Transcript

Andy Fenner is stepping down as CEO of the STAA. · STR Unpacked

Ben: Good morning and welcome to your short-term rental bulletin. yesterday at the short stay summit, big news after three years, Andrew Fenner is stepping down as CEO of the STAA and his parting message to the sector I think was really sharp. So yesterday at the short stay summit in London, Fenner delivered his final opening speech telling the room that the UK short-term rentals is no longer on the margins of tourism policy, they're at the top table and Now the sector needs to being so defensive and start speaking with confidence. And I think that's a really fair point because while he's been running the SDAA, the industry around him has been growing up and growing up really fast. So yesterday alone, Casego absorbed nearly every former Vecasa market into its franchise networks. One of the fastest consolidations the sector has ever seen. Key data launched Dex AI ⁓ the first AI powered data engine built specifically for short-term mental operators. Price Labs expanded beyond dynamic pricing and into a full revenue platform and Smubu dropped a stat that every operator I think needs to hear and that is that 41.7 % of bookings now happen within seven days of arrival. So new tech, faster consolidation, shorter booking windows. Venner's right, the sector isn't on the margins anymore. and with 27 days until the EU's new data sharing deadline, it's time to act like it. Thank you for watching and I'll see you tomorrow.