Host Planet: Expert Insights for Short-Term Rentals

Leaving guests a welcome hamper can supercharge the experience at your short-term rental and power those all-important five-star reviews. It can also help you earn upselling revenue. On today's Host Planet Bitesize, sponsored by Hostfully, the focus is welcome hampers and our special guest is Ariana Hudson from The Travellers Pantry. Key takeaways: • Your guests will love opening a welcome ham...

Holiday let investors have a lot to consider, including ownership structure, furnished holiday let guidelines, identifying suitable properties, and – crucially – mortgage lending criteria. In today's episode of the Host Planet Mortgage Podcast, James Varley and Ben Walker discuss three need-to-know facts for holiday let investors. 0:35 Tip number one: understand ownership structure and furnish...

Airbnb's recent policy changes have left some hosts confused. In today's episode, Simon Seroussi attempts to clarify the update – and his advice to hosts and property managers is to be very careful when asking guests to book direct. Simon also assesses Airbnb's future direction and outlines the potential pitfalls for hosts if their rentals are only listed on a single platform. There ar...

Short-term rental hosts and property managers can learn everything they need to know about guest screening in today's Host Planet Bitesize, sponsored by Hostfully. Autohost President and Co-Founder Ela Mezhiborsky is our special guest – and she's got five need-to-know facts about guest screening. Key takeaways: • Discover what Airbnb and Booking.com are doing to screen your guests • There is not a...

Powered by Host Planet and Beyond, STR Pricing Secrets is dedicated to helping short-term rental hosts and property managers navigate the world of dynamic pricing and revenue management. The series aims to break down key concepts, strategies, and best practices to help listeners maximise their earnings and stay ahead of market trends. From understanding the basics of dynamic pricing to exploring a...

Powered by Host Planet and Beyond, STR Pricing Secrets is dedicated to helping short-term rental hosts and property managers navigate the world of dynamic pricing and revenue management. The series aims to break down key concepts, strategies, and best practices to help listeners maximise their earnings and stay ahead of market trends. From understanding the basics of dynamic pricing to exploring a...

Powered by Host Planet and Beyond, STR Pricing Secrets is dedicated to helping short-term rental hosts and property managers navigate the world of dynamic pricing and revenue management. The series aims to break down key concepts, strategies, and best practices to help listeners maximise their earnings and stay ahead of market trends. From understanding the basics of dynamic pricing to exploring a...

Powered by Host Planet and Beyond, STR Pricing Secrets is dedicated to helping short-term rental hosts and property managers navigate the world of dynamic pricing and revenue management. The series aims to break down key concepts, strategies, and best practices to help listeners maximise their earnings and stay ahead of market trends. From understanding the basics of dynamic pricing to exploring a...

Powered by Host Planet and Beyond, STR Pricing Secrets is dedicated to helping short-term rental hosts and property managers navigate the world of dynamic pricing and revenue management. The series aims to break down key concepts, strategies, and best practices to help listeners maximise their earnings and stay ahead of market trends. From understanding the basics of dynamic pricing to exploring a...

Powered by Host Planet and Beyond, STR Pricing Secrets is dedicated to helping short-term rental hosts and property managers navigate the world of dynamic pricing and revenue management. The series aims to break down key concepts, strategies, and best practices to help listeners maximise their vacation rental earnings and stay ahead of market trends. From understanding the basics of dynamic pricin...

Donald Trump’s tariffs are having a negative effect on the US vacation rentals market. Canadians are turning their backs on major hotspots like Florida and California – and instead heading to the UK and France. In today’s Host Planet Podcast, Sally Henry from Key Data outlines the main trends from 2025, including which regions of the UK are performing best. Sally also shares her favourite data sta...

Are you an Airbnb host or short-term rental property manager who is keen to earn extra revenue?  During today's Host Planet Bitesize – sponsored by Hostfully – Shiven Vinod Khera from Linkbase has five tips to increase your profits without adding more rentals to your portfolio. Key takeaways: • Capture guest data in order to supercharge your marketing and direct bookings. • Offer simple upsell...

Discover the UK's most profitable holiday let locations! Host Planet has teamed up with Sykes Holiday Cottages to launch Holiday Let Insider – a brand new podcast series for savvy hosts and property managers. In our first episode, Harriet Kerr, Portfolio Director at Sykes, reveals the top-performing UK regions for holiday lets and shares practical tips on pricing, flexibility, quality, and gue...

Host Planet and Hospitable have an exciting announcement!  We are teaming up to produce the Host Planet Playbook – an e-book and podcast project which will feature 30 of the world's best short-term rental property managers. This is a golden opportunity for hosts to showcase their brand to a global audience. Keen to take part? Find out more and apply here: https://www.hostplanet.club/post/host-...

Are you an Airbnb host or short-term rental property manager? If so, you need to learn how to take great photos that appeal to your target guests and keep the bookings rolling in. During today's Host Planet Bitesize – sponsored by Hostfully – Joseph Cox shares five essential tips to help you create perfect images that will supercharge your presence on online travel agencies like Airbnb, Bookin...

Bob Garner is very frustrated – he believes the short-term rental industry is failing to embrace sustainability. Bob's urging major players in the sector to take action – because the climate emergency is not someone else's problem. In today's Host Planet Podcast, hear why Bob's EnviroRental platform might not survive unless the industry steps up. There are sponsor mentions for Hosthub and Search a...

Keen to grow your short-term rental inventory? This is the episode for you! Brooke Pfautz from Vintory shares 13 ways to scale your vacation rental business during today's Host Planet Bitesize, sponsored by Hostfully. Key takeaways: • Be front of mind when building a vacation rental business – billboarding is key. • Facebook groups and community micro sites are very effective tools for generat...

Are interest rates about to fall? Is a new wave of property investors on the horizon? And are mortgage lenders starting to show more flexibility for holiday let owners? In today's episode of the Host Planet Mortgage Podcast, James Varley and mortgage expert Howard Reuben dive into the outlook for interest rates, reveal how buy-to-let and holiday let mortgage products are evolving, and share th...

Tax changes, fire regulations, statutory registration, and now EPCs – is there anything else the UK government can throw at holiday let owners? Alistair Handyside from PASC UK is the special guest on today’s Host Planet Podcast – and his message for our politicians is simple: gather the data before implementing policy. Listen in to hear about lobbying efforts, what owners can do to help the cause,...

Johanne Hedges is convinced that short-term rental hosts and property managers who provide luxury amenities for their guests will achieve a higher nightly rate, increased occupancy, and better reviews. During this episode of Host Planet Bitesize – sponsored by Hostfully – Johanne shares details of five luxury products that every host and manager should consider stocking, from an outstanding mattre...

Tax and regulation are having a major impact on the UK's holiday let industry. Some owners are giving up and leaving their properties empty or trying to sell. This is having a knock-on effect on local businesses which rely on tourism. As a holiday let manager and consultant based in Cornwall – one of the UK's short-term rental hotspots – Katie Warren is on the frontline. She is seeing firs...

Amanda Stecker is an expert holiday let host and coach who prides herself on supporting local businesses. On today's episode of Host Planet Bitesize – sponsored by Hostfully – Amanda shares five tips for hosts who are keen to go the extra mile for their local community. Key takeaways: • Send restaurant recommendations to your guests a week before they arrive to give them time to make reservati...

Dynamic pricing is a must-have for every short-term rental host and property manager – but not everyone knows how to use it effectively. In today's Host Planet Podcast, Shreeja Jamdar from PriceLabs shares five tips to help hosts leverage dynamic pricing to boost revenue and occupancy. Key takeaways: • It is vital to understand your market • You must set the correct base price • Having a minim...

Kay Walten is a hospitality and AI expert who has merged her two passions to create a growing business: Smart Pineapple. On today's episode of Host Planet Bitesize, sponsored by Hostfully, Kay explains how short-term rental hosts and managers can utilise AI to create marketing content for their properties. Key takeaways: • Your prompts must be clear, direct, and full of detail • Try various AI...

Direct booking champion Mark Simpson is the man Airbnb do not want their hosts to listen to. In today's episode of the Host Planet Podcast, Mark explains why he is Airbnb's nemesis and shares some quirky direct booking strategies (bin advertising, anyone?!) that you have probably never considered. Mark also shares his business story – including how close he came to selling Boostly last yea...