Product Updates - Hospitable Town Hall, September 2, 2026

This Hospitable Town Hall focused on the launch of Hospitable Protect, a new product offering guest damage insurance for short-term rental properties. The team explained that the product addresses the challenges hosts face, with insurance costs increasing 46% over five years, while offering a simple claims process directly within the Hospitable platform without requiring guest communication. Additional updates included MCP integrations with ChatGPT and Claude, new Airbnb discounts including mobile-only and top-rated guest discounts, and upcoming changes to security deposit policies.Visit https://townhall.hospitable.com/ for a recap and all the links mentioned on the Town Hall.

On this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we have a repeat guest - Sean Wilkinson, Co-Founder of Hostshare. Sean explains how Hostshare has evolved from filling last-minute vacancies into a way for hosts to exchange unused nights for travel stays planned up to six months ahead. We also discuss Hostshare’s integration with Hospitable and customer offer, safeguards for hosts, growth priorities, and an enterprise model that can generate revenue for property managers.To claim the special offer for Hospitable customers, go to: https://hostshare.co/join/hospitableTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction to Hostshare4:27 - Hostshare experience8:09 - Who Hostshare serves, from individual hosts to owners10:38 - Partnership with Hospitable12:42 - Special offer for Hospitable customers15:12 - Improvements to Hostshare18:15 - Host-first culture19:48 - Benefits for hosts on Hostshare22:25 - Future plans

This is Hospitable's 10th anniversary Town Hall meeting, where the company celebrated a decade of growth. The team also shared important industry and product updates: Vrbo's commission increase, new Airbnb house rules and contract requirements, the introduction of temporary guest phone numbers to combat phishing, and more.

On this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, our guest is Ben Levy, Co-Founder and CEO of Localbird.Ben shares how their platform transforms the vacation rental experience by integrating seamless booking of local experiences, leveraging AI and human support, and scaling through strategic vendor vetting and automation.For more information, visit https://localbird.io/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction to Localbird3:35 - Scaling Localbird internationally6:43 - The Localbird experience10:14 - Revenue opportunities and profit potential for hosts12:22 - Impact of concierge services on reviews and repeat bookings14:03 - First-week tips for activating Localbird15:46 - Mistakes hosts make with upsells18:05 - Vetting vendors and ensuring quality

At this Hospitable Town Hall, the team presented a major update to the Tasks app, introducing a voice-to-inventory reporting system for cleaners and a reimbursement workflow for restocking supplies via credit card. They also covered Booking.com updates, including a revamped account connection process, a new listing discount, improved Request to Book reminders, and other product updates.

On this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we are joined by our partner Chekin, an automated guest check-in platform, and Manuel Vicente, Founder of DenverStays.co and a short-term rental host. Manuel shares his journey managing short-term rentals in Denver, as well as across the US and Europe, highlighting how automation and compliance tools like Hospitable and Chekin have transformed his operations. He discusses strategies for scaling, managing legal complexities, and optimizing guest experiences without being physically present at each property.For more information, visit: https://chekin.com/ and https://denverstays.co/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction2:23 - Managing properties in multiple locations4:58 - Pre-automation challenges in rental management7:02 - Starting to use Chekin10:50 - The impact of automation on operations15:50 - Automation process outline25:14 - Direct booking and marketing strategies30:50 - European regulation updates and compliance tips34:25 - Managing properties across time zones42:00 - Future trends in the short-term rental industry45:10 - Advice on scaling your property portfolio

At this Hospitable Town Hall, the team covered several key updates, including the new bank account matching feature for owners that connects existing bank accounts to owner profiles for easier payout management, Vrbo's planned pricing changes effective October 29th that will consolidate fees to 12% for both partner and legacy connections, and improvements to the Task app including backup teammate assignment and new language support. The team also discussed updates to the guest portal, with added Wi-Fi details and trip insurance information, new partner integrations, and various platform improvements for Booking.com and Vrbo connections.

On this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we sat down with Ashley Hagel, the Customer Success Manager at Clearing. We discuss when property managers should move from spreadsheets to dedicated trust accounting software, the importance of compliance, and how automation can streamline financial reporting.For more information, go to: https://www.getclearing.co/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:44 - When does a host need trust accounting software3:17 - Understanding trust accounting and compliance risks5:30 - Common mistakes in owner reporting and audit challenges7:06 - How Clearing automates trust accounting for property managers10:50 - How to tell you've outgrown your setup13:52 - Hospitable x Clearing integration16:05 - Preparing infrastructure for scaling to 100 units

On this Hospitable Town Hall, the team announced the launch of Split Payouts, a new feature that allows property managers to automatically split payments with property owners on Direct Premium and Vrbo Partner Connection reservations. The team explained the history and technical foundation that made this feature possible, including Hospitable's role as a merchant of record and its tax remittance capabilities. Hospitable also provided updates on the Vrbo Partner Connection, the Tasks app, and the Home Dashboard, highlighting new features and improvements.

This is a slightly different episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, where we delved into a very important topic: short-term rental advocacy. Our guests are representatives from the Right to Rent Collaborative, Florida Alliance for Vacation Rentals, and Colorado Short-Term Rental Association.We explore the often overlooked, yet vital role of advocacy organizations in shaping the future of short-term rentals across the US, the efforts of various state associations, their challenges, and the importance of community and professionalization in the short-term rental industry.For more information, visit:https://r2rcollaborative.org/https://floridaavr.org/https://coloradostra.org/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction3:55 - Right to Rent Collaborative9:50 - STR advocacy in Florida13:32 - STR advocacy in Colorado16:00 - The importance of advocacy21:05 - How Right to Rent Collaborative's grants work24:45 - How the grants are used in Colorado26:23 - How hosts can contribute to the Right to Rent Collaborative and local associations32:00 - How the $1/stay contributions help FAVR33:40 - How the $1/stay contributions help COSTRA36:00 - Future trends in STR advocacy