Hostfully, a San Francisco-based startup that helps professional short-term rental property managers maximize distribution and guest experience, has raised $4 million in a seed funding round, bringing its total funding to date to $7 million.

It's clear that vacation rental hosts and property managers crave direct bookings, and many may be making inroads. Still, the marketing power of big brands is tough to compete with.

David Jacoby, president of Hostfully, which helps professional short-term rental property managers maximize distribution and guest experience, is the latest to offer his insights on generative AI and its impact on the travel industry.

Airbnb's pricing changes will likely have a ripple effect, prompting some hosts to reduce cleaning fees and property management websites to switch to showing total prices.

This week, end-to-end property management platform Hostfully released its latest local recommendations report, and in this feature, co-founder David Jacoby and his team reveal its significance to the space to ShortTermRentalz.

The pressures of the pandemic are driving more Airbnb hosts to lure users into booking their properties privately, further straining the already fraught relationship between the company and some of its larger hosts.

“Overall, this year’s findings paint a picture of a market adjusting to broader economic headwinds,” Hostfully said in its report.

The short-term rental market has fared better than most segments of travel during the pandemic, although it has faced a different set of challenges.

Hostfully announces the launch of its groundbreaking AI-powered itinerary planner, a first-of-its-kind feature in the digital guidebook industry.

Independent short-term rental software startups have done well during the post-pandemic travel boom, but the market is starting to get tougher,