Stop Relying Only on Airbnb! Two Opportunities Hosts Must Prepare for This Year!

Over the past two years, many hosts have asked me the same question: will short-term rentals become increasingly difficult in 2026?

My view is actually the opposite.

I believe 2026 will be a crucial dividing line, because the market has already reshuffled the short-term rental industry over the past two years.

The hosts who remain increasingly approach short-term rentals as businesses requiring long-term management, rather than merely putting a home on a platform to see what happens.

These hosts are becoming more professional and brand-conscious. They understand that future competition is about more than having a property: it is about operational skill, building their own customer assets, and making their businesses healthier, more controllable and more profitable.

The question now is how to operate more steadily, for longer, and with a clearer understanding of earnings, rather than simply how to survive.

In my view, the two areas hosts should prioritize in 2026 are Direct Booking and Upsell. One determines whether you can gradually reduce dependence on a single platform. The other determines whether you can continue generating profits as competition intensifies.

1. The point of Direct Booking is to reduce dependence, rather than replace Airbnb

Let’s start with Direct Booking. More people have discussed this term over the past two years, but I find that many misunderstand it from the outset.

Many hosts think Direct Booking means abandoning Airbnb and taking bookings themselves. Anyone who has actually tried knows that is not a realistic path.

Direct Booking does not mean giving up Airbnb or forcing a booking that should have been completed on Airbnb onto your own website. That carries considerable risk; mishandling it can easily jeopardize your platform account.

The real purpose of Direct Booking has always been gradually reducing dependence on Airbnb. In the current market, almost no rental accommodation or short-term rental brand can survive entirely independently of platforms like Airbnb.

Platforms still provide traffic, a basis for trust and an important route to new customers. A mature approach is to gradually build your own customer relationships and brand capabilities outside the platform, rather than fight it.

In other words, Airbnb can still bring you new guests, but it cannot remain your only route forever.

Otherwise, changes in platform policy, traffic fluctuations, higher fees or greater competition can leave your business with little control.

2. The best starting point for Direct Booking is returning guests, rather than new ones

When hosts want to offer direct bookings, their first thought is often how to attract new guests to book on their website. But that is difficult because new guests have no basis for trusting you. They have never stayed in your property, know nothing about your service and do not know whether your website is reliable.

Ordinary guests naturally worry about payment security, scams, mismatches between properties and photos, and who will take responsibility if something goes wrong whenever a website is not a familiar major platform.

That is why returning guests are usually the best starting point for Direct Booking. Someone who has already stayed has formed a view of your property, service and overall experience. If they enjoyed it, they may not want to pay an extra platform service fee on their next visit. Airbnb’s combined fees are substantial, and many guests notice them.

Offering a safe, professional direct-booking process with clear steps can therefore yield a much higher conversion rate. Trust already exists for returning guests; the remaining challenge is making the experience smooth and reassuring.

There is an important prerequisite, however: not every property warrants a serious investment in Direct Booking. A midrange or high-end property with distinctive, memorable features that guests might return specifically to enjoy is worth developing this way.

But if your property has no clear differentiation, follows an ordinary rental model, or you plan to sell it in one or two years, investing substantial time and money in direct bookings may not pay off.

Direct Booking fundamentally builds a long-term asset. It suits hosts who intend to operate for the long term and gradually develop a brand.

3. Successful Direct Booking requires at least three basic capabilities

Many think Direct Booking simply means building a website with listings, prices and a booking button. In practice, it is far more complicated. An effective direct-booking system needs at least three foundations: genuine contact details, a CRM and a website that converts.

① First, you need access to guests’ real email addresses. These are not the masked addresses on an OTA or accounts reachable only inside the platform, but actual customer contact details you hold yourself. If you cannot stay in contact after a guest leaves, the relationship ends.

Even a very satisfied guest will probably open Airbnb next time they need accommodation rather than think of you.

② Second, you need a CRM, or customer relationship management system.

Many hosts have previous guests but never contact them again after their stay.

Over time, guests remember Airbnb rather than the host, brand or property. Effective direct booking does not mean waiting for guests to remember you. It means staying in their memory through holiday greetings, offers, discount notifications and announcements of new properties.

You do not have to contact them every day, but you need to give them a chance to think of you first when they next need accommodation.

③ Finally, and most often underestimated, you need a Direct Booking Site that genuinely converts.

We have made many mistakes ourselves. We tried the free websites bundled with PMS software: they seemed feature-rich, but conversion was almost nonexistent. We spent nearly US$10,000 on custom development, only to be charged an additional hourly fee for each new feature. After several months, almost no bookings arrived while maintenance costs continued to accumulate. We also tried vendors claiming to deliver AI traffic rankings or automatic exposure; after several months without meaningful traffic, they ultimately recommended spending several thousand US dollars a month on Google Ads.

Reducing dependence on Airbnb sounds right, but it is far from easy in practice. A website and a few emails do not automatically produce success. Systems, tools, content, customer management and operating activities must work together.

4. Why I consider 2026 a time to prepare for Direct Booking

Although Direct Booking is not easy, I still believe 2026 is worth taking seriously as a starting point. The reason is simple: hosts who failed in the past were not necessarily heading in the wrong direction. The available solutions may simply have been insufficiently mature.

Expensive tools, difficult systems, high development costs and poor conversion made many people give up after one attempt.

Now, however, I clearly feel that a new group of more reliable solutions has emerged. They are not necessarily perfect, but their cost, stability, usability and conversion performance have improved considerably.

From my six or seven years observing this industry, it often takes one or two years between people recognizing a problem and startups producing usable solutions. I am now seeing new products and approaches worth testing seriously, and we are testing them ourselves.

If your property is memorable, aesthetically appealing and distinctive, gives guests a reason to return, and you intend to operate it long-term, I believe 2026 is a window to start developing direct bookings.

Conversely, if the property lacks a clear identity or is only a short-term holding you intend to sell, there is no need to invest simply to follow a concept.

5. When room rates become harder to raise, Upsell is key to improving the profit structure

After Direct Booking, the second direction is Upsell.

This aligns closely with Airbnb’s strategy in recent years. Airbnb has continually promoted Services and Experiences. The logic is straightforward: when accommodation prices become increasingly difficult to raise, both platforms and hosts must consider how to increase each guest’s total spending.

Future competition therefore concerns whether you can create reasonable additional value after a guest arrives, beyond accommodation charges alone.

This matters because many hosts face the same problem: growing competition means they cannot simply raise prices at will. Especially when supply rises, relying on price increases alone often directly hurts conversion.

Where can profit come from in that situation? Often, from outside the accommodation charge itself.

Early Check-in and Late Check-out are the easiest starting points. Many hosts previously offered these free of charge as part of their service.

From a business perspective, however, many guests will pay for convenience when rules are transparent and charges reasonable.

Guests can often accept spending a few tens of US dollars for easier travel arrangements. For hosts, these small charges can add up to tens or hundreds of dollars extra per month. The amount may not be dramatic, but the important change is in thinking:

You are no longer focused only on room rates. You are systematically managing each revenue source.

6. Once your property portfolio grows, Damage Waiver is another area worth exploring

If you have many properties, you can consider more advanced upsell models such as a Damage Waiver.

Think of it as a modest fee for protection against property damage. For example, a guest pays US$50. If minor damage occurs during the stay below a certain amount, such as US$1000, you generally do not pursue a separate claim. Instead, the fee covers some of the risk.

This model resembles insurance in that it relies on probability and a large sample.

The larger the sample, the easier it is to spread risk. With only one or two properties, the sample is too small and the economics may fail or even create losses.

This is therefore more appropriate for teams with larger portfolios. Personally, I would suggest having at least 20–30 or more properties before seriously considering whether to introduce it.

Its value goes beyond revenue. More importantly, it addresses a very real operating problem.

Short-term rental operators know that when minor damage occurs, they often hesitate to seek compensation rather than simply choosing not to.

An argument over tens or hundreds of dollars can lead to a retaliatory negative review. After a year of hard work, many hosts fear that a small damage claim will hurt their overall rating and future conversion. But minor damage does not disappear because you decline to seek compensation: broken items still need repairing and the costs still need paying.

A Damage Waiver allows this wear and damage to be absorbed into the overall business model instead of forcing a direct confrontation with the guest every time.

7. With a broader operating mindset, Upsell offers much more scope

Once you understand upselling, you realize its potential is substantial. It means more than finding ways to collect extra money. It asks what previously unmanaged value can be reasonably designed into the offer without harming the guest experience, and potentially improving satisfaction.

For families, consider renting child safety seats, baby supplies and family equipment. For guests driving themselves, consider parking, transfers or partner commissions. For longer stays, consider mid-stay deep cleaning, replenishment packages or upgraded office equipment.

If Airbnb further opens up referral capabilities for Services, there will be even more possibilities for these additional services.

Upsell fundamentally improves the profit structure rather than simply increasing prices. It diversifies income beyond accommodation charges and helps you maintain a healthier business amid intensifying room-rate competition.

8. The real priority in 2026 is to become proactive yourself rather than wait for the platform to improve

Why do I keep emphasizing 2026? Because I believe that, starting this year, hosts most need to change their fundamental business mindset, rather than merely a few tactical activities.

Many hosts used to place their hopes in the platform, expecting it to provide traffic, bookings, better policies and more exposure.

In reality, a platform always prioritizes its overall interests rather than an individual host’s long-term sense of business security. You can continue using it, but you cannot surrender all control to it.

Direct Booking addresses brand and customer assets. Upsell addresses profit structure and cash flow.

One looks to the future and the other to the present. One establishes long-term control and the other improves current operations. Neither works overnight, but the earlier you begin, the easier it is to gain an advantage later.

A final thought

The headwinds facing short-term rentals will not suddenly disappear, and platform rules will not always become friendlier to hosts.

For precisely that reason, the market increasingly distinguishes two groups: hosts who operate seriously, continually optimize and upgrade their systems, and those who remain at the stage of posting a listing and waiting for bookings.

We have always believed that those who go furthest will not necessarily be the earliest entrants or have the most properties. They will be those willing to adjust proactively and build their operating capabilities step by step.

This year, we will keep testing, making mistakes and sharing genuinely useful lessons. We hope gradually to regain control of our businesses rather than being pushed forward by platforms.

Follow our REDnote and WeChat official accounts! We share short-term rental management insights and knowledge every week.

This Week’s Booking Results

The excitement of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico is about to begin at Seattle’s Lumen Field!

Snowball Rentals has also recently received some event-related bookings, which is particularly encouraging while the overall market is relatively weak.

Booking example 1: $13,380 in rental income for three nights!

As shown, this Seattle house had an advance booking for June 18-21 (three nights), with reported short-term rental income of $13,380, equivalent to the original’s $4,460 per night.

Booking example 2: three consecutive bookings, with rental income of $13,350!

This Seattle townhouse is only a 10–15-minute drive from the FIFA match venue and received three bookings in succession:

• June 11–16 (five nights): $5050, equivalent to $1010 per night!

• June 18–21 (three nights): $4565, equivalent to $1521 per night!

• July 4–7 (three nights): $3734, equivalent to $1244 per night!

These are actual advance bookings we have recently received for the World Cup period in June and July. We will share more bookings individually in future articles.

Do not let your home miss its chance to become a “money-printing machine” this summer!

We also share practical vacation-rental styling plans and creative ideas to help you achieve more with less spending and keep rental income growing!

Referral Rewards

If you are already a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$500 referral fee for each referral.

If you are not yet a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$250 shopping voucher for each referral.

Snowball Rentals Management

1. Full service — We provide pre-launch rental design, furniture procurement, furnishing, professional photography, online marketing, copywriting, tenant service and sales, cleaning, supply purchasing and property repairs. You only need to be a hands-off owner; we handle the rest.

2. Multi-platform promotion — We promote the home on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and other mainstream platforms for maximum exposure.

3. Dynamic pricing — Using big data, we adjust prices every day according to seasonal demand, holidays, last-minute vacancy offers, weekends and local activities, maximizing the owner’s income.

4. Income-improvement SOP — We follow 44 secrets for maximizing short-term rental income, optimizing each property’s online marketing, on-site operations and other aspects to work toward maximum income.

5. Flexible owner stays — Owners can flexibly choose when to stay themselves. This is especially suitable for owners with multiple residences around the world.

6. Terminate at any time — Management does not require an annual commitment. The owner can end the agreement with one month’s advance notice.

7. Corporate housing — In addition to nightly rentals, we work with insurers and assignment companies to provide executives with hotel-style managed accommodation for stays 30 days or more.

8. Transparent fees — For rentals 30 days or more, we charge 15% of accommodation revenue. For nightly rentals 30 days or less, we charge 20% of accommodation revenue.