Key Sessions Announced for 2023 Edition of Scale UK Event

Key Takeaways for Vacation Rental Managers:

• The Scale UK Event 2023 is scheduled for September 26-27, offering a platform for professional vacation rental owners and managers in the UK.
• This event holds relevance for vacation rental managers by providing insights, strategies, and discussions on critical industry topics.
• Themes for the key sessions announced include:
  • Navigating Holiday Let Regulations: Gain insights into the latest regulatory changes affecting vacation rentals with contributions from industry experts like James Foice, Fiona Campbell, Shomik Panda, Jason Living, and moderated by Jessica Gillingham.
  • Redefining Marketing with TikTok: Learn about TikTok’s potential for vacation rental marketing from Dave Cordner, an experienced figure in the field.
  • VAT Insights: Get clarity on Value Added Tax (VAT) and the implications of the Sonder TOMS ruling from VAT expert Sue Rathmell.
  • Boost Direct Bookings: Explore actionable strategies for increasing direct bookings presented by Mark Simpson.
  • Scaling Strategies: Understand the pros and cons of franchising and licensing, as discussed by expert Richard Vaughton.

About Scale:

• SCALE is an organization that hosts events and provides resources for property managers who handle many short-term rental properties. They aim to support the success and growth of property managers who have 20 or more units and want to deliver great guest experiences.
• The organization previously held a successful conference in Barcelona earlier this year.
• Scale plans to organize more events in Italy, France, Marbella, and South Africa, offering a global platform for short-term rental professionals.

Uvika’s Take:

• The session on holiday let regulations is timely, given the increasing scrutiny and regulation of short-term rental markets worldwide, including the recent crackdown on short-term rentals in New York City.
• The session discussing the Sonder TOMS ruling holds significant value as it addresses the complex topic of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the holiday accommodation sector. Understanding TOMS can help businesses reduce VAT expenses and manage their finances more effectively.

Related Read: VAT Directive’s Looming Threat: Small European Short-Term Rental Players in Peril

AirDNA Unveils All-New Short-Term Rental Data Tool

Key Takeaways for Vacation Rental Managers:

• AirDNA has undergone a significant update with several noteworthy changes for vacation rental managers:
• Global Access for Free: Users, including vacation rental owners, can now access comprehensive data on short-term rental markets worldwide at no cost. This includes essential information like rental rates, occupancy insights, market trends, and revenue details for any location.
• Market Scores: AirDNA introduces a new scoring system that evaluates the attractiveness of specific rental markets. This scoring system considers factors such as investability, rental demand, revenue growth, seasonality, and regulations. It simplifies the decision-making process for vacation rental investments.
• Customized Search Filters: Vacation rental owners can use enhanced filters to tailor their property searches based on specific criteria. Filters include property type, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, location types (coastal, urban, etc.), and more. This feature helps owners make informed decisions about property investments.
• Competition Analysis: AirDNA now offers a feature that enables users to quickly identify top-performing Airbnb and Vrbo listings in a particular area. Users can sort listings by revenue, occupancy rates, daily rates, and review counts. This data helps vacation rental owners understand their competition and potential market positioning.
• New Subscription Model: Instead of market-based pricing, AirDNA has introduced a feature-based subscription model. The free subscription tier provides essential information, while paid tiers offer more features, historical data access, and insights. Pricing starts at $180 annually.
• Vacation rental owners can leverage these updates to make informed investment decisions, optimize pricing strategies, and stay competitive in their markets.

About AirDNA:

• AirDNA is a leading provider of data and insights for the global short-term rental industry. Founded with the vision of empowering property owners, managers, investors, and researchers with actionable information, AirDNA has emerged as a trusted source of valuable market intelligence.

Uvika’s Take:

• AirDNA, traditionally known for its tools that help to fine-tune rental rates using historical and market data, is shifting its positioning to emphasize its role as a tool for identifying the best markets in which to invest.
• The repositioning of AirDNA comes shortly after its acquisition of Arrivalist, a platform that tracks visitor behavior and preferences, such as whether tourists to a specific city prefer hiking or museum visits.
• This acquisition enriches AirDNA’s data on potential investment markets, providing valuable insights for vacation rental managers by helping them understand their potential guests’ interests.
• Notably, AirDNA’s free subscription model could potentially apply Arrivalist’s technology to explore user interest in various markets, providing further insights into trending destinations and user behaviors.

Breezeway Becomes Official Airbnb Partner

Key Takeaways for Vacation Rental Owners

• Breezeway has officially partnered with Airbnb, offering automation and operational insights to hosts and property managers to streamline operations such as cleaning scheduling, property preparation, and guest communication.
• The partnership allows hosts and property managers to connect Airbnb guest reviews with specific tasks and property workflows, gleaning quickly what is working and what needs improving and apply immediate fixes.
• This data-driven approach facilitates the identification of areas that require additional management, leading to improved guest experiences and higher-quality stays.

About Breezeway

• Breezeway is an operations and experience platform specifically designed to optimize the management of short-term rental homes. 
• The platform’s comprehensive suite of tools enables scheduling teams, tracking intricate property details, and coordinating work across multiple locations, and unique properties. 
• In addition, it facilitates monitoring compliance with internal service standards, ensuring every property meets or exceeds guest expectations.

Uvika’s Take

• Airbnb is adding more non-PMS software partners to its network. Is Airbnb busy building the Host Service Marketplace that is supposed to launch in 2024?
• By connecting Airbnb guest reviews with specific tasks and operational workflows, Breezeway offers actionable insights that can lead to operational improvement. After all, guest reviews can be a goldmine of information about areas that require additional attention or enhancement.
• It will be interesting to see how this integration might play with Assist AI, a suite of AI-powered automation features launched earlier this year by Breezeway.