What Once Made Reliable Money No Longer Works? Three Turning Points for Airbnb in 2025!

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The era of easy money in short-term rentals is rapidly receding.

Over the past few years, we have heard two very different views of the market. People used to say short-term rentals offered excellent returns and money came easily. This year, we often hear that Airbnb no longer works and returns are declining.

What exactly happened in the short-term rental market in 2025? Today, let’s review three key changes at Airbnb.

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Change 1: negative-review removal policies have tightened across the board

Previously, hosts had several ways to remove negative reviews: calling customer service, trying another representative or even creating a new listing. It was troublesome, but there was always a chance.

Those paths are now almost completely closed. Reviews unrelated to the property, reviews from guests who never stayed, and retaliatory reviews have all become almost impossible to remove this year.

The only situation that still offers a chance of success is discussed in

“Has Airbnb Completely Closed the Door to Removing Negative Reviews?! Only This Method Remains (Part 1)” and its Part 2. Interested hosts can revisit those detailed explanations.

Change 2: the decline of budget short-term rentals

Clean, practical and reasonably priced budget rentals used to be hosts’ cash cows. Most traveling families prioritized value.

This year is completely different. Fierce competition forces midrange and high-end properties to lower their prices. After comparing options, guests would rather spend another US$50 to upgrade their experience than choose the cheaper option.

Airbnb’s guest-friendly policies add further pressure to budget rentals. Guests pay three-star hotel prices but judge the property by five-star standards, even frequently demanding refunds. The result is a marked decline in returns.

This is analyzed more fully in

“Surprise! Which Property Type Has Seen the Biggest Drop in Short-Term Rental Revenue in 2025?!”

Change 3: the market has shifted from a host’s market to a guest’s market

On the supply side, rising mortgage rates leave many homes unable to sell, forcing owners to convert them to short-term rentals and substantially increasing listing numbers.

On the demand side, international tourists have decreased, with travel to the US down 10%–15% this year. Rising economic uncertainty further weakens overall demand.

More properties and fewer visitors have shifted the market entirely from a host’s market to a guest’s market. In other words, this year guests choose hosts rather than hosts choosing guests.

This imbalance will not last forever, and the market will gradually adjust. But hosts will certainly feel pressure in the short term.

Conclusion

Airbnb’s three turning points in 2025:

Removing negative reviews is almost impossible;

Budget rentals face pressure across the board;

Supply and demand are out of balance, intensifying competition among hosts.

The question is: will this reverse in 2026? Is the end of 2025 still a good time to enter short-term rental investment?

If this interests you, send us a private message or join the WeChat group below so we can discuss it together!

If you:

Hope to increase rental income through short-term rentals;

Cannot spare a great deal of time to handle the small details;

Occasionally need to use the home yourself, making it unsuitable to empty out the furniture for a long-term rental;

Then:

Snowball Rentals’ management team is your best choice.

From pre-launch vacation-rental styling, big-data analysis and online marketing to tenant screening, dynamic pricing, customer service and sales, cleaning and repairs, Snowball Rentals provides everything as one complete service for your home.

This Week’s Booking Results

Through long-standing relationships with insurers, assignment companies and technology companies, Snowball Rentals rents homes for medium- and long-term durations at short-term rates, then gives owners a rebate of 5% in management fees to maximize their income.

As we enter September, Seattle’s peak short-term rental season is drawing toward its close. How have you performed this year? Feel free to share in a private message or the comments. :)

Short-term rentals in peak season; mid-term rentals in low season.

Looking back at earlier large bookings, this strategy has achieved some results, allowing us to retain confidence even in a cold winter!

Although peak season has arrived, we still cannot let our guard down. Policies and broader conditions are full of changes and challenges. Making steady progress will remain the main theme going forward.

For the detached house in Bellevue below, Redfin shows an estimated long-term monthly rent of approximately $5676.

With the owner’s trust and support, we carefully furnished the home and immediately began short-term rental operations. Fortunately, because the home’s condition and location are both good, short- and mid-term bookings have continued to come in.

As shown in the booking screenshot below, a guest recently booked this house from July 2 to October 5, a total of 95 nights, at an average monthly rent of $15322.

In summary, under Snowball Rentals’ management, this home’s monthly rental income rose from $5676 to $15322, an increase of nearly 170%.

For homeowners, combining short- and mid-term rentals in this way can earn more in peak season and help them get through low season smoothly. Even if the low-season rental figures look less dramatic, they still outperform long-term rentals and give homeowners a strong sense of financial security.

More importantly, the owner does not have to worry about maintenance or cleaning. When something needs to be discussed with guests, we also help with communication and oversight.

Here, we again thank the owner for placing trust in the Snowball Rentals team!

After nearly two years of Airbnb’s downturn, we at Snowball Rentals hope to help owners make steady progress in low season, navigate the challenges safely and lay a better foundation for next year’s peak season.

Once again, heartfelt thanks to our homeowners for their trust and support. Whether the market is strong or weak, Snowball Rentals will stand with you and look for ways to increase your income!

Some homeowners will surely ask the hard question: was a large booking like this just a stroke of luck? What if the home does not rent? A long-term rental is more stable—even earning less is better than earning nothing!

Our answer is: the outcome depends on what we do.

Vacation-Rental Styling

Competition on Airbnb is becoming increasingly intense. The days of piecing together secondhand furniture, taking phone photos and earning easy money on Airbnb are over. Airbnb hosts have moved toward professional operations.

Careful design and furnishing before launch, followed by professional short-term rental operations, will be the only choice for a rental that continues to generate high income.

Here is another of Snowball Rentals’ core services: vacation-rental styling!

Here is what the detached home described above looks like after our careful furnishing:

When choosing a short-term rental on Airbnb, would this home’s appearance attract you?

If you would also like to make your home more attractive and earn more rent, please contact us at any time!

This Week’s Short Videos

We regularly update short videos every week.

The content you need is all here.

👇🏻 Homeowners are welcome to follow us 👇🏻

Snowball Rentals

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

Xiao An’s Vacation-Rental Styling

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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 longer than 30 days.

8. Transparent fees — For rentals longer than 30 days, we charge 15% of accommodation revenue. For nightly rentals under 30 days, we charge 20% of accommodation revenue.

Author’s tip: Personal views, for reference only.