Wire Weekly: Global short-term rental & hospitality news

This week’s headlines show that short-term rental operators are facing growing pressure to manage regulation, pricing, technology and distribution more strategically across increasingly complex markets.

From proposed housing levies and new zoning restrictions to event-driven demand, stronger late-summer rates, energy automation and unified guest data, operators are being challenged to protect margins, improve efficiency and build more resilient businesses beyond the properties they manage.

Proposed 7.5% NSW short-stay levy could influence other markets

An organization in New South Wales that advocates for the homeless population has called on the government to take action against short-term rentals and create a 7.5% levy on such bookings. Citing the almost 50,000 short-term rental listings compared to the 22,237 homes advertised for long-term rent on one site, the organisation claims that implementing the measure could raise $50 million AUD for homelessness services.

This action was influenced by a similar levy of 7.5% on short-term stays in Victoria in January of 2025. While the numbers and data used are debated between the two sides, this proposal is another signal of the growing international movement to make the sector contribute more directly to housing affordability and community programs.

What this means for operators: Operators should prepare for the possibility that short-term rental levies will become more common as governments look for ways to fund housing and homelessness programs. A new charge could affect guest pricing, booking conversion, owner returns and the competitiveness of professionally managed rentals. Larger operators will also need systems capable of calculating, collecting and reporting different levies across multiple jurisdictions.

Solar eclipse drives unseasonal tourism boom to rural Spain

As multiple places across Europe prepare for the upcoming total solar eclipse, short-term rentals in areas with typically low-demand and low-occupancy levels this time of year are surging.

Smaller towns and cities across Spain, specifically, are seeing record levels of demand as people will begin flocking to different places across the country to witness the phenomenon in less than a week. According to PriceLabs, occupancy has increased year over year in 13 of the 15 Spanish markets analysed. Logrono has experienced the largest increase at 35% with other inland towns following suit with their record numbers of bookings.

Additionally, Spain’s northern coastal destinations continue to have the highest overall occupancy levels, though this is not as surprising as the smaller, rural towns experiencing extremely high temperatures this time of year.

What this means for operators: Major events can rapidly create demand in markets that usually experience low occupancy, giving prepared operators significant pricing power. Property managers should monitor event calendars well in advance, adjust rates and minimum-stay rules early, and ensure inventory remains compliant and available. The eclipse also demonstrates the potential of rural, agritourism and dark-sky destinations to attract demand beyond traditional tourism hotspots.

Rome’s planning changes illustrate a shift from licensing toward land-use classification

Rome is changing its approach to regulating short-term rentals in a way that they haven’t since 2008.

In late July, the city approved updates to the technical rules of the General Regulatory Plan, including new residential-use classification for properties used as short-term rentals.

The changes will prohibit properties in certain designated areas from being converted into holiday rentals with one major area being Rome’s UNESCO-protected historic centre.

Essentially, Rome is moving beyond using traditional licensing, registrations and tourist tax requirements to now using zoning and land-use rules to control where short-term rentals can operate.

While these changes may seem somewhat vague right now, the city has indicated that a regulation specific to short-term holiday rentals will follow suit, suggesting these are only the first step in a broader regulation framework.

What this means for operators: A tourism license or registration number may no longer be enough to operate legally in Rome. Property managers and investors will increasingly need to verify zoning classifications, change-of-use permissions and building-level restrictions before acquiring properties or signing management agreements. The shift toward land-use regulation could also limit portfolio growth and reduce the transferability or long-term value of existing operating rights.

TravelAI’s acquisition of Sonder shows that failed operators can retain valuable digital assets

TravelAI, a Canada-based company, has acquired Sonder and relaunched it in a new format. TravelAI made it clear when completing the acquisition that it was just Sonder’s domain names and trademarks and had nothing to do with their businesses or operations.

Now with the control, TravelAI has turned Sonder.com into a consumer brand and has launched it as a guide for urban stays across the globe.

Rather than operating apartments and hotels directly, the relaunched site is expected to connect travellers with accommodations supplied by other hospitality companies and booking partners.

What this means for operators: The transaction shows that a hospitality brand, domain and digital audience can retain value even when the underlying operating company fails. Large operators should treat brand recognition, direct traffic, customer relationships and search visibility as strategic assets separate from their property portfolios. It also signals increased competition from asset-light travel companies that can control guest discovery and distribution without directly managing accommodations.

The STR Industry in brief

US vacation rental revenue pacing 26% higher YoY for September as summer travel extends later into the season

According to data from KeyData, short-term rental revenue in the US is expected to overtake the numbers from last year.

Even with lower levels of booking demand, one of the main drivers for this increase is pricing strength. This means that the higher nightly rates are able to offset the slowing occupancy growth being experienced across the country.

One of the few anomalies to low occupancy levels is Hawaii as it is experiencing strong numbers in occupant levels. The areas with the strongest recorded regional revenue growth are the western US and the mid-atlantic region. Additionally, the data reveals that more and more STR consumers are shifting toward Airbnb which accounted for more than half of Q2 reservations.

What this means for operators: Operators may not need to chase occupancy through aggressive discounting if stronger nightly rates continue to support revenue. The key will be tracking local booking pace, holding rates where demand allows and maintaining a balanced mix of Airbnb, direct bookings and other channels.

Hospitable becomes first property management software to natively integrate with Google Nest thermostats

Hospitable is in the news again, this time for becoming the first property management system to offer a native integration with Google Nest thermostats.

This change has already allowed short-term rental operators to better manage their units and energy usage, as they are now able to remotely adjust heating and cooling based on reservation activity and whether the unit is in active use or not.

This new integration has allowed operators to customize temperature settings, arrival buffers, and guest controls for each individual property. Hospitable has reported over 1,500 hosts already connecting to Nest through their services and have generated more than 191,000 automated adjustments.

What this means for operators: Automating climate control can reduce utility expenses while ensuring properties are comfortable before guests arrive. For larger portfolios, integrating thermostats directly with reservation data also eliminates manual work, creates more consistent operating standards and reduces dependence on cleaning or maintenance teams to adjust settings between stays.

RMS and TrustYou partner to give hoteliers a unified view of every guest

RMS has recently partnered with TrustYou to help operators within the hospitality industry combine fragmented information into a single, continuously updated profile.

It collects demographics and booking preferences about guests to allow operators to personalize guest communications, recommend relevant upgrades, and create targeted marketing campaigns based on actual guest behavior, wants and needs.

What this means for operators: Bringing guest data into one profile can help operators personalize service, improve upselling and run more effective marketing campaigns without forcing staff to search across multiple systems.

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Have a story the industry should be paying attention to? If you’re seeing regulation changes, market shifts, operator trends, new technology, or community-led initiatives across short-term rentals, serviced accommodation, or hospitality, send it to [email protected] for possible inclusion in a future WIRE Weekly roundup.