🍿 Lights, Camera, Airbnb

From sleeping in Carl Fredricksen's house (yes, you read that right!) to navigating the ever-changing landscape of AirBnB vs. VRBO, we've got you covered.

🎬 Airbnb Goes Hollywood
❗️ VRBO vs. Airbnb: Are You Ready to RUMBLE
📸 No More Peeping Toms
🛩️ Airline Antics And More…

Lets dive in👇🏽

 📈 📉 STAYnTELL TRAVEL PULSE

TOP GAINERS & LOSERS

 * Prices as of May 3rd, 5:00 PM EST

I Can Stay Here…😲

AirBnB Goes Hollywood

Forget sleeping in boring old apartments – Airbnb is now letting you live out your wildest pop-culture fantasies! With their new "Icons" feature, you can spend the night dangling from balloons like Carl from Up, or sip tequila with Kevin Hart himself.

This isn't about a roof over your head anymore; it's about experiences that make your friends back home jealous.

• 🏠 Check into the “Home Alone” house for Christmas this year…”Let’s hope Kevin McCallister doesn't set any booby traps.”

• 📼 Calling all 90s kids! Ditch the streaming services and relive the glory days at the Last Blockbuster Store. “Make sure you dust off those rewind skills as you watch VHS tapes.”

Focusing on experiences: Beyond your basic bedroom, Airbnb boasts 7+ million listings worldwide and is shifting to unique, experience-driven getaways.

Sharing is Caring - Spare Rooms to Spare Millions

💰🏨 Hosts Become Accidental Hotel Tycoons: Hosts in the US alone raked in over $24 billion earned in 2023, “proving you can make a killing by renting out your spare room or treehouse.”

🏠🏆 Amazon? Who? Airbnb's CEO is plotting a membership program that might make Prime look like a participation trophy. Expedia’s “VRBO” crashed Airbnb's Prime party with their own loyalty program - OneKey!

💰🎩 CEO Aims for Billionaire Boys Club: Seems Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is betting on himself, and in a big way! His potential 10-year compensation package could top a staggering $1 billion. (Airbnb stock is up +17.31% YTD)

Vacation Rental Rumble!

Remember that whole "punch Airbnb in the face" talk from Expedia's old CEO? Yeah, that might need to be revised to a playful nudge. On top of VRBO’s struggles, Expedia announced layoffs of 1,500 employees this past February. Guess that punch turned into a week jab…

VRBO is facing a reality check even though the U.S. vacation rental market is sizzling, with a projected revenue of $19 billion by 2024.

Why is VRBO lagging behind? Because of this guy👇🏽

🔥🍎 The "Airbnbpocalypse"?

Not Quite, But Here's the Lowdown

Big Brother Evicted: Indoor Cameras Now Banned at Airbnbs

Airbnb finally kicked hidden cameras to the curb! This comes after a creepy situation that happened last year. Hosts can still have outdoor cameras, but they must be clearly disclosed.

• A complaint from 2022 alleges that an Airbnb host “confessed” to having cameras, “in every inch of this house,” including the bedrooms. When the guest told the host that it was illegal, he allegedly replied, “sue me then.”

While VRBO and Booking.com have similar restrictions on indoor cameras, Airbnb's move is a big step towards guest privacy.

• Vacation Rental Catfish: Image you own a gorgeous beach house, a prime spot for renters. Then, you get a call about a $25,000 wire transfer for a booking you never made. Yikes! That's Sarah Stewart's reality—a real estate agent whose home was fraudulently listed on Airbnb.

  • While Airbnb assures this isn't a common occurrence (they removed over 59,000 fraudulent listings last year!) - Holy Dayummmm

Biggie said it first, Mo Money, Mo Problems…

• 🎢 Regulation Rollercoaster: Hawaii flipped the short-term rental game on its head, transitioning Airbnb hotspots into long-term housing. British Columbia is following suit. Landlords brace yourselves for the switcheroo

• 😱 Thinking of booking a vacation rental? Better check those 'for sale' signs first! Some renters have gotten a nasty surprise – a notification that their Airbnb just vanished into thin air (because it got sold!).

• 🎉 VRBO's "party policy" left homeowner singing the blues! With damages topping $30,000 and a surprise party guest list of 100, the Singhs are pointing fingers faster than you can say "cleanup on aisle six!"

• 🐟 Something’s Fishy! Online rental scams are the new "Cheaters”! Feds busted a wild Airbnb scheme this year...Airbnb created "Guest Favorites", leaving superhosts a bit puzzled like, “yo WTF is this?

🔥 Sky-High Altitude Alerts

• 😳 From zero to in-flight meltdown faster than a toddler denied airplane snacks. This dude's gotta pay United Airlines $20,000 for his tanrum. “Guess his frequent flyer miles turned into frequent finer miles.”

• 💸 Budget Air! Frontier Airlines CEO, Barry Biffle, is worried Biden’s new refund rules might be too much for their, ahem, "cutting-edge" technology. “Barry Biffle sounds like a character from a budget travel nightmare, right?”

• 🔥 Boeing's burning cash faster than a bonfire made of money ($32 billion since 2019!). Maybe their whistleblowers (Joshua Dean and John Barnett) knew too much – but tragically, they're no longer here to share their insights. Spooky, huh?  

🤔 Did you Know: Dubai International Airport claimed the title of the #2 busiest airport in the world in 2023…no wonder they want to build the worlds largest airport.

🧳🚀 News Travels Fast

ICYMI

Quick travel news & updates for your weary, jet-lagged mind.

• ⛴️ Viking Cruises’ IPO (Initial Public Offering) was smoother than Caribbean waters. Feeling nautical? This might be your ticket to setting sail for riches…

• 🚴‍♂️ Hyatt ups their fitness with Pelotons at 800 hotels, offering loyalty points for those who break a sweat. Big win for Peloton, needing a post-fad boost! (Dumbbells clinging to dear life for now).

• 🛌 Dirty towels and spotty service? This could be your next hotel stay if demands aren't met. Hotel workers in 18 cities marched on May Day, demanding better pay and working conditions from giants like Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt.

  • Remember, happy staff leads to a happy (and clean!) hotel experience!

Let's hope the Hyatt Peletons don't turn into glorified clothing racks, like some Pelotoners we know….speaking to you Angel…i...q…u…e

🧳🚀 Thanks For Reading

We've reached our destination, we hope you found our flight through the news enjoyable.

See you in the clouds,