Wow this week went by fast! Happy Friday!😃
Vrbo is following Airbnb’s lead in trying to discourage house parties. Vrbo has decided to ban one night rentals in Arizona for the next several months or more. Many of those who live near rentals have complained about large Covid parties with loud guests that disrupt the neighborhood. Vrbo commented saying, "Our focus will be on understanding and addressing potential issues during the reservation process and the stay, and having systems in place to identify bad actors after the fact to prevent future incidents." If you were planning on throwing a Covid party, it looks like you’ll be shelling out a bit more for two nights, at least till January.
The city of Toronto launched a new online registration system for short-term rental owners. This was established to help the city effectively administer the new rules that apply to homes which rent for a period of 28 consecutive days or less. Those currently renting homes, or plan to do so, must register by December 31st.
Booking.com is laying off 25%, roughly 4,000 employees. This is due to Covid-19’s impact on the global travel industry. This extreme step of reducing their global workforce has been shared by many other travel companies. Back in April, TripAdvisor cut their workforce by 25%, laying off 900 employees. Similarly Airbnb laid off 25% of it’s workforce, amounting to 1,900 employees out of the job. The World Travel and Tourism Council predicted 75 million job losses in the travel sector due to Covid. Our hearts go out to those affected by the pandemic. Also we’re hiring and would love to get someone displaced by Covid onboard the OwnerRez team.
In other Booking.com related news, they have introduced two new rate plans. The demand for longer stays has been prevalent during these Covid times. Due to this, Booking.com now allows weekly and monthly rate plans. In addition to these new plans, they have also launched a pilot program to enable guests to book stays longer than 30 nights during the same reservation.
