Transcript

Section 4.2 · STR Unpacked

Ben: Good morning, I'm Welcome to your short term rental bulletin. So this morning around 1300 people are going to be walking into Old Billingsgate for the short stay summit. And two days ago Airbnb quietly changed the rules on every single one of them. On April 20th, a new clause in Airbnb's private policy went live, section 4.2. It grants them the right to process your data to, and I quote, develop and improve our AI. Now it wasn't there before, but now it is. So here's what that means in plain English. Every booking you take, every price you set, every message you send to a guest, that is now training ⁓ data for the AI engine that Airbnb is building and will launch this summer. Now that AI engine will decide your search ranking, your visibility, and your revenue. Professional managers aren't just competing on this platform anymore, you're actually feeding it. And the irony of course is that half the industry are going to the summit today talking about how we take back control with more direct bookings, better tech, stronger brands, all completely valid conversations. Meanwhile, the biggest shift in host platform power for a decade just happened in terms of an update that most people scroll past. So if you're at Old Billingsgate today at the Short Stay Summit, go up to Airbnb and ask them about 4.2 and see what they say. I'll be there today, so look out for me, come and say hello, and I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks.