Guests and hosts share one major concern when using Airbnb and other vacation rental platforms: how do I stay safe? There is risk on both sides, especially when a guest is renting a room in a host's home. A few weeks ago the New York Times reported a story about an Airbnb stay gone horribly wrong. A guest was locked inside his rented room in Madrid by the host, who tried to force him into a...

Small business owners everywhere wonder how Google ranks websites and how their site can obtain the Google holy grail: the top spot on the first page of a search result. Websites listed on the first page get the vast majority of all clicks, while sites on page 2 get fewer than 6% of all clicks (and it goes down from there). As an Airbnb host, you're a small business owner, too. Many hosts wonder...

Nearly one quarter of all vacation rental homes are owned by people residing in another state. This means that both the owner and the guests are relying even more on the system of trust and communication built into the vacation rental platforms, while flying virtually blind. Yet, it all seems to work. But how? 

If you've spent this summer watching your friends and neighbors rent out their homes on Airbnb or VRBO and hearing what a great experience it can be, you might be wondering if it's time you rented out your home, too. But when is the right time to list your home for vacation rental in order to get the greatest value? Below, we'll explain how to know when the time is right. Then, check out our...

When you've decided to hop on the Airbnb train and list your home for vacation rental, a lot of questions pop up. The first is usually "how?" Fortunately, the Airbnb platform makes it really easy to get your home listed. Unfortunately, with so many other people doing this you really have to make your home stand out. Here are the 5 most important steps to list your home on Airbnb.

Technology is a wonderful thing - it allows us to check our home's thermostat from anywhere (Nest), record our favorite shows from our phone (ATT Uverse) and even have the lights turn on a few minutes before we arrive home (Philips). But no matter how fancy the technology gets when it comes to entry and exit from our homes, there's no replacement for meeting guests in person. Here are the top 3...

There's no business quite like the vacation rental business. Technology is enabling so many people to take part in the transformation of an industry. You can access everything from the palm of your hand, both as a guest and a host. But anyone who's been in the vacation rental industry longer than a few weeks knows it's not all roses and rainbows. Sometimes the responsibilities for Airbnb hosts...

We'll be the first to admit that running a vacation rental business takes time and money. It's understandable to want to save where you can. But it's also a very lucrative business, and there are some things Airbnb owners are doing to save money that leave us simply scratching our heads. 

More and more travelers are looking into vacation rentals for themselves and their families, and as the holiday season gets into full swing this number is increasing dramatically. However, this also means there is a higher number of first time vacation renters on the market looking for something better than the Hilton for Christmas, and the scams and frauds are out there.

After you've successfully booked your home, you're most likely going to be engaged in back-and-forth with your guests regarding the logistics of their arrival to the property. Most guests will want to arrive as early as possible and you'll either be amenable to that request or you'll be firm with your set arrival time. In either case, meeting your guests in person versus leaving them a key or...