The Future of STR Demand: Fall 2025 Outlook

Sep 25, 2025

Explore the fast-evolving short-term rental landscape as experts discuss cutting-edge innovations like AI-powered guest review summaries and a new distribution strategy with Expedia. Find out how Vrbo's focus on quality may reshape listings, while the Fed's interest rate changes pose challenges for mortgage costs. Delve into summer performance metrics, where luxury markets thrive even as budget listings struggle. Gain insights into the demand outlook for fall 2025, with a hopeful perspective on improving market conditions.

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INSIGHT

Expedia Expands Vrbo Distribution

Expedia/Vrbo will push vacation rentals across Expedia's partner network to capture hotel-intent bookers.
This increases distribution and can drive incremental bookings for qualifying, high-quality listings.

INSIGHT

AI-Powered Listing Enhancements

Expedia/Vrbo is embedding AI features like property highlights and review summaries to boost conversion.
These tools reduce friction by surfacing what drives bookings without reading dozens of reviews.

ADVICE

Leverage New Listing Features

Use AI Q&A and summarized reviews to reduce guest friction and answer common questions without host involvement.
Encourage quality operators to leverage guest-shared photos since they can improve conversion for durable, well-maintained properties.

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The short-term rental world is shifting fast—and this week’s episode breaks down what hosts and property managers need to know to stay ahead. Fresh from the Expedia + VRBO product launch in Austin, Jamie Lane and Scott Sage share the latest innovations rolling out to help drive bookings, improve guest experience, and reward quality operators. From AI-powered guest review summaries to new distribution channels across Expedia’s B2B network, these changes could reshape how your listings perform.

But that’s just the start. Jamie and Scott also dig into the Fed’s latest interest rate moves, why mortgage rates aren’t falling as quickly as you might expect, and what that means for STR investors. They then zoom into the data: summer performance trends, where occupancy is softening, and why luxury and coastal markets are holding strong while budget and urban listings feel the squeeze.

If you want to understand where demand is heading this fall and how to position your business for success in 2025, this is the episode to hear. You don’t want to miss it!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

VRBO’s quality push: More listings will be removed if they don’t meet guest expectations—high-quality operators win.
AI comes to STR platforms: Expect automated guest review summaries, Q&A boxes, and property highlights designed to boost conversions.
Fed rate cuts = mixed signals: Lower federal funds rates haven’t translated to cheaper mortgages yet; recession risk looms.
Summer recap: Demand grew modestly, RevPAR hit a post-COVID high, but 34 of the top 50 markets saw occupancy declines.
The bifurcation trend: Luxury and coastal/mountain markets are performing well, while budget and urban/suburban listings struggle.

https://bit.ly/41039p1

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Connect with Jamie on social media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiehlane/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jamie_Lane

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Connect with Scott on social media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sagescott

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Connect with AirDNA on social media:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/airdna.co

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airdna/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/airdna

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@airdna.co

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Episode 151