners and Sharks](https://yes.consulting/surgeons-cleaners-sharks/): The professional face of the vacation rental property world is being re-modeled daily and it’s not just plastic surgery, it’s... # # Detailed Content ## Pages > Discover insights from our Free 2025 M&A Report, designed for vacation rental consultants to navigate the evolving market landscape. - Published: 2026-01-01 - Modified: 2026-01-01 - URL: https://yes.consulting/short-term-rental-ma-playbook/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html css=""]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row] > Discover insights from our Free 2025 M&A Report, designed for vacation rental consultants to navigate the evolving market landscape. - Published: 2025-12-10 - Modified: 2025-12-11 - URL: https://yes.consulting/free-2025-ma-report/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html css=""]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row] - Published: 2025-11-20 - Modified: 2025-11-20 - URL: https://yes.consulting/privacy-policy-2/ Last Updated: November 2025 Yes. Consulting ("we," "us," or "our") operates [Insert Website URL] (the "Service"). This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data when you use our Service and the choices you have associated with that data. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. 1. Interpretation and Definitions Data Controller: For the purposes of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), Yes. Consulting is the Data Controller. Personal Data: Any information relating to an identified or identifiable living individual. Usage Data: Data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (e. g. , the duration of a page visit). 2. Types of Data We Collect A. Personal Data While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you, including: Email address (for newsletters or account registration). First name and last name. Phone number (if applicable for consulting inquiries). B. Usage Data We may collect information on how the Service is accessed and used. This Usage Data may include: Your computer's Internet Protocol address (e. g. , IP address). Browser type and browser version. The pages of our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, and the time spent on those pages. C. Cookies and Tracking Technologies We use Cookies and similar tracking technologies to... - Published: 2025-11-20 - Modified: 2025-11-20 - URL: https://yes.consulting/terms-of-service/ Last Updated: November 2025 1. Acceptance of Terms By accessing and using the website, services, and content provided by Yes. Consulting™ ("we," "us," or "our"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you are prohibited from using our services. 2. Description of Services Yes. Consulting provides short term rental consultancy and information services. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of our services at any time without prior notice. 3. Intellectual Property Rights All content published by Yes. Consulting, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, code, KML data files, and software, is the intellectual property of Yes. Consulting or its content suppliers and is protected by applicable copyright and trademark laws. License to Use: You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access our content for personal, non-commercial use. Prohibitions: You may not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell, or exploit any portion of the Service without express written permission from Yes. 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Our team verifies all facts, statistics, and claims using primary sources, official documentation, and on-the-record interviews whenever possible. We do not publish rumors or unverified speculation without explicitly labeling it as such. Ownership & Funding TransparencyYes. Consulting™ is owned and operated by VR Consultants Ltd Funding: Our operations are funded through private investment. Independence: Our editorial team operates independently from our advertising department. Sponsors and advertisers do not have prior review privileges of our editorial content, nor do they influence the direction of our reporting. Corrections PolicyWe aim for perfection, but we acknowledge that errors can occur. When a factual error is identified, we correct it immediately to maintain trust with our audience. Minor Corrections: Formatting or spelling errors are fixed immediately. Substantive Corrections: If a factual error changes the meaning of a story, we will update the article and append a "Correction" note at the bottom of the piece detailing what was changed and when. Ethics & Conflicts of InterestTo ensure unbiased reporting: Any staff member with a personal or financial interest in a topic must recuse themselves from coverage or disclose the conflict in the article. Sponsored Content: All paid content, advertorials, or affiliate partnerships are clearly... > Recent conferences have revealed that our vacation rental industry lags behind the corporate world in tool adoption, including essential AI. - Published: 2025-11-19 - Modified: 2025-11-19 - URL: https://yes.consulting/short-term-rentals-ai-quality-trust-culture/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] The Future of Short-Term Rentals: AI, Quality, Trust and Culture It may come as a shock, but recent conferences have revealed that our industry is, in general, far behind the corporate world in both tool adoption, the development of a strategy to improve and defend its business, and even in considering AI as a threat or opportunity. There are some who are on the cutting edge, but in our world of short term rentals, success also depends on trust, quality and team culture, with admin and business intelligence running increasingly on tech and AI rails. The excellent Scale Show last week (November 2025) showed the importance of each dynamic. Bigger than the Internet? This new paradigm or inflection point questions whether this is bigger than the internet, even though it relies on such connectivity and requires data access to accelerate reach, training, and development at scale. Robots may well not need this connectivity in the future, and even now you can run your own AI models with some technical skills. However, we are used to global cloud services, which is the standard adoption principle. Where is it all going? Do we know where it's all going? No! But we can guess or speculate, develop our own guardrails, and hedge our bets. STRs are a complex industry, under attack, and the takeaways below are made purely on the basis of working with managers, advising tech companies, being involved in M&A deals, and talking to peers who have invested... - Published: 2025-10-21 - Modified: 2025-10-21 - URL: https://yes.consulting/working-without-otas-wwotas/ JOIN THE THRONG This page is dedicated to those managers who have been fighting the continual creep of the OTAs dominance in the short term rental industry. Urban areas lost the fight long ago and now the higher value more distributed leisure destinations are under attack from all quarters. But even urban businesses can build a new and more independent future, just as hotels are doing. Guests have increasingly paid more per stay, OTAs have changed policies and their commissions with only the guest's requirements or desires in mind. Supply is a commodity. Shorter stays have resulted in higher costs across the board, but increased cancellations through aggressive policy changes have left supply in tatters where long reach bookings are more common. This can often result in decreased last minute prices and operational management companies in difficult circumstances each time. Not forgetting the challenges owners bring when bookings and income falter. If you want to fight this trend and regain lost ground and have the passion and energy to build a business, adopt new strategies and hold your nerve when needed, then add your name below and leave a comment. Strength in numbers! Loading... - Published: 2025-08-26 - Modified: 2025-08-26 - URL: https://yes.consulting/airbnb-commission-strategy-infographic/ Created by Google Gemini - No editing The Strategic Alchemy of Incremental Pricing The Strategic Alchemy of Incremental Pricing An In-Depth Analysis of Psychological and Financial Drivers, with a Case Study on Airbnb Estimated Annualized Incremental Revenue for Airbnb $1. 166 Billion This staggering figure is the result of a carefully orchestrated, two-pronged fee adjustment strategy, grounded in the principles of behavioral economics. The 'Why': Behavioral Economics at Play The most successful pricing strategies are not just mathematical—they are deeply psychological. Companies leverage known cognitive biases to introduce changes that customers are less likely to notice or resist. The Just Noticeable Difference (JND) JND is the smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected. Businesses use this to make small price increases that consumers are unlikely to notice, avoiding backlash. Original Price $1000 → New Price (2% increase) $1020 A minimal increase often falls below the consumer's perceptual radar. The Left-Digit Effect Consumers tend to focus on the leftmost digit of a price, causing them to perceive $19. 99 as significantly cheaper than $20. 00. $19. 99 vs. $20. 00 This cognitive bias makes the lower price feel like a much better deal, even though the difference is minimal. The 'How': An Industry Playbook Many of the world's most successful subscription-based companies have mastered the art of incremental pricing, justifying increases by adding value. This approach fosters customer loyalty and drives revenue growth. Case Study: Airbnb's Dual Strategy Airbnb's recent fee adjustments weren't a single price hike but two... > Vacation rental news for short-term rentals in May 2025. Airbnb, Vacasa, Casago, Loyalty programs, AI, Google SEO & Holidu & DesignedVR - Published: 2025-05-05 - Modified: 2025-05-06 - URL: https://yes.consulting/may-2025-short-term-rental-newsletter-vacasa/ There has been some big news, interesting developments, and another big report pending in the middle of this month. This time, it is on "Airbnb, its long-term intentions", and how it needs to keep pushing hard on supply compliance. If you want to receive a copy of this, please subscribe here. Casago acquires Vacasa Casago, the Phoenix-based vacation rental property management franchise company, has acquired Vacasa, a larger Portland-based competitor. Thousands of words have been written on this over the last months, and a competitive and higher bid was not considered in the best interests of investors. A few years ago, we were asked about Vacasa's trajectory, and we thought it challenging to compete across such a broad market without a hyper-local, skin-in-the-game approach. Casago's franchise business model offers this across a single-language marketplace, which is more challenging in Europe. We wish Steve Schwabb and the team all the best for the future, and we will be producing a bigger article on this subject in the coming months. If you would like the new CEO's take, this is an excellent interview, on Phocuswire, very briefly summarised below: Steve Schwab emphasised integrating Vacasa's resources while maintaining Casago's commitment to personalised, locally empowered service. He highlighted plans to leverage the strengths of both companies to enhance service quality and operational efficiency. Looking ahead, Casago aims to continue its growth trajectory by focusing on community engagement and delivering exceptional experiences to homeowners and guests. The company plans to invest in technology and training... - Published: 2025-02-06 - Modified: 2025-05-05 - URL: https://yes.consulting/dynamic-pricing-challenges/ 2025 will be the year where data becomes very important to professional companies as they work to maximise margins and use this to create stronger foundations as other pressures build. There are significant problems, however, and we discuss them below to weed out the issues and discuss how to avoid the continual fluctuation of results. Data covers all elements of the STR business, and we will cover all of this over the coming year, revealing anonymised collective company statistics and attempting to create financial industry metrics. In this first analysis, we are concentrating on the most critical managers or hosts' challenges they are most concerned about when filling the sales funnel: Is there a problem? Dynamic pricing is a tactical tool in revenue management that involves adjusting prices in real-time or near-real-time based on supply, demand, competitor pricing, and other variables. Generally speaking, data reliability depends on the customer of a dynamic pricing tool, location, inventory size, business ethos and industry purpose. The STR sector should always be split into three market segments to review your challenges, as each has increasing data collection challenges. Truly urban Leisure/Urban (LU) Pure vacation rentals (VC) The answer is yes, and from speaking with many managers across all three sectors that there are issues with automated pricing, which is measured by two major factors: reduced occupancy Visibly incorrect pricing (high or low) affects a) or offering up far too low prices and suffering bookings that affect an owner's income and company reputation. Is this... > How to choose a shirt tenr rental or vacation rental manager or agency. Tips and tricks and lots of advice to avoid conflict & disappoitment, - Published: 2024-12-16 - Modified: 2024-12-16 - URL: https://yes.consulting/choosing-a-short-term-rental-agency/ This is not always easy. Commercial relationships are not always personal relationships 1. Honesty is the best policy Evaluation of your property and its potential income and levels of involvement require a certain level of honesty. The short-term rental market is cutthroat, so many agencies are chasing properties to add to their portfolio and may overestimate income just to get the owner on board. As a matter of definition, agencies and managers are often interchangeable. However, agencies do not generally employ housekeepers, cleaners, laundry facilities or maintenance staff; they subcontract it. By the very nature of the name, managers are more likely to be full-service. Which is better? There is not a lot to determine which is better or not, both have good actors and bad actors. Full service has more communication control but has to run two businesses in one. Theoretically, a pure agency can focus on income and marketing, and a specialist third party can run the operations. We have used the word agency below, and the context is predominantly related to leisure destination operators, not urban businesses. This is the agency's key wish list for top-tier, top-income properties. Quality properties Excellent locations with walk to popular places, quiet neighbourhoods Lots of parking Ideally, 2+ bedrooms Bathrooms to match bedrooms Pet friendly Child friendly Garden Full suite of amenities, incl. hot tub. Very flexible on stay durations The owner does not get involved and invests when required You can look locally and use a price and income projection... - Published: 2024-10-08 - Modified: 2024-10-08 - URL: https://yes.consulting/no-access/ [dlm_no_access] > Conference presentations from Richard Vaughton over the last couple of years covering a range of subjects in the vacation rental industry. - Published: 2024-09-24 - Modified: 2024-09-25 - URL: https://yes.consulting/past-conference-presentations/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The links below are some presentations from vacation rental conferences over the last couple of years. BOOK DIRECT With so much #BookDirect activity, much of it by people interested in selling their wares, this is an expose of what life is really like. 99% of all attendees' properties were on OTAs, and they could not survive without them. Book Direct is more about rebooking old customers with no organic traction. The presentation was to argue for OTAs and question the amount of expense and effort that can be applied to direct marketing with minimal impact. Download pdf here MIDTERM OPPORTUNITY The presentation focuses on the premise that managers have a very narrow marketing focus and often ignore opportunities that are staring them in the face. In particular, the mid-term and corporate hospitality space has enjoyed great booking years, but STR is now seen as an option by employees and corporate travel departments. The two markets sit alongside but rarely cross over, hence "Sliding Doors" which path did you take? This presentation highlights the opportunity and looks at how to reach into new channels and use them as part of a more developed marketing mix, Download pdf here MANAGERS vs RBO. It was a don't throw tomatoes moment for managers as an owner/host vs. manager debate ensued. Data and global market information support the idea that small managers are at the mercy of individual owners. Guests' reviews of owners' properties are better, and Airbnb provides the tools and opportunity. If you... > A presentation focused on making money and industry metrics in the vacation rental business. How much is spent on tech, etc and net profits - Published: 2024-09-09 - Modified: 2024-09-30 - URL: https://yes.consulting/vacation-rental-world-summit-making-money/ [vc_row css=". vc_custom_1727694601410{margin-top: -100px ! important;}"][vc_column][vc_column_text] The following are a couple of screenshots from our VRWS presentation in Porto at the beginning of October 2024. The presentation analyzes 20+ actual STR companies with between 50 and 300 properties and breaks the results into digestible metrics. The objective is to surface good business practices and expenditures, explore cost savings, and more. If you want to get involved, please email me using the contact form or connect with me on Linkedin. Complete the form below, and we will send you the entire presentation. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row content_placement="middle" css=". vc_custom_1727694414497{padding-top: -50px ! important;border-radius: 2px ! important;}"][vc_column width="1/4"][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][contact-form-7 title="Contact form 1"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] > Vacation rental consultants and board advisory postions. We specialise in tech, M&A and management or agency growth and modelling for exit. - Published: 2018-12-26 - Modified: 2026-02-25 - URL: https://yes.consulting/ [vc_row full_width="stretch_row_content" equal_height="yes" content_placement="middle" css=". vc_custom_1545978245432{padding-top: 120px ! important;padding-right: 65px ! important;padding-left: 100px ! important;background-color: #fbfbfb ! important;background-position: center ! important;background-repeat: no-repeat ! important;background-size: contain ! important;}" el_][vc_column width="2/3" css=". vc_custom_1545805022667{padding-top: 0px ! important;padding-right: 0px ! important;padding-bottom: 0px ! important;padding-left: 0px ! important;background-position: center ! important;background-repeat: no-repeat ! important;background-size: cover ! important;border-radius: 10px ! important;}"][vc_column_text css=""] Short Term Rentals or Vacation Rentals Whichever is your preferred term or focus, we cater for both, with consultancy services on growth, management, tech and M&A. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="5860" img_size="full" css=""][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3" css=". vc_custom_1545810503384{padding-top: 0px ! important;padding-right: 0px ! important;padding-bottom: 0px ! important;padding-left: 0px ! important;}"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_ css=". vc_custom_1719417684257{margin-left: -62px ! important;padding-top: 35px ! important;padding-right: 35px ! important;padding-bottom: 35px ! important;padding-left: 35px ! important;background-color: #f65e3b ! important;}"] Welcome to Yes Consulting Aboutwe work with short term rental co's large & small Yes Consulting is a boutique advisory service focusing on short-term rentals. Our advisors are all experts in their field or domain and have many years of practical experience in the industry, from small startups to global corporations. We want to say yes, but only if it makes sense for you! [/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width="stretch_row_content" css=". vc_custom_1545978912649{padding-right: 100px ! important;padding-bottom: 115px ! important;padding-left: 100px ! important;background-color: #fbfbfb ! important;}" el_][vc_column width="5/12" css=". vc_custom_1545978270972{margin-top: -200px ! important;margin-left: 75px ! important;padding-top: 50px ! important;padding-right: 35px ! important;padding-bottom: 10px ! important;padding-left: 35px ! important;background-color: #ffffff ! important;}" el_][vc_column_text]"We have been working with Yes Consulting for several years on strategy and KPIs as a board advisory position. External help is also... - Published: 2018-11-20 - Modified: 2018-11-20 - URL: https://yes.consulting/header-style/ [vc_row][vc_column] 20 welcome gffgf [/vc_column][/vc_row] > Articles and news about vacation rentals and short term rentals from Ys Consulting. Covering numerous important topics for managers & hosts. - Published: 2018-11-19 - Modified: 2024-09-25 - URL: https://yes.consulting/articles-news/ [vc_row css=". vc_custom_1545986657330{padding-top: 120px ! important;padding-bottom: 55px ! important;}"][vc_column] 2 July 2026 Launch of CEOSure By Yes Consulting/ Business Corporate Culture Leadership Property Management Thought Leaders Uncategorized Without replicating too much of what is found on the site under CEOSure. com, this is purely an annoucement of a “soft” launch... Read More 28 May 2026 What Do Short-Term Rental Consultants Do? By Yes Consulting/ Big Business Consultancy Corporate Short Term Rentals Vacation Rental Consultants The short-term rental industry has matured dramatically over the last decade. What began as a fragmented ecosystem of independent holiday homeowners, local letting agents, classified websites, and small property managers has evolved into a highly competitive global hospitality sector defined by platform economics, AI, revenue science, regulation, investor capital, and increasingly sophisticated guest expectations. Read More 27 May 2026 The best of the best! Coming Soon By Yes Consulting/ Big Business Corporate Culture Leadership We have We will be launching CEOSure soon, a platform designed to support leading companies in the industry and those aspiring to... Read More 22 May 2026 AI Short Term Rental Tools Directory By Yes Consulting/ AI Business Corporate Revenue Management Short Term Rentals Consultants Yes Consulting We are now awash with AI Short Term Rental Tools for the vacation rental industry. This is increasing daily as more and... Read More 17 May 2026 HometoGo (Incl. Interhome) Announces 1st Qrt Results By Yes Consulting/ Big Business Corporate Financial Results M&A Subscription Sites It appears HomeToGo has made an aggressive operational pivot toward... > Yes Consulting offers a range of services tailored to the vacation rental industry, including M&A, tech solutions, and growth management. Our Vacation Rental Services are designed to help you succeed. - Published: 2018-11-19 - Modified: 2025-11-27 - URL: https://yes.consulting/vacation-rental-services/ [vc_row full_width="stretch_row" css=". vc_custom_1719678621518{padding-top: 78px ! important;padding-bottom: 74px ! important;background: #fbfbfb url(https://yes. consulting/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/yes-consulting-services-2476776257-2-scaled. jpg? id=4969) ! important;background-position: center ! important;background-repeat: no-repeat ! important;background-size: cover ! important;}"][vc_column] Services WHAT KIND OF VACATION RENTAL SERVICES WE OFFER [/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"] Strategy & Planning Vacation Rental Services across the short term rental industry has never been so large, so competitive. All companies need to think carefully about the future and how to maximise revenue and ease pressure and when help is needed, to be circumspect on the advice taken Management Change Companies are often oblivious to many of the challenges they face within their workforce, especially as markets change. Management change is often required. [/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"] Technology Technology shouldn't rule your life, it should ease the challenges and reduce costs. Yet the industry has witnessed thousands of suppliers wishing to take a slice of your booking pie! Research Data is increasingly ruling and controlling the short-term rental industry. This is never more evident in market sizes, challenges, and economic headwinds. Don't invest without data! [/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3" el_] M&A & Exit Planning Most managers have fallen into the rental business with little planning or foresight of where they want to go or their eventual goal. M&A is now a mainstream growth business. Analysis Once you have the data, you need to analyse and make sense of it. The data alone is insufficient, as not all information is public, and trends are not always obvious. [/vc_column][/vc_row] > For vacation rental advice on technology, growth management, distribution, M&A and more, call or contact Yes Consulting - Published: 2018-11-19 - Modified: 2025-03-25 - URL: https://yes.consulting/contact-us-vacation-rental-consultants/ [vc_row full_width="stretch_row" el_ css=". vc_custom_1545978581699{padding-top: 75px ! important;padding-bottom: 180px ! important;background-color: #fbfbfb ! important;}" el_][vc_column] Contact Info We love discussing short-term rentals, Airbnbs, vacation rentals, holiday homes, technology, M&A, and growth. Feel free to drop us a line! Call Us Please use Linkedin to avoid more Spam calls we get! Email Us contact@yes. consulting or use Linkedin by name Address United Kingdom, United States, Spain & Portugal [/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width="stretch_row_content_no_spaces" content_placement="top" css=". vc_custom_1546240908236{background-position: center ! important;background-repeat: no-repeat ! important;background-size: cover ! important;}" el_][vc_column width="1/2" el_][vc_gmaps link="#E-8_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" css=". vc_custom_1720089503024{margin-top: 0px ! important;padding-top: 0px ! important;}"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2" css=". vc_custom_1545891755447{margin-top: -100px ! important;margin-left: -100px ! important;padding-top: 70px ! important;padding-right: 34% ! important;padding-bottom: 55px ! important;padding-left: 80px ! important;background-color: #232023 ! important;}" el_] Get In Touch Please contact us via Linkedin for personal contact or general email at contact@yes. consulting Richard Vaughton Eric Mason Jannich F. Petersen [/vc_column][/vc_row] > Yes Consulting is an organisation that specialises in vacation rentals or short term rentals. Focussed on management, growth, M&A and tech. - Published: 2018-11-17 - Modified: 2024-09-30 - URL: https://yes.consulting/about-us-vacation-rental-consultants/ [vc_row full_width="stretch_row" css=". vc_custom_1545992853925{padding-top: 120px ! important;padding-bottom: 85px ! important;}"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height="yes" content_placement="middle" css=". vc_custom_1544180999054{padding-top: 0px ! important;padding-right: 0px ! important;padding-bottom: 0px ! important;padding-left: 0px ! important;background-color: #ffffff ! important;}"][vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=". vc_custom_1542000603989{padding-top: 0px ! important;padding-right: 0px ! important;padding-bottom: 0px ! important;padding-left: 0px ! important;}"][vc_single_image image="4948" img_size="full" css=". vc_custom_1719674125815{margin-top: 0px ! important;}"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_ width="1/2" css=". vc_custom_1546066634109{padding-top: 0px ! important;padding-bottom: 0px ! important;padding-left: 40px ! important;}"] About Yes Consulting 20+ Years of Experience in Short Term Rentals In a world where increasing expertise is needed in every quarter, there are few people who can be completely independent and is the reason Eric Mason and Richard Vaughton considered that in such an expansive industry, it needs expansive and tailored expertise. We are all learning all the time and with an avalanche of technology, fluid economics and changing markets it is hard to keep abreast of all that is needed to build or sustain a business. Specific help with topics such as social marketing, SEO, web building, revenue management, photography, design, insurance etc. can help shortcut many months of confusion and costs. On a more generic scale company reviews, financing, business mentoring is also supported by our network members where and when suitable. WE LIKE TO SAY “YES”: However, if we cannot accommodate your request, we will know somebody who can help and refer you, and if we can’t help, we will say so! NETWORKING APPROACH Yes Consulting has built a collective of trusted experts and advisors for these industry requirements. Whether you are... ## Posts > Discover CEOsure's unique approach to company validation via CEOs. Join us as we embark on this exciting journey in the industry. - Published: 2026-07-02 - Modified: 2026-07-02 - URL: https://yes.consulting/launch-of-ceosure/ Without replicating too much of what is found on the site under CEOSure. com, this is purely an annoucement of a "soft" launch of a non-commercial platform that promotes the best professional management companies in the industry, but more specifically the CEO's. It is a Yes Consulting™ inititiative. Why CEOSure We have spoken to literally hundreds of managers and worked with some of the best in the industry. Some are listed on this new site. Across the best companies, leadership and culture have been shown to be the most important factors. This naturally cascades through the company, resulting in operational and customer excellence and, generally, financial resilience. We considered it beneficial to both the owners and the guests of these companies to have a platform for direct referrals. With ongoing abrasion and disintermediation by OTAS and the increased opportunity to improve direct bookings, we are underpinning each company's reputation and the treatment of guests and owners through its management, with "the buck stops there" as the guiding principle. If you would like to become a listed member of this site, then there are fairly rigid guidelines and assessment rules. Please send us a message on the contact form. Please visit the site, if you believe your profile and business is acheiving the internal and leadership goals of these businesses then hook up to us and we will send some documents through and then organise a call. The CEOSure Evaluation Process is a structured assessment designed to look beneaththe surface. It... > The short-term rental industry has evolved significantly, making expertise from Short-Term Rental Consultants crucial for achieving success. - Published: 2026-05-28 - Modified: 2026-05-28 - URL: https://yes.consulting/what-do-short-term-rental-consultants-do/ The short-term rental industry has matured dramatically over the last decade. What began as a fragmented ecosystem of independent holiday homeowners, local letting agents, classified websites, and small property managers has evolved into a highly competitive global hospitality sector defined by platform economics, AI, revenue science, regulation, investor capital, and increasingly sophisticated guest expectations. Short-term rental consultants and their industry have both matured dramatically over the last decade. What began as a fragmented ecosystem of independent holiday homeowners, local letting agents, classified websites, and small property managers has evolved into a highly competitive global hospitality sector defined by platform economics, AI, revenue science, regulation, investor capital, and increasingly sophisticated guest expectations. Despite these advancements, the term “short-term rental consultant” remains unclear. Many businesses ranking for expressions such as “short-term rental consultant” or “vacation rental consulting” are not traditional consultants. They are often: Software companies Marketing agencies Direct booking website builders Revenue management providers OTA optimisation agencies Lead generation firms Brokers Influencer-style educators General hospitality advisors Each of these providers may offer value. However, true consultancy in the short-term and vacation rental industry is broader and significantly more strategic. A specialist Short Term Rental consultant operates at the intersection of hospitality, technology, finance, operations, leadership, distribution, revenue management, guest psychology, data, regulation, and increasingly, artificial intelligence. In reality, the role is far closer to a fusion of: strategic advisor commercial architect operational analyst technology translator industry intelligence source and growth partner Why Short-Term Rental Consultancies Exist The short-term rental industry is unusually complex compared with many other sectors. Unlike hotels, most operators do not control standardised inventory. Unlike ecommerce businesses, the “product” is physical, local, operationally intensive, and highly emotional. Different from traditional real estate, revenue is dynamic and demand-sensitive. And unlike many mature industries, technology fragmentation remains extreme. A modern short-term rental operator may... > Discover how CEOSure helps elevate companies to the best of the best in the vacation rental industry and supports those aiming for excellence. - Published: 2026-05-27 - Modified: 2026-07-02 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-best-of-the-best/ We have We will be launching CEOSure soon, a platform designed to support leading companies in the industry and those aspiring to reach that level, the best of the best. Many organisations will see themselves reflected in the following text, as they experience varying degrees of success. Our Elite Thesis Identifying the top vacation rental companies is more complex than it appears. While visible indicators like OTA review scores, Superhost status, response rates, and website quality are often used, automated metrics, such as those used by Airbnb, do not capture the true nature of the business. These metrics provide only a limited view. The vacation rental industry is highly fragmented, ranging from individual operators to large hospitality businesses managing extensive portfolios. Two companies may share a 4. 9 review score yet differ significantly in professionalism, profitability, staff culture, operational resilience, and consistency in guest experience. A major challenge is that many critical indicators are not publicly visible. Guests experience the final stay but seldom see the underlying operations. A company may earn strong reviews while depending on founder intervention, excessive staff workloads, or reactive management. Conversely, another business may invest in systems, leadership, training, maintenance, and owner communication, resulting in a healthier and more scalable operation. These strengths are often difficult to observe externally, highlighting the difference between a company that simply functions and one that is truly well-built. Most expect evaluations to focus on guest-facing metrics such as OTA review averages, review volume, repeat guest rates, cleanliness, communication scores,... - Published: 2026-05-22 - Modified: 2026-05-27 - URL: https://yes.consulting/ai-short-term-rental-tools-directory/ We are now awash with AI Short Term Rental Tools for the vacation rental industry. This is increasing daily as more and more companies recognise they can develop software faster than ever using AI tools such as Claude. At yes. consulting™, we happily give a view on pitch decks, business plans, and concepts. It helps us follow the industry trajectory and, hopefully, get feedback from entrepreneurs. AI STR Directory To support this growing number of businesses and, following the Vibe coding enthusiasm, we created a directory with a single-user admin in just 2 hours, from scratch. It seemed natural to create the site from scratch using Vibe coding as an example too. Code by Claude Database by Supabase Hosting by Netlify Data scrape by AI Studio Total cost: $20 No connected API's This is just to give an example of what is possible, and we have not really bothered with design, but with easy improvements, such as adding user admin levels. Security This is where caution is needed. We haven't been down the route of storing any sensitive information, just our own admin password and the companies listed information from their public websites. We used Mozilla Observatory to check the front end but have not undertaken penetration testing. Care Needed Incorrect architecture, security, and scale design are the biggest, often understated hazard in enterprise commercial systems, and all coders need to address this. Then it needs marketing! Free Listing If you are an AI Tools company in the STR industry,... - Published: 2026-05-17 - Modified: 2026-05-27 - URL: https://yes.consulting/hometogo-inc-interhome-announces-1st-qrt-results/ It appears HomeToGo has made an aggressive operational pivot toward a business-to-business model, relying heavily on its acquisition of Interhome from the Swiss retail conglomerate Migros, a transformative deal valued at a CHF 150 million upfront purchase price, plus up to CHF 85 million in deferred payments through 2029. We have been curious about the success of listing platforms and meta-search engine businesses for a while now in light of Booking, Expedia and Airbnb's market dominance, and hence a quick look at their results and Holidu below. Interhome Acquisition Benefits By absorbing Interhome's large footprint of approximately 40,000 exclusively managed vacation rentals across 20 countries, the platform has fundamentally shifted its core architecture. This structural integration drove a 71. 5% year-over-year surge in total Group IFRS revenue to €59 million in Q1 2026, positioning the tech-enabled B2B segment, HomeToGo_PRO, as the firm’s primary revenue and profit driver, accounting for 66% of total group turnover. To optimise this capital-intensive ecosystem, HomeToGo seems to be executing a hyper-localised, asset-light roll-up strategy, buying out small regional competitor portfolios across Spain, Italy, and Switzerland at a compressed ~1x EBITDA multiple. This exceptionally low multiple probably reflects the distressed operating margins of fragmented, independent operators unable to scale or fund digital transformation, enabling HomeToGo to bypass traditional customer-acquisition costs and efficiently secure exclusive, high-quality inventory. However, while this buy-and-build strategy provides immediate valuation arbitrage and masks completely flat organic growth in the legacy B2C marketplace, the broader financial health remains under acute pressure; heavy equity... > Discover expert strategies to thrive in the evolving vacation rental landscape and succeed in this new era and how OTAs succeeded - Published: 2026-05-16 - Modified: 2026-05-27 - URL: https://yes.consulting/how-otas-succeeded-insights-for-vacation-rentals/ If we thought that the turn of the century's "Internet age" and the theoretical levelling of playing fields was a brave new world, then here we are again, but with lessons to learn from 20 years ago! Let's not make the same mistakes! This journey offers a remarkable insight into how OTAs succeeded. The opportunity lasted about five years before the well-funded US aggregation platforms descended on the industry, and many were not well prepared; some better than others, of course, and the divisive nature of the approaches fooled most, and as we see today, they are platform hostages. Yes, go on, say it's what the Internet caused, but the Internet was the rails; the investors and the intent were the fuel and direction of plunder. No one can argue that, looking at the profitability of the behemoths, the extraction of income from local communities, the smart tax manoeuvres, and the company geographies. Let’s delve into some examples of how OTAs succeeded. If you would like to watch Google's LLM Notebook version of this article, it has done a decent job of interpreting it. https://youtu. be/By1ilz6WT0c 1. The Genesis of Digital Rentals: Understanding the strategies that enabled OTAs to succeed will provide valuable insights for future industry developments. For a comprehensive understanding, we must explore the factors that contributed to OTAs' success. In the mid-1990s, the vacation rental sector was highly fragmented, a collection of "lifestyle businesses" that operated as a digital mirror of newspaper classifieds. Strategically, the transition to... > Discover strategies to eliminate founder dependency in vacation rental businesses for sustainable growth and success. - Published: 2026-03-30 - Modified: 2026-03-30 - URL: https://yes.consulting/removing-founder-dependency/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=""]We are often asked what are the main elements of a successful business that would be easier to exit or have higher value. The two are linked, of course, but a key element is related to the founder problem. You may be the best entrepreneur, work the longest hours, know all the properties and owners intimately, but this is often not good for transition or growth process, especially when considering Founder Dependency. WATCH THE VIDEO [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] We are often asked what are the main elements of a successful business that would be easier to exit or have higher value. The two are linked, of course, but a key element is related to the founder problem. You may be the best entrepreneur, work the longest hours, know all the properties and owners intimately, but this is often not good for transition or growth process, especially when considering Founder Dependency. To transition from a founder-led business to a system-driven business, you must eliminate "founder dependency" (often viewed by buyers as key person risk) and transform your operation into a "technology-enabled asset". The goal is to build a depersonalized business that relies on documented, repeatable, and automated systems rather than the owner's daily judgment for tasks like maintenance, pricing, or guest complaints, thereby addressing the issues of Founder Dependency. Here are the critical steps to execute this transition: To effectively remove founder dependency, it is essential to delegate key roles within the organisation. This involves empowering capable team members to... > Maximise your exit value with our playbook, offering a strategic framework for M&A in the short-term rental market. Discover insights on m&a. - Published: 2026-02-09 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-short-term-rental-ma-playbook/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] Register For Your M&A Playbook Copy Guide to Maximising Exit Value and a framework for thinking clearly about strategic optionality. The same disciplines that maximise exit value also tend to build stronger, more resilient businesses, regardless of time horizon. Foreword by Jannich Petersen The Short-Term Rental M&A Playbook was prepared by Richard Vaughton, a recognised industry expert with deep, hands-on experience across the short-term rental ecosystem. I have reviewed this report closely and stand behind both its conclusions and its practical relevance. It accurately reflects how sophisticated buyers assess STR businesses today and, importantly, where value is truly created or lost. In our advisory work at YES. consulting™, we consistently see that the strongest outcomes are achieved by founders who understand these dynamics well before entering a transaction process. Concepts such as operational drag, margin resilience, technology leverage, and management depth are no longer abstract; instead they are central to valuation and deal certainty. This playbook is not intended as a call to sell. Rather, it is a framework for thinking clearly about strategic optionality. The same disciplines that maximise exit value also tend to build stronger, more resilient businesses, regardless of time horizon. I encourage you to read this guide as both a diagnostic and a strategic reference. The insights that follow are highly relevant whether a transaction is imminent or simply one of several future possibilities. If it raises questions about how these themes apply to your own business, those conversations are most valuable when had... > We are entering a new era of STRs, highlighting the importance of professional STR Management and use of Benchmarked Data, AI and clear focus - Published: 2026-02-07 - Modified: 2026-02-08 - URL: https://yes.consulting/professional-str-management-is-growing-up-with-data/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] But Needs More Data We are moving into the next epoch of STRs, with governance and regulation at all levels now being witnessed. For example DAC7, the latest verdict on ViDA by the EU, licensing, registration outright bans and regulations across the globe. Add in technical challenges on distribution, security issues on transactions, automation to ensure margin support and many STRs need to grow up and professionalise, quickly. This evolution is crucial for effective STR Management. There are a few qualifications for becoming a Vacation Rental/Short-Term Rental (VR) professional. There are many skills that can add value to a team, including accounting, marketing, and operational skills, such as engineering, HR, and IT. Virtually no one has all these attributes at depth. These skills are invariably adopted piecemeal, and often when there are business challenges, but it is increasingly important to focus on all aspects of the business. To navigate this complex landscape, a deep understanding of STR Management is essential for success. Most managers have long been a jack-of-all-trades, relying on external expertise to assist in these disciplines, but change is here and expertise is needed and as illustrated at point 5, moree benchmarking is needed.   [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=""] 1. Work Backwards First! How times have changed! There are some very clear trends, and the need to work backwards from profit to properties has never been so important. All businesses work on margins: “Gross Booking Values” minus “Cost of Sales,” then subtract all other costs; the remainder is... > Explore how Airbnb and stable coins impact vacation rentals in 2025. Insights for rental consultants and property managers, with GEO, Awards, M&A. - Published: 2026-01-24 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://yes.consulting/airbnb-stable-coins-go-big-geo-ucp-product-of-2025/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] February Newsletter Content: [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=""] Airbnb Recap “Go Big or Go Home” Luxury: The Hunted Segment Automation hits Hospitality M&A Stable Coins May Finally Fix Travel Payments Revenue Management - The best tools & people Product of the year 2025 GEO, vs SEO, Search is changing No more Websites? Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERS HERE [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] 1. Airbnb Recap - You've Lost that lovin' feelin'? They have been quiet recently. After the avalanche of changes and policies in 2025, they are lying low. Airbnb in summer 2025 highlighted lower-than-expected growth and margin pressure due to a major investment in “Experiences” and an app redesign. An AirDNA industry survey for summer 2025 found that while some hosts thrived, many struggled. Oversupply and maturing markets are catching up with demand. On the regulatory front, caps and tighter restrictions continue to bite. Lisbon showed some more forward thinking in early January 2026, as the restrictions have not improved housing supply it will have damaged the city's income. Differentiation by quality, service, location, and guest experience is becoming increasingly important. This isn’t a collapse of the STR market; it’s the start of a transition. The days of explosive year-on-year growth are fading; what follows is optimisation, calibration and risk-management. Margin focus and for Airbnb, trying to meet higher booking values and better accommodation, evidenced by a recent French report: “The Airbnb Ogre' (4/6). In some mountain villages, the arrival of online platforms has made it much easier for... > Explore essential strategies in Revenue Management for the evolving short-term rental industry to enhance profitability and growth. - Published: 2026-01-14 - Modified: 2026-01-14 - URL: https://yes.consulting/revenue-management-segmented-strategic-framework/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] The professionalisation of revenue management in the short-term rental (STR) sector is not occurring uniformly. Operators at different stages of scale face structurally different constraints, incentives, and risk profiles. As such, revenue management strategy needs to be segmented by organisational maturity, not merely by portfolio size. With so many operators struggling to reach 100 properties and generally in the 30-60 range, revenue management is tough to be on top of and human factors, not logic, can apply. We have recently launched a free service for revenue managers, revenue management companies, and revenue and data businesses that offer software and SaaS tools. This website is under RevenueManagers. co We asked a Revenue Manager for some basic advice, which is shown below. Our advisor has offered a tiered framework for small, mid-sized, and institutional STR operators, with explicit strategic priorities and actionable revenue management approaches for each. 1. Small Operators (1–50 Properties): Survival, Signal, and Skill Small operators typically sit at the intersection of owner-operator behaviour and emerging professional practice. Revenue management is often handled by the founder, alongside operations, guest communication, and maintenance. The principal risk at this level is not tool underperformance, but underutilisation of data and over-reliance on intuition. Strategic Reality Small operators operate in an environment of: High emotional attachment to assets Low tolerance for vacancy risk Limited analytical capacity Strong behavioural bias (panic discounting, overpricing sentiment, etc. ) The most common failure mode is static pricing disguised as dynamic behaviour. Actionable Revenue Management Priorities... > Explore critical strategies for success in the evolving short-term rental market and discover the benefits of short-term rental m&a. - Published: 2026-01-01 - Modified: 2026-01-01 - URL: https://yes.consulting/short-term-rental-ma-playbook/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] "Short-Term Rental M&A Playbook. The Founders Guide to Maximising Exit Value" The short-term rental (STR) industry has reached a pivotal stage of maturity. The "land grab" mentality, where success was measured by the sheer volume of units under management, has officially closed. Today’s acquirers, from private equity firms to strategic operators, are no longer just accumulating assets; they are investing in efficiency, profitability, and scalability. As capital becomes more discerning, buyers are scrutinising "operational drag", the hidden costs that erode margins and prioritising companies that demonstrate sustainable, tech-enabled growth. This playbook provides the definitive framework for engineering a high-value exit in this new M&A landscape. In this playbook we cover: Strategic Preparation: Building a Sellable Asset Demystifying Valuation: How Buyers Determine Your Company's Worth Navigating the Transaction: The M&A Process Roadmap The Seller's Mindset: Key Considerations Beyond the Deal Click here to receive the playbook. Other useful links: Websites that empower success Finding revenue managers and revenue manager website 2025 M&A and Investment Report [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] - Published: 2025-12-28 - Modified: 2026-01-01 - URL: https://yes.consulting/m-a-investment-report-2025-ma/ This 2025 Global Short-Term Rental M&A Report provides an analysis of the shifting financial and operational landscape within the flexible accommodation sector. It highlights a major industry transition from centralised, high-overhead management models toward decentralised, asset-light franchise structures, exemplified by the collapse of Sonder and the acquisition of Vacasa by Casago. DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE (PDF) Investors are increasingly prioritising AI-driven technology stacks and automated property management systems to enhance efficiency and mitigate rising labour costs. The report also emphasises that regulatory pressure in urban centres is pushing institutional capital toward luxury segments and mid-term rental models that offer greater stability. Geographically, while the Middle East sees growth backed by sovereign wealth funds, Western markets are undergoing a period of private equity-led consolidation. The document serves as a strategic guide for navigating the fragmentation of hospitality into diverse, tech-enabled asset classes. DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE (PDF) The video below is a summary of the transition from asset-heavy to nimble, asset-light, tech-first, with local knowledge. Created by Google Notebooklm automatically. https://youtu. be/NtV2wqCOf7E Similarly, this infographic was also created using Notebooklm The Future of M&A and investment in the Vacation Rental Sector The Quiet Revolution that is Redefining the Vacation Rental Industry in 2025 Booking a vacation rental online feels simple. A few clicks, a credit card number, and you're set. But behind that seamless transaction, a quiet revolution—and in some cases, a brutal shakeup—has been raging. The year 2025 will be remembered as the moment the ground fundamentally shifted beneath the short-term rental industry. It was a year... > Discover how a revenue manager can optimise your vacation rental's profitability and success in 2025. Get professional guidance today. - Published: 2025-12-26 - Modified: 2025-12-28 - URL: https://yes.consulting/do-you-know-a-revenue-manager/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] One of the most common questions we were asked in 2025 was: "Can you help me find a revenue manager? " Why has this become an increasingly important part of every successful vacation rental manager's armoury? We have a few thoughts expanded on below, and we have also created a FREE directory service for all revenue managers specialising in accommodation. This is under a dedicated Revenue Manager's website and directory. Market Saturation and Hyper-Competition Five to ten years ago, listing a property on Airbnb, Booking. com or VRBO (ex-HomeAway) was often sufficient to secure regular bookings. That opportunity has changed. Global supply has expanded rapidly, particularly since the pandemic, leaving most established destinations significantly oversupplied. Guests now face close to limitless choice. A property priced just a few $/EU/£s too high on a low-demand midweek date may see no bookings at all. Conversely, underpricing b during peak demand can result in substantial revenue loss. Pricing is no longer a seasonal exercise. Effective revenue management now requires dynamic, data-driven pricing, adjusted daily, and, in some cases, intraday pricing based on real-time demand signals, competitor behaviour, booking velocity, and market compression. The Margin Squeeze Operating costs in the short-term rental sector have risen sharply. Inflation has affected utilities, labour, cleaning, and maintenance, and many destinations have introduced tighter regulation, higher taxation, and new licensing requirements. Occupancy alone no longer protects profitability. Margins are under sustained pressure, making revenue optimisation, not just calendar filling, critical. Modern revenue management focuses on maximising... - Published: 2025-12-20 - Modified: 2025-12-28 - URL: https://yes.consulting/2025-conversations-and-advisory-work/ Countries that we, Yes Consulting have advised or conversed with in 2025 2025 Conversations and Advisory Work The map below shows the countries (40+) where we have had discussions with or advised businesses on over the last year. Its a global industry and growing up rapidly. This is also an industry of incredibly hard working entrepreneurs and business leaders in a 24/7/365 hospitality sector frequently under fire and evolving technically at lightning speed. 2026 and the future of short term or vacation rentals, (depending on where you sit on names) is changing daily. Exciting but also precarious times ahead for some as 2026 will continue to be the year of AI, increased consolidation, and investments chasing asset light opportunities in a more flex accommodation market. If you ever want to talk short term rentals, Tech, M&A, Strategy, Management, or any challenges or opportunities please feel free to call or email! > Recent conferences reveal our industry is lagging in adopting tools, especially ai, compared to the corporate world—this could be terminal! - Published: 2025-11-19 - Modified: 2025-11-19 - URL: https://yes.consulting/ai-culture-and-quality-in-short-term-rentals/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] The Future of Short-Term Rentals: AI, Quality, Trust and Culture It may come as a shock, but recent conferences have revealed that our industry is, in general, far behind the corporate world in both tool adoption, the development of a strategy to improve and defend its business, and even in considering AI as a threat or opportunity. There are some who are on the cutting edge, but in our world of short term rentals, success also depends on trust, quality and team culture, with admin and business intelligence running increasingly on tech and AI rails. The excellent Scale Show last week (November 2025) showed the importance of each dynamic. Bigger than the Internet? This new paradigm or inflection point questions whether this is bigger than the internet, even though it relies on such connectivity and requires data access to accelerate reach, training, and development at scale. Robots may well not need this connectivity in the future, and even now you can run your own AI models with some technical skills. However, we are used to global cloud services, which is the standard adoption principle. Where is it all going? Do we know where it's all going? No! But we can guess or speculate, develop our own guardrails, and hedge our bets. STRs are a complex industry, under attack, and the takeaways below are made purely on the basis of working with managers, advising tech companies, being involved in M&A deals, and talking to peers who have invested heavily... - Published: 2025-10-14 - Modified: 2025-10-15 - URL: https://yes.consulting/presentation-pdf-tech-friend-or-foe/ The following presentation is in pdf format and was created for PASCUK (UK Rental Association) regional conferences in Devon and Cornwall in early October 2025. Use the Scrolling Bar to see all slides. This presentation covers a lot of data (and graphs) but highlights are: Not all tech survives and many are dominated by global corporations Technology Oversupply and Bloat Company value at risk VA and IVA on the increase Modelling, compound systems and Business Intelligence AI and LLM's and Web Platforms & GEO/SEO Summary and what to look for Tech - friend or foeDownload - Published: 2025-10-13 - Modified: 2025-12-01 - URL: https://yes.consulting/websites-that-empower-success-in-next-gen-rentals/ The entire web playing field is about to change because of AI. Are you ready or at least thinking about it? A few stats:- Over four in five (81%) shoppers conduct online research before making a purchase. (Invoca, 2024) Nearly four in 10 (38%) would stop engaging with a website if the content or layout were unattractive. (Zippia, 2023) 57% of internet users say they won't recommend a business with a website with a poor web design on mobile. (Forbes, 2024) 61% say they’ll go to another site if they don’t find what they’re looking for within five seconds. (Forbes, 2024) 86% of visitors want to see information about a company's products and services on their homepage. (Ko Marketing, 2024) 15% of U. S. adults are "smartphone-only" internet users, meaning they don’t have a home broadband service. This number rises to a fifth (20%) for those aged 18 to 24, highlighting the importance of a mobile-friendly site. (Pew Research Center, 2024) Despite these stats, more than one in four (27%) SMEs in the U. S. don’t have their own site. The statistics shown are general; however, websites are even more important in hospitality, where people dream of travel and are attracted by superb photography and video, excellent site design, tailored messaging, and a frictionless, trustworthy booking flow. OTAs increasingly dominate the booking space but struggle to elaborate at a hyperlocal level. Independent websites can offer a much richer experience but frequently do not reach the mark. Add the mobile revolution,... - Published: 2025-08-27 - Modified: 2025-10-13 - URL: https://yes.consulting/website-analysis-report/ REPORT NOW AVAILABLE CLICK HERE Coming soon a comprehensive analysis on Short Term Rental Websites and why the industry needs to specialize. As a taster this is from a LinkedIn post after undertaking a short survey. A short, 100 (approximately) company survey. Not statistically significant and needs a few thousand, but enough to give a flavour and support current dialogue with owners & managers who still lack the expected conversions despite all the effort! These are also comments from three web and industry experts and how they are reflecting on the future of webs and direct booking opportunities:- The next frontier ahead of us is making vacation rentals bookable through AI agents directly and preparing for a future where travel bookings happen through voice, chat, and new interfaces! The hospitality industry has been stuck using tools that were fundamentally mismatched for our needs from the start! Until now, custom-built or templated websites have been like brochures, they were too passive to get the whole job done. That's why growing direct bookings has remained unsolved for most short term rental brands. Their full commentary will be included in our next analysis of how the industry is having to pivot to smart webs, more specialist approaches to direct booking, embedding trust and sharing of data and best practices. If you want a personal copy add your email address below:-https://yesconsulting. substack. com/ > Airbnb and the silence that followed have made one thing painfully clear: many OTAs have lost sight of who their real stakeholders are. - Published: 2025-07-06 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/hijacked-by-the-ota-gatekeepers/ How OTAs Are Undermining Local Economies and Industry Sustainability PLEASE NOTE that this article is written for commercial managers, not independent or small portfolio owners, particularly those based in urban areas. However, we do recognise that there is still a significant and historic pushback in many leisure destinations globally, even for small property portfolios or independents. Therefore, this article may be appreciated (or not) by this particular cohort. The latest round of platform-led changes from Airbnb and the silence that followed have made one thing painfully clear: many OTAs have lost sight of who their real stakeholders are. For years, short-term rental platforms have expanded aggressively, prioritising top-line growth and shareholder returns over long-term sustainability. Have the gatekeepers hijacked you? However, as they increasingly encroach on host and manager economics, the strains are becoming apparent. What was once a partnership is beginning to resemble "digital feudalism" (thank you, Humphrey Bowles), centralised control, opaque decision-making, and diminishing returns for those doing the real work. Airbnb’s Latest Moves: The Breaking Point? In a move that caught many off guard, Airbnb recently introduced two significant changes:Commercialisation of guest relationships – Platforms are now monetising guest stays by selling services, even when they don’t own the property. Consent? Optional. The default? Opt-in! . These were predictions made in a recent article in Yes Consulting in terms of their strategy: "Airbnb's long term strategy" “Book Now, Pay Later” and more relaxed cancellation terms – Designed to drive demand, these changes heighten financial risk for hosts... > Legislation, ViDA - Published: 2025-05-06 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/may-2025-newsletter-its-been-a-busy-time-for-strs/ This summary gives you a snaphsot of what to expect on the newsletter page. Casago Acquires VacasaCasago buys Vacasa in a major M&A deal. What does it mean for the future of franchised property management?  Read the newsletter Airbnb's Intentions & OTA WarningsA sharp look at Airbnb’s next moves and a must-watch video from Truvi on the risks of platform dependency.  Catch the insight Legislation Watch: Ireland, UK & FlorenceIreland expands STR transparency. The UK imposes EPC upgrades. Florence introduces strict rental rules for 2025.  See what’s changing Communication BreakdownHosthub reveals top pain points in guest messaging—pricing and check-in top the list.  Explore the findings Franchise Focus: Casiola & DesignedVRCasiola takes over DesignedVR’s Florida portfolio as the founder focuses on AI tech.  Read the update AI & SEO in the STR WorldAI bots at Airbnb, HomeToGo’s conversational filters, and a Google-backed guide to optimising content for AI.  Learn more Airbnb Off-Platform Policy ChangesNew restrictions on external registrations and stricter fee transparency rules come into force this month.  Understand the policy Booking. com Under Fire in EUHotels push back on Booking. com’s dominance—class actions brewing across Europe.  Read about it Loyalty Wars: VRBO Slashes One Key RewardsExpedia reshuffles its loyalty program—what it means for VRBO-focused hosts.  See loyalty updates Going Green: Energy Savings Case StudyLovat Parks cuts energy use by 29% using smart tech from ResiCentral.  Read the case study More M&A: Holidu Buys Finca MallorcaHolidu expands in Spain with a new acquisition, which is a sign of consolidation in the... > Legislation, ViDA - Published: 2025-04-10 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/air-success-presentation/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] We were honoured to present at the second Air Success Day conference in London on April 4th. Organised by Host Planet and its owner/organiser, James Varley, it was well attended and had some great panels and conversations supporting a good smattering of aligned sponsors. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=""] Article by Richard Vaughton, Yes. Consulting [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] Air Success One Day Show Presentation Slides We presented the "Rental Raid," which reflects the pressures managers suffer as they grow and the market forces that often change a lifestyle business into a less enjoyable position. With bot tech and management companies planning for their future, looking deeper and comparing data and business metrics is increasingly essential. We have been asked a few times for the slides, so we have provided a a) A PDF file for anyone wanting to view or download it. b) The online Canva link is here. Please email for a PowerPoint or Canva file. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=""] Article by Richard Vaughton, Yes. Consulting [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] > Legislation, ViDA - Published: 2025-04-02 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/april-newsletter-ai-tech-strategy/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] Business news, travel trends, update on EU legislation and Airbnb, plus new tech, investments and of course our lead in to the AI Report on why when you have been adopting tools, it may be a mistake! The newsletter has quite a few diverse pieces this month, from major corporation acquisitions to another web building company seeking investment. The list is below. This type of OTA adulthood prank (or not) gave us a smile and shows that everyone has competition! THIS MONTH ONES TO WATCH APP FATIGUE OTA WARFARE TRAVEL TRENDS LOCKING THE DOOR GLOBAL INFLUENCES LEGISLATION AND REPORTING UPDATE MORE TECH! Websites! UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND MORE This newsletter can be accessed here AI Report ~AI & Rental Tech. Look before you leap! AI isn't just coming, it's here and reshaping the short-term rental industry. This month's exclusive deep-dive cuts through the hype, exposing the critical challenges posed by fragmented tech stacks and legacy systems. We reveal why current AI approaches fall short and what you, as a professional manager, must do now to avoid being left behind. Get the essential insights to navigate the AI revolution and protect your business. 71% of respondents say their organizations regularly use gen AI in at least one business function, up from 65% percent in early 2024. (McKinsey) This 11 page article can be accessed here: Article by Richard Vaughton, Yes. Consulting [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] > Legislation, ViDA - Published: 2025-02-21 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/uk-eu-spain-legislation-rules-and-regulations/ We have been moderating a new series of legislative STR webinars, hosted by Situ Living and attended by the experts in the UK and across Europe, but specifically Spain whch is recognised as being one of the most aggressive proponents of enforcing restrictions, highlighted by the mayor of Barcelona in particular. The UK and Europe have a commanality of challenges and not just regulation but taxes, ViDA, and reporting on financials and bookings. Grab a coffee and listen to the speakers as they clarify the challenges and the activities behind the scenes! The UK is facing many challenges and all are covered, from FHL abolition to registration, licensing, minimum stays, and much more. https://youtu. be/fX1BAgD-r5s? feature=shared This second webinar covers a raft of measures and pending legislation across 27 states and its not exactly the United States of Europe approach. If you are running a rental business in Spain or Europe then have a listen to https://youtu. be/AXDOb4UJWts? feature=shared This last presentation references a report from the Oxford Economics Group (quoted by Airbnb) on the contyribution by short term rentals to the economy(s) of Europe. Linked here-Oxford Economics Report Article by Richard Vaughton, Yes. Consulting > Dynamic pricing and its challenges in short term rentals. The rise of Revenue Management and the human touch in a world of tech. - Published: 2025-02-09 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/dynamic-pricing-and-why-it-is-increasingly-challenging-for-strs/ 2025 will be the year where data becomes very important to professional companies as they work to maximise margins and use this to create stronger foundations as other pressures build. There are significant problems, however, and we discuss them below to weed out the issues and discuss how to avoid the continual fluctuation of results. Data covers all elements of the STR business, and we will cover all of this over the coming year, revealing anonymised collective company statistics and attempting to create financial industry metrics. In this first analysis, we are concentrating on the most critical managers or hosts' challenges they are most concerned about when filling the sales funnel: Dynamic and automated pricing, the problems, the reasons, the players, the challenge and what others are doing to rectify the issues. Members can access the 14-page report on Dynamic Pricing and the ever-increasing reliance on Revenue Managers. Subscribe to our mailing list. Produced by Richard Vaughton, Yes. Consulting - Published: 2025-01-23 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/we-have-been-busy/ Since January we have been snowed under as the STR industry comes alive with its plans for 2025. So what have we been up to apart from working on 3 M&A deals and working with clients in the US, France, UK, Spain and Portugal. Bookings! How are you doing in 2025 We have spoken to many managers on their initial bookings and expectations. So far the purest leisure ones that we work with and are focussed on their whole rental game are seeing bookings up and ADR's are holding up. Some of the largest companies are reporting down trends, but this may be due to the overall geography and we will need to await quarterley information. 2024 The Final Results Kindly provided by Key Data Dashboard some interesting information. Looks like it peaked! Dynamic pricing struggles, the big report We are prepping the next Newsletter, which does a deep dive into dynamic pricing and Revenue Management. So many managers are struggling on set up and leave approach to dynamic pricing and when we look under the hood, we can see why. We cover all aspects and offer up some advice on how to mitigate a potential disaster! If you want to receive the newsletter and report on dynamic pricing and revenue management, then use this link Instagram & Branding We have just launched our Instagram account under "yesadvisory" as yesconsulting was not available. The following is our first reel, a little head nod in a well known direction of get... - Published: 2025-01-01 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/2024-ma-report/ Published on the Yes Consulting LinkedIn page. The report may be downloaded as a pdf from this link Keep up to date and look deeper at your industry! If you would like to keep up to date on industry news and see regular, monthly and bi-monthly deep dives into the various categories of technology, operations and hospitality that all managers face, sign up for the YES newsletter. Subscribe to the Yes Consulting Newsletter Article by Richard Vaughton, Yes. Consulting > Huge travel predictions In 2052 (just think 2025 in a few years) and will need accommodation to service 24bn travellers. Are you ready? - Published: 2024-12-29 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/24-5-bn-people-will-travel-are-you-ready/ Same numbers, just rearranged! But important! Instead of the usual 2025 forecast, we are looking toward 2052, same numbers but in a different order! Looking at the travel past and asking the question: Is this trend good for humanity, the planet, destinations or your business. Also how will this affect accommodation supply and opportunities and your future and what actions are needed to maintain your business momentum. 1970's to 2000's The Airbnb early mantra of "live like local" was a 1970's opportunity not a 2020's! For those who were born post 1980 (Gen X and Millenials) and probably didn't travel too much until the year 2000+, these are some of the changes we (and the author) have witnessed! Todays travel is a lot less fun and interesting and thats based on literally hundreds of flights around the globe! Just remember, no mobile phones, no Internet, no social media, calm and collected airport lounges, no pre- boarding queues, plus we had metal knives and forks. Was it better? In many ways absolutely! The genie is out of the bottle however! Airports and Crowds1970s: Airports were less crowded, and the overall volume of air travelers was significantly lower. Air travel was considered a luxury, and terminals were relatively quiet, relaxed spaces. 2020s: Airports are bustling hubs, often overcapacity due to the exponential growth of global travel. Long security lines, delayed flights, and crowded terminals are common stressors. Security and Trust1970s: Security protocols were minimal. Travelers could arrive shortly before departure, and family... - Published: 2024-11-22 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/uk-eu-autumn-conferences-2024/ The short-term rental industry enjoys multiple conferences yearly, some of which Yes Consulting attends and often presents at. We participated at the following European shows: Scale UK in London, Scale Italy in Florence-Italy, VRWS in Porto-Portugal, the PASCUK manager forum and Air Success in London from HCH. These conferences always give insights into the industry and its trajectory: headwinds, opportunities, players, investments, and undercurrents of how the industry is fairing at all levels with owners' and managers' mental health! This year is no different, and the presentations are available on request. Add your email below for copies of the Autumn Presentations. You will need to opt-in and confirm your email, and then you will receive a link. Below are our summary takeaways that we believe will affect many within the industry in the next 12 months. 1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) | The Big One We may all have AI news fatigue, but it is a fundamental part of the future of all hospitality industries. The graph below shows the global expectation of investment, and this is significant; there is no disguising this. Link for the image below But where will this feature in travel? As always, the guest comes first (ask an OTA). Embedded within this is the opportunity to replace people with tech, allowing 24/7/365 support, increasing margin and, in theory, improving service. Below is an excellent representation of the benefits overall. Image weblink But how will it affect the supply of short-term rentals and other types of niche... > A single system, multi-internal AI embraced module approach will undoubtedly become the software of choice for vacation rental managers. - Published: 2024-10-20 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/ai-is-a-game-changer-for-vacation-rental-business/ AI is rapidly becoming a ubiquitous force across nearly all industries. It is now making its mark in the vacation rental sector, and its potential to enhance and support human activity in this market is increasingly being realised. The AI Hype: A Double-Edged Sword Unsurprisingly, however, the consensus is that AI still needs to be more reliable to be left entirely to its own devices. Many companies using dynamic pricing will know the challenge of letting tech rule! However, we are only at the beginning of the growth and insertion of AI into all but the manual labour elements of our business. Legacy Digital Businesses at a Crossroads The rise of AI presents a pressing challenge for what will soon be known as legacy digital businesses. Their ability to adapt to the future, incorporating AI across the entire spectrum of their business architecture, will determine their survival in this rapidly evolving landscape. Why the Vacation Rental Industry Has Lagged Behind The vacation rental industry has blossomed in this century, worth billions of dollars, with millions of properties and hundreds of thousands of agencies and managers. Millions of staff support it. Yet we only see a few large companies that market properties in volume (Airbnb, Booking, Expedia). Still, unlike in the consumer industry, no global tech players are of any real note. Why is this, and why might it change due to AI? This industry is one of the oldest; people have stayed in other people's homes since “time immemorial,” since... > A new vacation rental era is in transition, from the Directocene to the OTAcene to the Corpocene, control is being handed to bg investment. - Published: 2024-10-12 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-rise-of-giants-in-vacation-rentals/ It's hard to see outside your world, just existing, head down, and working hard. Conferences allow you to review, connect, listen, and watch. The results of this year's excellent VRWS gave rise to this narrative, and, although tongue-in-cheek, to a degree, highlighted the fact that we are travelling into a new dimension of vacation rentals. Like geological eras, events and evolution change the course of the world. This is no different in business, and the vacation rental market is not unique in this transition. Below, we take a slightly humorous new look at the changes and early stages of the third epoch, the Corpocene, which we consumers have enjoyed or suffered through for many years, one that vacation rentals are now facing and are often ill-prepared for. Directocene (1950 -2006) - The good old days The Directocene was an era of simplicity, where thousands of small, independent holiday home businesses thrived on the open plains of self-catering, relying on direct bookings. Technology at this time was sparse—if you were lucky, a wall-mounted calendar or a well-organized notebook might serve as your booking system. As the years passed, early technological tools, such as basic spreadsheets, began to emerge for those brave enough to tackle them. The dawn of the Internet and Web 1 began to disrupt this quiet ecosystem while still in its infancy, introducing websites, email inquiries, and the first online listings. However, many businesses remained tethered to their analogue roots, content with their freedom from middlemen, and blissfully unaware... > Death by unkown data is a presentation reflecting on the metrics of 20 companies reviewed by Yes Consulting and how much margins is available. - Published: 2024-10-08 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/death-by-unknown-data/ VRWS October 2024 This presentation, first shown at the VRWS in Porto, reflects the enormous variation in margins and allocation to which business ledgers and various functions are allocated, with particular attention to staff, marketing, and technology. To analyse performance, we all need data and comparators. Surprisingly, few management companies regularly track their data on performance and financials. There are numerous reasons for this, but it is essential as the market develops further as corporations, politicians, and guests increase pressure levels. Uncovering the magic The initial concept was to uncover the successful operators and discover if they had some magic that allowed them to become more profitable than others. We also wanted to know if this was market-driven, knowledge and skills-based, staff business-age, technology-driven bookings, property style and quality/quantity, agency or complete management focussed—or just good financial and staff management. The industry has many moving parts: two clients, operations, technology, OTAs, and staff management and all report financials in many different ways and for many reasons. The vast majority of businesses are small, with less than 70 properties. Rentals (read Airbnbs) have become a global phenomenon that attracts legislation, politicians, and investors. Still, it is a trial of fire for small businesses often unable to cope efficiently and deliver a decent lifestyle through rich margins. The Golden Bullet Is there a golden bullet? The answer is no, but there are definite indicators of good practice, market approach, technology and business management. Get Involved? We have several small companies involved in... > The vacation rental newsletter from Yes Consulting is coming back into circulation. Deeply researched topics from an established consultancy. - Published: 2024-09-29 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-vacation-rental-newsletter-is-coming-back/ Thanks to all the people who requested its revival! Many of you asked for our vacation rental newsletter to see the light of day again. We are grateful for the kind words and look forward to its new beginnings. History: The vacation rental newsletter started in 2016 under SmartHosts and was designed for smaller owners and managers, focusing on tech suppliers and industry changes. This rapidly grew to thousands of sign-ups. We were not so circumspect, however, and the site had a forum that soon became overwhelmed with adverts from suppliers. We then changed the format to a more formalised vacation rental newsletter titled "The Lighthouse", distributed through substack. Unfortunately, COVID-19 intervened, and then our commercial challenges required addressing. The newsletter faded away, and we wrote for other media and companies. Re-launching in November 2024 We have now sold our other businesses and restructured the consultancy direction. We will support this with a newsletter covering several topics and one fundamental article in each publication that covers the selected topic in depth and is relevant to all! We will publish this on Substack and be copied here too later. "Making Money" is the first edition. The first in-depth topic will be business metrics for small to medium-sized managers and the spend, the sieves, where the leakage and lethargy lie. Who will make it, and who won't? Use this link to subscribe or use the QR Code below: We know there are many newsletters and podcasts in this industry, but we hope... > Vacation rental consultants or advisors need to be extremely experienced and networked to real value to software and managers & rental agents - Published: 2024-09-28 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://yes.consulting/vacation-rental-consultants-why/ Q:- Why write about the subject and tasks we undertake daily? A:- To illustrate that even the choice of advisory businesses and helping hands to work with is challenging, as is running a tech or property management business. Experience undoubtedly counts for a lot in the short-term rental industry, but so do hard work, other industry experiences, intellect, and the capacity to absorb information. As the adage says, the challenge is time, and time is money. It is too easy to become wrapped up in daily issues, led by inaccurate information, or drop the ball. Are all advisors or consultants the same? The answer is no. Advisors like Yes Consulting have witnessed and fallen into the bear traps, been blinded by the rental light in management and software development, and worked with many third parties. The Yes partners, having founded and sold many businesses and worked with many others, believe we are very level-headed on many aspects of the industry and have helped numerous companies rationalise and advance their businesses. Check out some of the brands that, over the collective years; we have been involved with to one degree or another, not necessarily all as contracted consultants, but in our careers, and have allowed us extensive reach and a depth of experience unrivalled by many. Vacation Rental Consultants Vacation Rental Advisors Holiday Letting Advisors Short term rental consultants Vacation Rental Consultants Holiday Home Consultants Working for other businesses is an excellent grounding in management, marketing, finance and the vagaries of... > Maximise your growth with our ultimate guide, featuring a comprehensive Vacation Rental Checklist to manage your short-term rental business effectively. - Published: 2024-09-22 - Modified: 2025-11-27 - URL: https://yes.consulting/ultimate-vacation-rental-checklist/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] Starting, growing or exiting all require planning and avoiding all companies' pitfalls and challenges. A Vacation Rental Checklist helps a lot! With an audio version, too. This document is designed to help growing or aspirational management companies avoid the numerous pitfalls, organise their business in an orderly manner, de-risk, and, if required, be better positioned for investment or sale. It covers 35 years of founding, building, and selling businesses, the last 20 years specifically in vacation rentals. This document is not intended to be 100% comprehensive as 1000 different PMS suppliers will all have some variation of software that faces the enumerable edge cases presented by the managers. The sections below are intended as an overall set of thought-provoking notes and a mind-nudging exercise covering the most common requests and expectations.     Download     AUDIO VERSION You can also listen to the AI-generated podcast taken from the document. Google is beta testing software that generates audio from written words.   Richard Vaughton, Yes. Consulting   [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] > Choosing a PMS for Short term rentals or Vacation Rentals is no easy task especially with so many available. - Published: 2024-05-28 - Modified: 2025-02-20 - URL: https://yes.consulting/choosing-a-pms-buyer-beware/ An 11-page advisory document on choosing a PMS for short term and vacation rentals. The short-term rental industry has many market sectors. They are split primarily into RBO (Rent by Owner) and Agencies/Managers. The latter two terms are often misused or in the wrong context, but both increasingly require a PMS (Property Management System) and the purpose of this document covers both. The notes below cover the significant portion of the market related to booking, distribution, property data, prices, financial reporting, the booking process and a limited amount of operational functionality and websites. The provision of PMS software is challenging when an existing business operates in a This document is not intended to be 100% comprehensive as 1000 different PMS suppliers will all have some variation of software that faces the enumerable edge cases presented by the managers. The sections below are intended as an overall set of thought-provoking notes and a mind-nudging exercise covering the most common requests and expectations. Download PMS Price Calculator Please note: This calculator has been checked many times and is purely an indicator of costs. Please use your due diligence, check fees, and check the supplier's T&Cs before signing anything. Also, ensure you receive a written price quotation. Fine print: We take no responsibility for the use of this calculator. It is purely for guidance purposes. > Access the PMS Cost Calculator > Legislation in the short term rental industry. Compiling a list of local and national regulations around the world. - Published: 2024-05-22 - Modified: 2024-09-29 - URL: https://yes.consulting/legislative-advisory-documents/ This is a page related to advisory documents on legislation and links. Please note that all information is susceptible to change and should always be checked by local authorities. PORTUGAL Portuguese short-term vacation rental legislation 2023/4 UK ARTICLE A blog post from 2024. A nation of Airbnbers - Published: 2024-05-20 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/scale-rentals-barcelona/ Another successful show ~2024 There have been hundreds of posts, images, and videos about the Scale Barcelona show earlier this month, all of which are well worth the money. There have been so many praises and congratulations on the educational content. All are valid and illustrate the need for a model supporting this academic goal. Apart from dodging tomatoes from the "Anti Book Direct" presentation, I discussed the industry almost continuously for three days with tech and management companies. Understanding where the short-term rental industry is heading is essential for all involved, especially in uncertain times. Take Aways These are some of my most important takeaways and an offer to get involved on a data level if you are a professional manager/agency (see below). Industry Comparatives: There are a lot of conversations around industry standards and management of P&Ls and, hence, profitability. More are interested in Exit valuations but are primarily concerned with the increasing expenses and lower net margins. Data and industry standards are needed (see below) Tech Tools: Marketing, distribution channels and tech integrations: There are evident frustrations with the capacity to cross-integrate tool sets to improve management efficiency. Costs versus ROI comparisons are needed, and with data, we may see industry standards appearing on costs. AI: Very few people understand the future use of AI. As an overall deep dive into how it is changing world commerce and lives, this Gartner Report, will show the general future. In our industry, it will shake the foundations of VA... - Published: 2024-05-04 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/fhl-removal-of-tax-benefits-what-is-the-impact-on-strs/ “A nation of shopkeepers Airbnbers” That’s what the government thinks! BBC News on the 8th of 2024 covered the removal of Furnished Holiday Lets (FHL) tax benefits in the Spring budget, and we thought it was worth investigating what may happen and why. As far back as 2022, the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) produced a report summarising some options for reforming the taxation of letting properties for individuals. This included recommendations for changing or abolishing the special FHL rules. This Francis Clark article explains the proposed reforms in detail, which have now come to pass. Move forward a few years, conveniently in an election year, and the reforms are being implemented. BBC News explained FHL briefly and highlighted the part of the Chancellor's speech that this was aimed at solving the housing crisis. This was followed by interviews of Whitby people who admittedly said tourism was thriving, but housing shortages and prices prevented locals from buying.   This reform removes the current tax advantage for landlords who let short-term furnished holiday properties over those who let residential properties go to longer-term tenants.   This is the government webpage link for anyone who missed this announcement and is confused about the previous benefits. These benefits will be removed in April 2025 and they forecast recouping £300m. In essence, the tax advantages allowed netting off costs such as Advertising or letting agency fees. Products bought for the property (cleaning products and welcome packs). Maintenance and cleaning costs. Insurance relevant to an... - Published: 2024-04-14 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/airbnb-vs-pro-managers-where-is-the-long-term-value/ Airbnb proclaims exclusivity and owner appreciation, but how important are managers to their shareholders? Is it leaking money from managers who are disloyal to any platform? Managers are always looking for arguments to convince owners to work with them, and Airbnb is always quoting millions of exclusive homeowners as though it's their bread and butter! Every Quarter, Airbnb produces its financial reports and has a call where several analysts ask questions and get some answers! Two of the questions seldom asked are:  “Would you prefer 7m independent exclusive owners or 3. 5m exclusives and a mix of micro, mid, large and supersized managers, too? ”. “How many professional managers do you have, how many properties do they list, and what is the average ADR and occupancy? ” So how important and challenging are managers to Airbnb, whose general objective is to maximise income and keep their owners happy and are not loyal to any platform? It's a business, not a hobby, sideline, or part-time. The following numbers may reveal a few Airbnb challenges and risks or opportunities with their business models. Please note these are the back-of-an-envelope approach. There are also sales of experiences in their income and other income lines, illustrating risk and opportunity. Unless Airbnb discloses full details, then we can only make educated guesses! Airbnb 4th Qrt and 2023 Full Year Report Airbnb Quotes: $57bn earned by owners Airbnb has grown to more than 5 million Hosts with over 7. 7 million active listings around the world... - Published: 2024-03-12 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/defining-ultra-luxury-establishing-brand-standards-amid-market-diversity/ & the need for a private members listing platform This document has been created to highlight the need for a brand standard for Ultra-Luxury properties. The brand standard is almost impossible to generate or articulate for non-luxury properties, even mid-range and high-end luxury villas and chalets. Such is the wide diversity of local standards, architecture, guest expectations, amenities, and service. The same applies to the vast range of brand and independent hotels, except at the very high end. Ultra-luxury, however, is a much more refined product and can be elevated above this diversity of accommodation. The world's wealthiest people book these accommodations, hotels, villas, or chalets, of which over 70% are self-made and who are also the most philanthropic. In the vacation rental market, the word luxury is undoubtedly overused. As the world evolves through technology and moral and environmental values, we begin to see a transition in the noun’s meaning. Also, one person's luxury could be another person's squalor; such is the polarisation of wealth in the 2020s. If you want to avoid all the analysis and categorisation, jump to the conclusion, then move to section 8. Content: 1. Definitions 2. Luxury is evolving 3. Luxury Hotels 4. Ultra-Luxury Hotels 5. The Villa and Chalet market 6. Accommodation grading standards 7. Ultra Lux Villas and Chalet Standards 8. Whale Sharks vs a UHNW Villa and Chalet Collection -The need for an exclusive listing portfolio. 1. Definitions Luxury is commonly defined as “a condition of abundance or great ease and... - Published: 2024-02-04 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/airbnb-2024-a-deep-dive-into-what-it-holds-in-store/ UPDATE: This article was written in the first week of January, and today, Feb 11th, the price is $152. 73 (4th July 2024). Written for VR-Analysis. The Big Three. The last few years have seen three companies gravitate to the top of the STR (short-term rental) marketing tree: Booking Group, VRBO (Expedia) and Airbnb. What has 2023 provided, and what does 2024 hold in store for a) Investors, b) Property managers and marketers, and c) Real Estate? We are addressing these companies alphabetically for the purposes of this newsletter. These companies have seen wildly different share price trajectories, and we believe we will see 2024 with increased polarisation of results and investments. Airbnb: Probably the most well-known brand amongst the STR aficionados, ranking 416 in the "Brand Awareness" tables and making it into the top 500 in 2023. Airbnb is generally recognised as a "noun" in the industry, resulting in exceptional search volume, especially from the increased number of new short-term renters and properties. 21m organic searches monthly (. com only), circa 2. 5m paid visits, 77% US traffic, and an authority score of 85. Other country extensions add more traffic, such as the UK, with 5m visits and circa 0. 5m paid and an authority score of 74. Is this good? Check the companies below; it pales into insignificance, but this is like comparing apples and oranges. Despite its venture into Hotels Tonight, Airbnb is a short-term (not sharing despite the PR) business only. We have created a table... > We are delighted to announce a strategic advisory alliance between Yes Consulting and Tara Consulting, are deeply rooted in vacation rentals. - Published: 2024-01-25 - Modified: 2024-09-25 - URL: https://yes.consulting/strategic-consulting-alliance/ We are delighted to announce a strategic advisory alliance between Yes Consulting and Tara Consulting, businesses deeply rooted in the short-term rental market sector. Tara Home Consulting, a subsidiary of Tarasea Consulting Sagl, was established in 2013 to deliver comprehensive services to owners and small-scale operators within the holiday home industry. Following the induction of new members into its board, the firm has initiated the expansion of its technical and financial offerings across Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. Founded in 2017, Yes Consulting has cultivated a niche with larger management and technology companies, focusing on growth and strategic exits. The firm provides counsel on the integration of technology, marketing strategies, and distribution channels while maintaining several non-competitive board advisory roles. The short-term rental industry boasts over 140,000 managers globally, with approximately 70% categorized as "small," plus millions of owners. These entities often face significant growth, operational, marketing, and technological challenges. The challenges are further exacerbated by the dynamic nature of local, regional, and national regulations, the plethora of technological solutions available, and the need for specialized assistance amidst fluctuating economic conditions and evolving market demands. Collaboration enhances both companies’ capabilities by adding core European languages and an intrinsic understanding of the cultural diversities across 27 countries and the UK. Collectively, Yes and Tara offer services designed to support the establishment and growth of successful enterprises, large and small, drawing upon years of experience at both corporate and entrepreneur levels to navigate potential obstacles and implement effective... - Published: 2024-01-15 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/a-roundup-of-interesting-2023-deals/ We cover the 2023 deals that have been made public and/or are of interest. There are considerably smaller deals across the globe, and through 2024, we will be bringing more local deals and opportunities, as witnessed on VRMX. io 1. Raus' Funding Boost for Expansion Germany's Raus, a cabin rental startup, had secured over €8. 5 million in funding, led by ROCH Ventures and including Rockaway Ventures, Dupuis Investment, and others. They also received an asset-backed lending facility from Varengold Bank. The funds were intended to aid Raus' expansion into Austria and to enhance its technology and products, including the newly launched Cabin Model 2. 0. The company, with a growing cabin network in Germany, reported a 500% revenue increase year-over-year and planned to expand its footprint and community locations further. 2. Foothold's Crowdfunding Platform Launch US-based Foothold launched its real estate crowdfunding platform, allowing both accredited and non-accredited investors to invest in unique hotels and glamping spaces. After achieving SEC compliance, the platform aimed to simplify real estate investment and provide discounts for investors staying at these properties. The focus was on unique architectural designs worldwide, with upcoming investments like the 'Patagonia Mirror Hotel' and expansion plans for local investors in the US starting in 2024. 3. LUGGit's Financing Round Spain/Portugal's LUGGit, a professional luggage management service, completed a €1. 8 million financing round led by GED Ventures Portugal and Caixa Capital, with Portugal Ventures also investing. Since its inception in 2019, LUGGit had expanded its services to five... - Published: 2023-12-19 - Modified: 2024-06-29 - URL: https://yes.consulting/how-to-achieve-with-successfull-career/ INSIDE THE VEEVE-UNDERTHEDOORMAT MERGER: FUNDING, GROWTH TACTICS, AND WHAT’S NEXT - Written for RentalScaleup (owned by PriceLabs) The recent merging of Unique Ventures, trading as Veeve (originally Vive Unique) and UnderTheDoormat, both UK companies, may be a warning of more deals. The former company was founded in 2011, and the second was founded in 2014. Both companies initially aimed to focus on managing and marketing properties. Many words have been printed on both companies over the intervening years, during which we have witnessed a pandemic and its fallout. In addition, the acceleration of integrated technology, increasing Online Travel Agent (OTA) urban dominance, legislation, and the world economies have also challenged businesses and investment. Veeve: Taking The Capital Investment Route In April 2012, Veeve launched its inaugural office in Hoxton, starting with a portfolio of 200 private home rentals. By May 2014, the firm had secured a £3. 5 million investment from Smedvig Capital. The opening of a second office in Battersea followed this financial boost. In a further show of confidence, Smedvig Capital increased its investment in Veeve in November 2015, bringing the total funding to £7 million. In 2016, Wyndham (a UK business later acquired by Platinum Equity) also invested an undisclosed amount. The comment in this Skift article indicates the focus and influence of Onefinestay’s acquisition in 2016 and the hit it later took on this investment. “Veeve operates a business similar to Accor-owned Onefinestay. The partnership will see Wyndham support the expansion of Veeve both in London... > De-risking short term or vacation rentals is super important, as shown by Covid and the nibbling away of margins by tech and OTA companies. - Published: 2023-12-15 - Modified: 2024-09-25 - URL: https://yes.consulting/de-risking-vacation-rentals/ The artwork, posted initially on SmartHosts. org some years ago, has been removed. The SmartHosts domain is now part of Yes Consulting and has the same authors. We look at the major trends affecting many short-term rental (STR) businesses. Could your business fall off a cliff tomorrow or require immediate attention to ensure continuity? We have created two sections: Why is there a growing risk to short-term rentals, including urban and leisure and why no one is safe? How to de-risk and analyse the challenge and adopt new strategies. RISK ONE: The Anti STR - Airbnb train keeps rolling. Across the globe, we see local and national authorities challenging the growth of short-term rentals and the theorised reduction in available residential letting and uptick in public service pressures. a few examples and a global reference are shown below. In the context of this article, we do not mention Booking dot com or VRBO. Although they contribute to the problem, the generic Airbnb term and their particular push specifically into urban short-term rentals to having over 6m properties live and over 4m hosts is, we believe, the major contributor and suffering from its own success. Airbnb also gets around three times as much web traffic as VRBO, and Booking dot com is a hotel booking magnet despite its equally large "alternative accommodation" spaces. 1. Example Greece (Europe) The Greek government plans to modify the legal and tax structures concerning approximately 145,000 residences due to the tenfold increase in short-term rental revenue,... - Published: 2023-11-19 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/vacation-rental-growth-checklist/ [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] With so many things to consider. A 30-page guide. This document is designed to help growing or aspirational management companies avoid the numerous pitfalls, organise their business in an orderly manner, de-risk, and, if required, be better positioned for investment or sale. This document covers 35 years of founding, building & selling businesses — the last 20 years specifically in vacation rentals. The guide has been downloaded over 500 times. No one teaches Vacation Rentals (VR) at school, but there are now many courses and books on becoming a successful manager, many of which the current cohort will have heard of or read. Most of these managers will also agree that they have made many mistakes on the path to success. The guide is split into several manageable sections, all with a specific focus. This is not an instruction manual or a pathway to guaranteed success. It is purely an advisory document from someone who has made many mistakes. It now works with companies to avoid the bear traps, financial burdens, legal challenges and personal stresses. This document was presented to an audience of several hundred in Mexico at "Exporv", in late 2022 and has been downloaded hundreds of times. Download  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] - Published: 2023-11-14 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/written-for-beach-retreats-ai-in-the-hospitality-sector/ Welcome to Part 2 of our blog series about AI, written by our friends at Yes Consulting.  Part 1 covered what AI is, with a semi-technical explanation with examples of use cases and tools used across this industry and others. Now, part 2 will explore how AI can be used in the Hospitality sector, showing the more widespread use cases of AI tools in this sector with examples, including content, imagery and guest communication. AI has been developing rapidly in the background, and as expected large corporations have been at the forefront of this, having large datasets to work from.   There are many uses, and the most prominent and popular are listed at the end of this document, however, in holiday rentals, some are having an immediate impact and we have expanded on these below. Content Imagery Guest Communication CONTENT IS KING AI tools have rapidly been adopted in short-term rentals, particularly by marketing departments and guest-facing teams. In marketing, the capacity to create faster and more eloquent prose for blogs and posts is supported by free image generation of their creation (although it has copyright issues all of its own). Guest communication through chatbots and even verbal language models permeate the industry through Saas businesses and using “Context Analysis”. Below is an example of instant content creation using ChatGPT4. When asked about the surfing experience around Newquay this was one of the results and took 30 seconds, complete with titles and bullet points. It would need checking, editing and embellishing with... - Published: 2023-09-03 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/written-for-beach-retreats-introduction-to-artificial-intelligence-ai/ Welcome to part 1 of 2 of our blog series about AI, written by our friends at Yes Consulting. These blogs will cover the following: Part 1: What is AI? This is a semi-technical explanation with examples of use cases and tools used across this industry and others. Part 2: In the Hospitality sector, the more widespread use cases of AI tools this sector with examples, including content, imagery and guest communication. WHAT IS AI? In the context of this article, it made sense to use ChatGpt 4 (openai. com) to self-define its own space rather than take a human approach! Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a broad area of computer science referring to the simulation of human intelligence in machines. Essentially, it’s about creating algorithms that allow computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. These tasks include problem-solving, understanding natural language, recognising patterns, and making decisions. AI encompasses various subfields, including machine learning (ML), neural networks, robotics, natural language processing (NLP), and more, such as LLMs (Large Language Models like GPT-4) Back to a human narrative: In many cases, AI requires a human interface and the use of language to make it worthwhile. To make this even more confusing there are both LLMs and CAIs (Conversational AI).   LLMs: are a subset of AI models designed to understand, generate, and manipulate human language. They can be used for text generation, translation, summarisation, and question-answering tasks. LLMs are a type of neural network, typically using architectures like transformers (e. g. ,... > Use of data in short-term rentals. Interpretations, statistics, analysis, AI, ML and more - Published: 2023-04-16 - Modified: 2024-07-03 - URL: https://yes.consulting/dont-ignore-your-data/ Welcome to the Yes Consulting vacation rentals newsletter. The Lighthouse is for hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short-term rental sector. TWO CONFERENCES IN MAY ARE NOT TO BE MISSED! VITURSUMMIT IN MALAGA (10/11/12 May)~ A high-quality event attended by major players in the industry. Network with Industry leaders helping shape the future! With so much EU legislation, sustainability, M&A and AI in the eco-system, it's a conference of the future. SCALE RENTALS IN BARCELONA (May 17/18) ~ Where managers meet managers as part of a week-long STR event plus "The Exit Door" on the 19th. If you're looking at your company value or thinking of selling or wanting to see what your competitors are doing, don't miss it! DATA - IT'S IN YOUR HANDS Wherever we look these days, data is at the centre of all we do, but to ensure we are talking about the same thing, the definition of data is: "facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis. " However, correct data use is another thing as we found out with Cambridge Analytics. The use of recent historical data is helpful to many industries to evaluate and predict the future, as shown by this Deloitte leisure consumer report for 2021, which seems to have made some excellent predictions in our sector. There are, however, lots of ways that data is manipulated to the benefit of the reporter and many ways it can be interpreted. Remember the 2008 crash? It was fueled by insufficient data... - Published: 2022-12-23 - Modified: 2024-07-03 - URL: https://yes.consulting/toilet-bowl-apocalypse-cleaning-frenzy-ahead/ "2023: The Year of the Scrub Brush. " There are plenty of predictions from industry gurus for 2023 and reviews of the previous guesses from 2022, so I thought I'd add one of my own, a bit "tongue in cheek" but just one & why. Owners, hosts, and managers must ensure they clean toilets enthusiastically and to high cleanliness levels in 2023 and provide the ultimate bathroom experience! After all, the other tasks, such as guest service conversations, will be powered by AI (check the last line of this post), and bookings and marketing will be increasingly dominated by large marketplaces that will demand increased margins and offer higher levels of online trust than you can personally. The money will be taken and handled by third parties and taxes; VAT will be paid directly, and local authority notifications will be automatic. Pricing will be automated, and door entry will also follow the impersonal approach through technology. The guests expect higher service levels and increasingly depend on the big booking channels to add pressure on suppliers for compliance, better terms, and to sort complaints. Still, they will arrange refunds and decide the outcomes of any disputes, not you! Feel like you're losing control? You may also think Governments do not love the large OTAs and public companies. Still, given the option of controlling and auditing millions of individuals and legislating one or two big businesses and getting them to pay taxes and report on activities, then this may not be the... - Published: 2022-10-16 - Modified: 2024-07-03 - URL: https://yes.consulting/2022-web3-vrws-vitur-conference-takeaways/ A few takeaways from both the recent "ViturSummit" in Malaga, Spain and the "Vacation Rental World Summit" (VRWS) in Porto, Portugal, which itself was preceded by the Web3 Travel Summit. These are my own thoughts, of course, and may not be reflected by others, but come from observations and conversations with many, some whom I knew or just met, or from the stage presentations. The audience for all conferences was predominantly European, with a smattering of our US cousins and others further afield. VITURSUMMIT (October) Organised by the founder Carlos Pérez-Lanzac de Lorca and his team, this was my first trip to Vitur and honoured to have been on a couple of panels and a moderator. My first impression was the high level of experienced speakers and panellists and the fact that the summit was attended by a higher number of managers than I expected. The content of all talks and panels was of good quality, and each was kept short and punchy. Interestingly the subject matter and the offstage networking and discussions reinforced the message of industry interest and accelerated growth of the business in general, especially those companies wishing to grow by acquisition. UK and USA have been very active proportionally over recent years (thanks for the onstage feedback Steve Milo). Still, Europe, with its thousands of managers, is now being seen as a real opportunity. The nimble and accepting of challenges will no doubt make headway faster and set themselves up as new foundation stones for the... > The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for January and February 2021. Airbnb, booking.com data, Looking at trends, events & news - Published: 2022-09-12 - Modified: 2024-07-03 - URL: https://yes.consulting/is-there-anything-new/ Welcome to the Yes Consulting vacation rentals newsletter. The Lighthouse is for hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short-term rental sector. OR IS THERE ANYTHING NEW OUT THERE? Over the last year, these newsletters have covered a multitude of subjects related to Short Term Rentals. I have spoken to literally hundreds of people, helped sell management companies and been involved in many aspects of the industry, from people to pricing, from sofas to strategies. But one thing is abundantly clear the newscasts, products, webinars and information is all getting a little "the same" and we are seeing an overwhelming number of them. We try to challenge the status quo and uncover issues and look over the horizon hence run of mill information may be published but not as main newsletter content. This newsletter is also accompanied by a longer one related to tariffs and the challenges faced going forward, it is linked here. This includes revenue management, dynamic pricing and OTA/Owner effects on guest pricing and what's going to happen. What's new? There have been some highlights of course, such as scalerentals. show which positioned itself differently as a conference and some of the mentions below are an indicator of change, new approaches. This month coming is the conference period and I really hope the large sponsors when given stage time, focus on the new, their actual challenges, and how they will support supply! A report on the new things will follow from: The Web 3 in Travel Conference... > The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for January and February 2021. Airbnb, booking.com data, Looking at trends, events & news - Published: 2022-08-20 - Modified: 2024-07-03 - URL: https://yes.consulting/tariffs-challenges-ahead-the-lighthouse-newsletter/ Welcome to the Yes Consulting vacation rentals newsletter. The Lighthouse is for hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term rental sector. This article has been published late August 2022. Since then, apart from my commentary below I recommend everyone read this article from Jarvis ML which keeps a great insight into the issue covered below:- ADR'S UP, PROFITS ARE UP, GUESTS ARE PAYING MORE... . . Are the good time over and if so, why? All the tariff prices shown below are based on a stay in mid-October for 1 week and are quoted from mid-sized management companies (250-1000 properties) in leisure destinations with direct booking values over EU1,500 per week. The three numbers represent an average of 3 different properties from 3 different managers from 3 different regions listed on 3 or 4 OTAs (VBRO, Airbnb, Booking. com and TripAdvisor). Maybe by chance (but very unlikely), I did not find any properties on the first 9 listings chosen which were close to being the same as the direct price available from the manager's own website. Nine properties from millions are not statistically significant, but 9 from the first 9 probably are and would do well on the roulette wheel if we gambled. [wpdatatable id=1] 18%+ and more The results below if averaged equates to just over 18% uplift on an OTA (Airbnb quotes 13%). This percentage applied to a EU/$/£2000 booking for example would represent EU/$/£360 which is not insubstantial when the price increases on car rental,... > The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for January and February 2021. Airbnb, booking.com data, Looking at trends, events & news - Published: 2022-06-04 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-str-industry-reset-2022/ Welcome to the Yes Consulting vacation rentals newsletter. The Lighthouse is for hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term rental sector. THE SHORT TERM RENTAL RESET THE RIGHT STRATEGY IS ESSENTIAL Whether you believe in a collective subconscious or just the capacity of a group or a collective of individuals who influence each other, the change in the STR world is evident to see. The Covid winter is receding and business is showing decent signs of international recovery, in many popular short-haul destinations. Masks are disappearing and we are now living with an attenuated virus and vaccines are more widely available globally. The pace of booking in many locations has been slowing domestically and owners may not be looking at the same levels of income and occupancy. "Holding my nerve" seems a common phrase as managers let their dynamic pricing tools continue to work their magic or not! The pandemic has highlighted industry risks and the absolute need to address the "what if" question. Covid has also accelerated legislative purposes and the changing habits of travel. Now is definitely the time to rethink or even start some strategic planning and how you can execute this. Whether this is growth, sale or remodelling the world is changing around us all and none can really afford to be the proverbial Ostrich! For the last few weeks, I have been attending shows and talking at length with many managers worldwide plus their suppliers and advisors. It appears that business is normalising... - Published: 2022-03-24 - Modified: 2022-03-24 - URL: https://yes.consulting/ukranian-donations-from-the-vacation-rental-world/ This is the growing lists of businesses in the rental world that can help you contribute to the cause. Please email richard@yes. consulting to add more. Touchstay Ukraine who also have a team in the country and therefore have first hand knowledge. Trips Community Luca de Giglio has been on the ground in Romania physically helping the refugees and offering both tools and financial assistance. This is for those Crypto savvy people. Airbnb. org Probably needs no introduction > The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for January and February 2021. Airbnb, booking.com data, Looking at trends, events & news - Published: 2021-10-24 - Modified: 2021-10-24 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-vacation-rentals-sept-oct-2021/ Welcome to the sixth Yes Consulting vacation rentals newsletter. The Lighthouse is for hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term rental sector. WHAT'S COMING? My last newsletter followed previous editions in format, with several sections: "Market Trends, Data, Tips & Tricks, Company Sales and Acquisitions, this month I have taken a new approach (again) and am focussed on what some may call the "Big Picture" but in particular "What's Coming" As my colleagues and peers have noted the industry is red hot especially since Airbnb's successful IPO almost a year ago, Hometogo's IPO, Marriott's Homes & Villas growth and the pending SPACs. This has resulted in an increasing raft of published information that covers significant and wide-ranging information that focuses on every aspect of the business some in very great detail. Some news channels are neutral in their approach and some have a clear bias in their presentation of content. As usual, readers beware, disinformation is everywhere. From now on for all you good folk who want a deep and independent analysis of specific products, sites, details, opinions, the site to visit is RentalScaleUp from Thibault Masson. who also has a consulting business helping navigate the complexities of this industry. This particular newsletter in the future is intended to question the current thinking that influences the market as a whole and focuses on what it will mean to owners, agencies and investors post 2021 and attempts to look over the horizon or through the mist. The question is... > The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for January and February 2021. Airbnb, booking.com data, Looking at trends, events & news - Published: 2021-03-05 - Modified: 2021-03-05 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-vacation-rentals-jan-feb/ Welcome to the fifth Yes Consulting vacation rentals newsletter. The Lighthouse is for hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term rental sector. SECTIONS - Market Trends - Data - Tips & Tricks - Buy/Sell a Company MAJOR MARKET TRENDS This month I have made a decision to cover "Big Market Trends" due to COVID-19 and the lack of global uncertainty, which is raising questions on the future of our industry at all levels. Airbnb and Booking. com 4th quarter summary reports are also shown below which reveal the volume trends. There are increasing numbers of companies pumping out data and advice daily and for anyone wanting close granular scrutiny of these many specialist topics that power rentals, there are many sources available (see Data links below). COVID-19 has blurred the future in so many ways and from recent conversations with professional managers and owners, it is clear that not all trends apply everywhere. No single market however has been completely exempt from the effects of this global pandemic. OTAs are wounded animals We know how challenging and frustrating OTAs can be for small businesses who have established their own practices when system and policy changes are made up the line. From an OTAs perspective, the current situation has destroyed income statements, staffing levels and growth opportunities and we could be looking at a rewrite of the rules over the next few years. This will affect all suppliers to the large listing sites. Covid has highlighted extreme cancellation policies... > The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for November. Airbnb IPO, data, events, tips & tricks, network news and Blockchain rentals - Published: 2020-11-18 - Modified: 2020-11-18 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-vacation-rentals-oct-nov-2020/ Welcome to the fourth Yes Consulting newsletter. The Lighthouse is for hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term rental sector. SECTIONS - Big Business - Blockchain - Data - Tips & Tricks - Investments - Network News BIG BUSINESS: (Airbnb and Booking) Despite COVID's best attempts, Big Business is not dead yet (quite) and of course, the big news, we have been waiting for (and hence our late newsletter) this month is Airbnb's planned IPO and its filing. The latter has been awaited with bated breath, so the analysis can begin despite delays to avoid a clash with the Trump/Biden battle for the Presidential race. Key Points on IPO (kindly provided by Cleveland Research and in particular Matt Varabkanich) Nights & Experiences booked YTD are down 41% (3Q was down 28%) vs 31% growth in 2019. Airbnb expects 4Q declines to worsen from 3Q. Revenue of $2. 5bb YTD is down 32% (3Q was down 18%) vs 32% growth in 2019 ADR has grown 20% y/y since May, partially due to faster recovery in higher ADR markets (N. Am) and mix shift toward non-urban entire-home listings Planning 2021 sales & marketing costs to be lower than 2019 (in dollars and as a percentage of revenue) Brand & performance marketing costs were 24% of sales in 2019 and 18% in 2018 91% of traffic YTD was through direct/unpaid channels, up from 77% in 2019 - This one is worth noting and should maybe in the Risk section too Airbnb... > High-quality, finely-crafted professional photographs will maximise your holiday home’s appeal to potential guests without question. - Published: 2020-10-03 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-measured-value-of-professional-photography/ A picture is worth a thousand words, an adage you’ll have heard many times before. These days pictures are worth at least a thousand words – probably more! High-quality, finely-crafted photographs will maximise your holiday home’s appeal to potential guests without question. In this day and age, all consumers, whatever they buy, are spoilt for choice. When it comes to successfully marketing and promoting your holiday home online, not only are high-quality professional photographs an absolute must but the way in which you style and present your holiday home is just as important. Today's marketplace Both killer interior photography and savvy interior design have quite literally become two of the most essential requirements to get ahead in today's holiday home market. Quality imagery and home style are what stand between you and your neighbour, so to speak! Without these key ingredients, ask yourself, “how will my future guests choose between my holiday rental and scores of others in my local area”? That’s why it’s so important to showcase an alluring holiday home lifestyle that can first and foremost, be enthusiastically enjoyed from the inside, irrespective of the weather and the map destination that the guest chose when booking. Converting lookers to bookers! There are already lots of statistics out there to support the evidence that photography is one of the strongest and most versatile assets and sales tools for your investment - if it’s done well! And how your property is photographed has a very noticeable impact on the booking... > The Vacation Rental "Yes Consulting" Newsletter for September. Big Business with commentary:Booking.com vs Airbnb, data, events, tips & tricks, network news - Published: 2020-10-03 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-september-2020/ Welcome to the third Yes Consulting newsletter. The Lighthouse is for hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term rental sector. SECTIONS - 1. Big Business - 2. Events - 3. Data - 4. Tips & Tricks - 5. Investments In the last few months, we have seen lots of reports and hypothesis about the industry at large, but the helicopter view is: That urban business is hurting still and will continue for months (let's hope it's not 36 months as predicted by Laurie Garrett on Skift Global Forum). Lots of chat around 30 day plus stays and digital nomads etc. and many many links from Booking and Airbnb evidencing this. StayCation rentals saw a surge as anticipated and are seeing modestly extended seasons. Companies are now focussing on this sector and aligning SEO and targeted marketing as COVID continues to rip the heart out of the travel industry in many quarters. In others, it's Christmas every day, unless you ask the locals (swear warning) The eco-system is changing, it's not just urban, it's even in vacation rentals. As an example, the catered chalet business in the French Alps is headed for a bad time this season as international travel between the UK and France is on a COVID knife-edge. The quality chalet business (OVO Network) has published a press release which highlights this but also opens up opportunities. When one door closes... ... . The two major concerns in play right now:- When furlough stops and the Govt's... > The Yes Consulting newsletter. Don't miss a thing! For hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term and vacation rental sector. - Published: 2020-08-31 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-august-2020/ Welcome to the second Yes Consulting newsletter. Don't miss a thing! The Lighthouse is for hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short-term rental sector. SECTIONS - 1. Big Business - 2. Events & COVID - 3. Data - 4. Tips & Tricks - 5. Technology BIG BUSINESS: A storm is brewing (and a conspiracy theory) Pillow Talk Media kindly published an article recently where we focused on how the world changed for rentals in 2020 and this is a follow up on two aspects of that as the pressure wave of COVID takes effect and the new opportunities being explored and old ones reinforced. Needless to say it’s all online too! A storm has been brewing for a while now. We are about to witness the "mother of all (booking site) battles" next online and we know what happened the last time that was said. YOUR BOOKING FUTURE One aspect of this crisis is the way bookings will be derived in the future and which company or companies will have the biggest impact. All businesses will need to change their approach to booking acquisition and guest management as the hospitality industry recovers from this recent body blow, but how and just what is the impact to rental owners and managers. Not everyone agrees on how this may fall out and I for one have been curious about the unbelievable stability/recovery of some share prices. A good example is booking. com despite its disastrous second Qtr results (down 91% compared... > The Yes Consulting newsletter. Don't miss a thing! For hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term and vacation rental sector. - Published: 2020-07-29 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/the-lighthouse-newsletter-july-2020/ Welcome to the very first Yes Consulting newsletter. Don't miss a thing! The Lighthouse is for hosts, managers, agencies, and operators in the short term rental sector. SECTIONS - 1. Big Business - 2. Trends - 3. Data - 4. Tips & Tricks - 5. Technology BIG BUSINESS: This month we have looked more closely at AirBnB and what it means to you (and them) in light of the massive drop in international travel and ongoing problems. It was all going so well for Airbnb: We curate hundreds of news feeds and sector information and without doubt, Airbnb is the leader in brand PR, with thousands of releases weekly that include their company name. These publications have provided free traffic, resulting in less need for PPC and a less sizable marketing budget in relative terms than their immediate competitors. For those of you with a Skift membership then end of 2018 Morgan Stanley and others illustrated a slowdown of growth and shows Booking. com with double Airbnb's marketing spend. The report also showed major upsides on Airbnb Plus (you can't believe all you read). Early Airbnb ambassadors and homeowners making extra cash from sharing also accelerated their growth. Yougov. com in 2016 put them top of their Advocacy rankings above Disney, Universal Studios, Apple, and more. All was going well four years ago. Airbnb also spawned huge numbers of management and tech startups, "Air-everything" (many now COVID dead) with their press, investments, and involvement in the supposed destruction of city... - Published: 2020-07-09 - Modified: 2024-07-04 - URL: https://yes.consulting/web-3-what-the-future-of-rentals-looks-like-webinar/ Two of our network involved and organised by one: Luca de Giglio (thank you Luca) in this webinar last week (July 2020). A great collection of ideas and approaches to the future of Property booking/webs Web 1. 0 was easy to read and hard to write. HomeAway was the major player. It amounted to not much more than a listing site, leaving the transaction to the parties. Web 2. 0 is easy to read and write. Airbnb started a revolution by making things easier. It completely owns the transaction and Hosts and PM have little control. Web 3. 0 will bring back power to the users. They will own the account, the listings, the reviews and the transactions. They will even own the platforms. It's time to start the transition to Web 3. 0 but before we get technical we need to decide what we want to build. Let's start by getting the best minds in the industry around a single major question: HOW WOULD THE PERFECT BOOKING PLATFORM BE? In this panel we have some major voices in the Short Term Rentals industry: Matt Landau (VRMB), Vanessa Souza De Lage (Rentals United), Simon Lehman (AJL Consulting) and Richard Vaughton (Yes Consulting) Their collective expertise is astounding, and we are humbled to have them on board for this panel. Richard Vaughton https://yes. consulting Vanessa Souza Lage, https://rentalsunited. com Simon Lehman, https://www. ajl-consulting. com Matt Landau, https://www. vrmb. com / https://www. vrmb. com/unlocked-podcast/ THE LINKS https://rentalsunited. com/en/vacation... https://www. lomarengas. fi https://fairbnb.... - Published: 2020-06-29 - Modified: 2020-06-29 - URL: https://yes.consulting/surgeons-cleaners-sharks/ The professional face of the vacation rental property world is being re-modeled daily and it’s not just plastic surgery, it’s a full face transplant. Guests expect it, marketing companies demand it and as the inventory continues to grow, the competitive situation will leave many vacation rentals looking old, tired and empty. The global corporations and growth have also awoken government bodies, tax authorities, and pressure groups. These are retroactive actions based on a changing hospitality ecosystem but it also means a radical rethink of operational activity by all hosts and managers. As an indication of the momentum over the last couple of years, legal challenges are always a good place to measure market momentum. If there is blood in the water, expect a shark to appear and there is a lot more chum these days to attract predators. Apart from this article, penned last week, ShortTermRentalz yesterday published an article on exactly this aspect and a single takeaway paragraph where a lawyer "expressed his concern that more “dilettante” hosts, as opposed to those seeking to professionalize the industry, would be caught out by not having the right steps in place in case they are brought to court". Check out the litigation now creeping into the market. The most notable is Airbnb in terms of press coverage as Bloomberg highlights in this article. With the move to a frictionless e-commerce environment and increasing the distance between guests and hosts (to avoid leakage), there are many more disclosures, guarantees and certifications needed...