Tips for successful vacation hosts
Everything you need to know for a successful tourist season — from apartment preparation, legal obligations, to commission-free direct bookings.
How to prepare your apartment for the 2026 season — complete guide
Every tourist season starts with preparation. The difference between an average and excellent host is how ready you are before the first guest arrives.
How much Booking.com really costs you — commission calculator
Booking.com charges 15-25% commission on every reservation. For an average apartment, that means €2,000 to €8,000 per year.
10 things guests notice in the first 5 minutes
The review is written in the first 5 minutes. Everything after just confirms the first impression.
How to respond to a negative review — 5 examples
Every host gets a negative review. The question is not whether it will happen, but how you react.
Flat-rate rental business in Croatia — everything you need to know in 2026
If you rent out an apartment in Croatia, a flat-rate business is the simplest legal path.
How to photograph your apartment for Booking — 10 tips
A guest decides in 3 seconds — click or scroll past. That decision depends on the first photo.
Why you need your own website alongside Booking.com
Booking.com is great for new guests. But if Booking is your only channel — you have a problem.
The ultimate pre-season apartment checklist — 25 items you can't skip
Experienced hosts don't memorise — they use a checklist. These 25 items cover every corner of your apartment, from kitchen drawers to WiFi passwords.
A welcome pack that makes an impression — what to include and what it costs
For €2-3 per guest, you can dramatically improve the first impression. A welcome pack isn't a cost — it's an investment in reviews.
Google Business profile for your apartment — a free channel for direct bookings
Google Business is free and takes 30 minutes to set up. Every guest who searches for you on Google should find your page — not Booking.
How to get a 5-star review — 7 rules the best hosts follow
The difference between 4 and 5 stars isn't luxury — it's the details. Learn the 7 rules hosts with an average above 4.8 follow.
Smart lock for your apartment — self check-in guests love
The guest arrives at 11 PM, you're 200 km away. With a key — problem. With a smart lock — "Your code is 4729, enter whenever you arrive." Review: 5 stars.
How to turn a guest into a repeat guest — 5 strategies for repeat bookings
A repeat guest is gold. No Booking commission, they already know your apartment, no surprises, and better reviews. The only question is — how to win them over.
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Tourism news
The Organic Element in Desert Wellness and the Wooden Key Card
A reflective piece on how organic elements like wood and frankincense create intimate, tactile counterpoints to the mineral grandeur of desert resort environments.
Carl Icahn’s JetBlue Bet Didn’t Pay Off: Board Members Resign as Stake Shrinks
Icahn hasn’t had the same success as activist campaigns at Southwest. JetBlue’s stock has continued to decline since he first disclosed his stake.
Why Flight Attendants Are Fighting Google’s Purchase of Spirit Airlines Data
Spirit says it is working with a third-party to scrub any personal information from the data before the transaction is approved.
Google’s Agentic Hotel Booking Tool Comes to AI Mode
Google's agentic hotel booking is finally launching in AI Mode, nine months after it was first teased. Skeptics may see it as a redux of the shuttered Book on Google tool, but here's why the
More Americans Could Soon Be Eligible for Online Passport Renewals
The State Department has proposed a new rule that would allow online passport renewals for Americans overseas and lift restrictions for domestic online renewal eligibility.
US July RevPAR Up 8.2% on a World Cup Bump, Half of All AI Pricing Advice Gets Overridden, Retention Is Up but Commitment Is Not
Thursday brought CoStar's July numbers: US RevPAR up 8.2% to $119.77, with New York City's World Cup Final pushing ADR up 24.0% and RevPAR up 27.1%, and 22 of the Top 25 markets in positive
The UK’s Airport Record Hides a Huge Traffic Shift
A record quarter for UK airports was less a boom than a reshuffle: Gulf traffic collapsed as low-cost carriers and European leisure routes picked up the slack.
Digital marketing decoded: Budgeting 101
A downloadable guide for hotel marketers on building a 2027 digital marketing budget using cost of acquisition, ROAS benchmarks, and direct vs. OTA net revenue comparisons.
40% of Golfweek Top 100 U.S. Resort Golf Courses Use Agilysys Golf
Agilysys Golf has surpassed 100 property deployments, with 39 of Golfweek's Top 100 U.S. resort courses now using the platform, including 14 of the Top 20.
The Rock Zanzibar: The Story Behind One of the Indian Ocean’s Most Extraordinary Restaurants
Few restaurants are as inseparable from their destination as The Rock Zanzibar. Perched on a natural outcrop just offshore from Michamvi Pingwe on Zanzibar’s east coast, the diminutive restaurant appe
HVS Asia Pacific Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 21 August 2026
HVS Asia Pacific's weekly roundup covers five deals across Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, totaling billions in hotel and real estate investment activity.
Visit Malaysia… in London: A Taste of Malaysia Comes to Battersea This September
Londoners can experience a taste of Malaysia without leaving the capital this September, as Malaysian food, film, music, dance, comedy, traditional crafts and hands-on experiences feature at celeb
Tee Off in Paradise at Beachcomber Resorts in Mauritius
Excitement is building in Mauritius ahead of the prestigious AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, set to take place at the spectacular La Réserve Golf Links from 10th to 13th December 2026. As the world’s gol
Emirates to elevate travel on routes to Mauritius, with the introduction of Premium Economy
Emirates will introduce its highly-acclaimed Premium Economy cabin on two of its three daily flights between Mauritius and Dubai from 1 September 2026, providing Mauritian travellers with a new le
UK aviation hits record passenger numbers, despite Middle East disruption
New UK Civil Aviation Authority data shows more than 81 million passengers travelled through UK* airports between April and June, breaking last year’s record for travel in the same period. This conti