This has been a frenetic few weeks in the short-term rental industry. Vrbo will raise commissions to 12% starting tomorrow. Airbnb established new house rules that will take effect next month, prohibiting contracts between guests and hosts, and banning the collection and retention of guest IDs before check-in and after checkout, respectively.
Meanwhile, as part of Airbnb’s house rules announcement, it told hosts they can no longer ask guests to wash dishes, strip beds and take garbage off-site. This series of Airbnb announcements has taken a little of the heat off Vrbo.
But that wasn’t all. A few days from now, Airbnb will start withholding guest and host phone numbers from one each other when hosts connect through property management software in the U.S. and Canada. Airbnb will instead issue temporary phone numbers that expire two days after checkout. The stated reason is for privacy protections, but some hosts argue it amounts to Airbnb taking another step to thwart off-platform bookings.
Booking had to get into the act, as well. It hasn’t received any publicity, but Booking.com last month made it harder for large hosts and property managers to access guest phone numbers. They won’t be able to access them from their connectivity providers anymore out of hacking concerns, but still will be able to find guest phone numbers in the extranet.
Stay tuned here for whatever’s next.
Skift Commerce Summit
Who owns the customer, who captures the payment, and who decides before the answers harden.
On the afternoon of November 11 in NYC, the executives making those bets take the stage: Tyler Morse of MCR Hotels, Citi’s Abhinav Anand, and Hitit CEO Nevra Onursal Karaagac.
SPONSORED · AMERICAN SOCIETY OF TRAVEL ADVISORS (ASTA)
New ASTA and GBTA research shows why companies should measure travel against business performance, not just the expense line.
Headlines
Airbnb.org Aims for 1 Million Free Nights a Year, Funded Partly by a Dime a Booking
October 28, 2026
Airbnb to Require Temporary Phone Numbers for Large Hosts and Guests
October 27, 2026
MakeMyTrip Uses an Air Travel Dip to Reach Beyond Flights
October 26, 2026
Airbnb’s Amex Travel Deal Puts It Inside a Key Expedia B2B Channel
October 23, 2026
Airbnb Can Now Be Booked Through Amex Travel in Its Deepest Loyalty Tie-Up Yet
October 22, 2026
Airbnb’s New Policy for Hosts: Don’t Ask Guests to Wash Dishes or Strip Beds
October 21, 2026
Watch or Listen
At least nine governments updated their France travel guidance in a single weekend as cost-of-living protests spread across Europe, closing the Louvre and shutting metro stations. The impact is muted so far because it is shoulder season, but more protests are planned before Christmas market demand picks up.
In this clip from Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast, Brandreth Canaley and Michael Goldin break down why negative headlines stick in travelers’ minds for at least a year, how long booking windows make destinations vulnerable, and why travelers who still go are waiting longer to book.
Skift Travel 200
How are public travel tech companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to know to understand the market. Paid subscribers get full access here.
