Host Planet: Expert Insights for Short-Term Rentals

Most hosts are sitting on extra revenue they never collect. Upsells are one of the easiest ways to earn more from every booking, yet they're still massively underused. In this Build for Growth episode, Host Planet sits down with Frank Bosi from Hostfully to break down the upsells every host should be offering, from early check-in and late check-out to local partnerships with private chefs. You...

Next year's revenue is decided by what you do in the next few weeks. Zak Ali, President of the ISTRM, joins STR Pricing Pulse to show you how to plan 2027 revenue for your short-term rental or holiday let business. We cover how to set goals that are ambitious but realistic, how to manage owner expectations, what to check in your revenue management system, how to grow ancillary revenue, and the...

Welcome to Episode 5 of the STR Growth Curve, a 12-part series from the Host Planet Podcast and Hospitable mapping the 12 stages of growth in short-term rentals – from setting up your first rental all the way through to selling your property management business. Our goal: help you build a smarter, more successful, and more sustainable hosting business. Stage 5 is all about professionalising your b...

What if you could walk into a room with zero AI knowledge – and walk out with your own AI agent built for your short-term rental business? That's exactly what's happening at the AI Buildathon, from Host Planet and Boostly, in Leeds on 27th November. In this episode, Mark Simpson from Boostly joins James Varley to explain what you'll build on the day, why it's for complete beginners...

Finding a great cleaner can make or break your short-term rental – and losing one at the wrong moment can wreck a five-star streak. In this episode of Turnover Tactics – from Host Planet and Turno – Brooks Sparks joins James Varley to walk through the full process of finding, hiring, and keeping great cleaners. From writing a cleaner brief that attracts the right people, to trial cleans, giving fe...

Taking on other people's properties is where hosting becomes a real business. In Episode 4 of the STR Growth Curve, Tom Beerley breaks down the operator stage of your short term rental business – the mindset shift from host to operator, the systems to get right, and how to scale as an Airbnb co-host without losing consistency. Tom shares his guest messaging strategy, how he keeps the guest exp...

How do you turn a London cleaning start-up into a global property operations business? In this episode of the Host Planet Podcast – powered by Lodgify – Georgi Georgiev from Fantastic Services shares how trust, quality, and systems helped scale from first customers in London to a global operation, and what hosts need to know to start and scale a short-term rental cleaning business that lasts. We c...

Welcome to Built to Book, the podcast series from HostPlanet and Smoobu, where we dig into the operational side of short-term rentals. How much of your hosting business should be automated – and what should stay human? Jannik Abraham, Managing Director of Smoobu, joins us to break down short-term rental automation done right for hosts and property managers. We cover where Airbnb automation actuall...

Relying only on Airbnb is putting your short-term rental business at risk. Hosts can get suspended – and that means massive business disruption overnight. In this episode of Build for Growth, Brise Carpenter, Vice President of Customer Success at Hostfully, breaks down how to grow a smarter, more successful, and more sustainable business by listing on multiple channels the right way. You'll le...

How guests find and book holiday lets has changed massively. In this episode of Holiday Let Insider, Owen Burt, SEO Manager at Sykes Holiday Cottages, explains how AI search works, why people are clicking less, and what hosts can do to build businesses that get found online. Owen breaks down how his SEO role has evolved, what makes a listing easy for AI to read and recommend, why consistent detail...

Welcome to Episode 3 of the STR Growth Curve, a 12-part series from the Host Planet Podcast and Hospitable mapping the 12 stages of growth in short-term rentals – from setting up your first rental all the way through to selling your property management business. Our goal: help you build a smarter, more successful, and more sustainable hosting business. Stage 3 is all about when hosting stops being...

Travellers are now booking stays directly from ChatGPT – but is your business getting cited? In this episode of the Host Planet Podcast – powered by Lodgify – we’re joined by Jason Cincotta from Kismet to break down how AI search really works for short-term rentals, and how you can get found, cited, and booked. If you want to build a smarter, more successful, and more sustainable property manageme...

Agentic AI is becoming the Chief Action Officer for short-term rental hosts. Here's how to use it to save time, make money, and scale. In this episode of AI-Powered Hosting – from Host Planet and BOOM – we talk to Sab Mulligan about agentic AI for short-term rental hosts and property managers, and what it takes to build smarter, more successful, and more sustainable businesses with AI. Sab sha...

Welcome to Episode 2 of the STR Growth Curve, a 12-part series from the Host Planet Podcast and Hospitable mapping the 12 stages of growth in short-term rentals – from setting up your first rental all the way through to selling your property management business. Our goal: help you build a smarter, more successful, and more sustainable hosting business. Stage 2 is all about optimising your first li...

How can AI help you build a smarter, more successful, and more sustainable short-term rental business? In this episode of the Host Planet Podcast – powered by Lodgify – we sit down with Francois Gouelo, Co-Founder of Enso Connect, to rethink guest experience, automation, upsells, and AI. Francois shares the story of Enso Connect, what great guest experience really means, what most hosts get wrong,...

Slow replies are costing you bookings. Learn how to automate guest communication with AI without losing the personal touch. In this episode of Build for Growth – from Host Planet and Hostfully – James Varley is joined by Jay Ullrich from HostBuddy AI to share a clear, practical plan to help you build a smarter, more successful and more sustainable short-term rental business with AI-powered messagi...

Is Airbnb's 6% direct booking link actually a win for hosts? On STR Pricing Pulse – powered by Host Planet and Beyond – Dr Zak Ali, President of the ISTRM, breaks down Airbnb's in-the-news test to cut fees to 6% when you bring your own guest. Is it right to call it an affiliate link? Why is Airbnb doing this now? And how should you price direct vs OTAs? Zak covers the industry response, wh...

Setting up your first Airbnb? Stage 1 of the STR Growth Curve shows you exactly how to launch right – pricing, cleaning, reviews, and essential tech. Welcome to Episode 1 of the STR Growth Curve, a 12-part series from Host Planet and Hospitable mapping the 12 stages of growth in short-term rentals – from setting up your first rental all the way through to selling your property management business....

Struggling to turn followers into bookings? Vanessa Aguirre shares the social media strategy independent hosts need for 2026. In this episode of The Independent Host – a series from Host Planet and Lodgify – Vanessa breaks down knowing your target audience, updating a themed rental, which platforms to bother with in 2026, and how to win when we're all at the mercy of the algorithms. You'll...

How do you design cleaning operations software that hosts and cleaners actually use when they're not at a desk? Gabi Celemin from Turno joins Turnover Tactics to share how customer support informs product development, what customers asked for versus what was actually built, and how to design for everyone from new hosts to managers with hundreds of doors.  Plus: product localisation and the imp...

Wales' 182-day rule is pushing self-catering owners to the brink – and there's a narrow window to change it. Almost a third of holiday letting businesses in Wales have already collapsed under 'hideous' council tax bills, and 26% are running at a loss. But there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel. In this episode of the Host Planet Podcast – powered by Lodgify – James Var...

Why don't guests book direct – and how do you fix it? In this episode of Built to Book, Jonas Baum, Head of CX at Smoobu, breaks down how to build a direct booking website that converts. Learn the trust signals, AI workflows, and booking flow fixes to help you build a smarter, more successful, and more sustainable short-term rental business. If you're getting traffic but no bookings, this...

Is your holiday let truly winter ready..? Because a cold property is a 1-star review waiting to happen. In this episode of Holiday Let Insider, from Host Planet and Sykes Holiday Cottages, Rachel Brennan shares exactly how smart hosts protect their property, price correctly, and deliver a 5-star guest experience when temperatures drop – helping you build a smarter, more successful and more sustain...

Luxury hosting is getting harder – fire regulations, guest expectations, and running a UK business from abroad. Here's how top operators stay ahead. In this episode of the Host Planet Podcast, sponsored by Lodgify, James Cornwell joins us ahead of the Host Planet Roadshow in Bath, where his business, Curated Property, is Event Partner. We talk bringing the STR community together, collaborating wit...

Mid-term rentals are having a moment — a perfect storm of supply shifts, rising nightly-rate competition, and a flood of 30–90 day demand. In this Build for Growth episode, Host Planet sits down with Frank Bosi from Hostfully to break down the mathematics of mid-term stays: how to price them, how to rework your listing to attract longer bookings, and which distribution channels actually deliver th...