Short-Term Rental Data — Behind the Complexity and the Nuances

8/2/2023

Most companies that provide data on short-term rentals source data from integrations with Airbnb, Vrbo, Expedia, property managers, and individual hosts. They then apply proprietary algorithms. “All these companies are attempting the same kind of problems and they are thorny problems to solve,” said Drew Patterson, co-founder and CEO at travel startup Thermal. “Running data sets around short-term rentals is a complicated exercise, and it’s hard to get right. A lot of things can compromise analysis.” The lack of standardization if a chief obstacle to clarity, say experts. “Where the industry needs to come to is using standardized metrics,” said Richie Khandelwal, co-founder of PriceLabs. “I have no idea what RevPal is, what are active listings? Are they available to book or block?” said Khandelwal, referring to the AllTheRooms data that Nick Gherli claimed he used in a viral tweet that purported to show plunging Airbnb host revenue in several big cities.

Skift (08/01/23) Srividya Kalyanaraman

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