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Artwork for STR Unpacked

STR Unpacked

Ben
Airbnb
European Union
Short-Term Rental
Amsterdam
Artificial Intelligence
Barcelona
Paris
Short-Term Rentals
Short-Term Rental Industry
Edinburgh
Spain
Regulation
Short-Term Rental Regulation
Valencia
London
Athens
Booking.com
Paris, France
France
Short Term Rental

STR Unpacked is a short-term rental industry podcast that reviews the key news stories of the week alongside an invited sector expert, providing commentary, insight and practical interpretation of how current developments are shaping the market.

PublishesDailyEpisodes119Founded6 months ago
Number of ListenersCategories
BusinessBusiness NewsNews

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Artwork for STR Unpacked

Latest Episodes

Three earnings calls. Three raised outlooks. One message: demand is accelerating. 📈

This week the three biggest travel platforms all reported Q2 — and it was a very good week to be in short-term rentals:

🏠 Airbnb (Wed): record $3.6B revenue (+17%... more

182 days. If you run a holiday let in Wales, that number has probably cost you money. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Last Friday the Welsh Government opened a 12-week consultation on how self-catering properties get classified for local tax — the first serious revi... more

Booking Holdings beat expectations last night. The number operators should care about was underneath. 📉

Q2 2026:

➡️ Room nights: 325 million, up 5%

➡️ Revenue: $7.35bn, up 8%, ahead of consensus

➡️ Gross bookings: $51.0bn, up 9%

➡️ Alternative acc... more

Highland Council's Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh committee voted yesterday to recommend joining a new Highland Rural Short Term Let Control Area.

The reported figure was a narrow local majority. The full consultation dataset in the officer ... more

Nine days until the sun disappears over Spain — and STRs are the big winner. 🌑

The first total solar eclipse on mainland Europe since 1999 hits on 12 August, and the booking data is remarkable:

📊 86% forecast occupancy inside the path vs 66% outs... more

Everyone's writing about the "coolcation" this week. The data is more specific than the headlines. 🌡️

→ Mabrian and Data Appeal: demand rising for southern Finland and Vestland in Norway, and for the northern parts of southern countries. Galicia, T... more

Cities are about to get a legal shield for short-let restrictions. 🇪🇺

Bloomberg reported yesterday that the European Commission is preparing a common EU method for identifying areas under housing stress, plus a process for deciding which restricti... more

Spain's 21 per cent VAT on tourist lets was supposed to be approved yesterday. It wasn't.

The housing decree was scheduled for Tuesday's cabinet meeting, the last before the summer break. It got pulled.

➡️ The Housing Ministry says September

➡️ Pod... more

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Recent Guests

Fiona Campbell
Invited guest involved in policy/work on licensing
Episode: Voluntary to Vital: Where UK Short-Term Let Licensing Goes Next
Alistair Handyside
Invited guest involved in regulatory/work on licensing
Episode: Voluntary to Vital: Where UK Short-Term Let Licensing Goes Next
Janet Uttley
Invited guest involved in licensing policy work
Episode: Voluntary to Vital: Where UK Short-Term Let Licensing Goes Next
Milena Nikolić
CTO/Co-founder of Heywa Labs; former CTO Trainline; engineering director at Google Play
Heywa Labs
Episode: Ten Blue Links Are Dead: What AI Really Means for How Guests Find You with Milena Nikolić Heywa Labs
Georgina Kennerknecht Biosca
Founder and CEO of a leading AI-enabled property management tech company
Liliho
Episode: Why DIY AI Is Failing Property Managers with Georgina Kennerknecht Biosca
Marcus Räder
CEO/Co-founder of Hostaway (vacation rental software platform)
Hostaway
Episode: Marcus Räder: The Road to Building a Unicorn
Sarah Nan Dupre
Data researcher from AirDNA
AirDNA
Episode: What is happening? The data never lies!

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Why DIY AI Is Failing Property Managers with Georgina Kennerknecht Biosca
Q: And remind me the name of it, sorry.
The product is called Liliho, intended to help property managers live like holidays by automating the majority of communications.
Why DIY AI Is Failing Property Managers with Georgina Kennerknecht Biosca
Q: No problem at all. So you're obviously a founder CEO in the space. Could you share a little about your journey into short-term rentals and how you ended up becoming a CEO of a leading tech company in the space?
Georgina explains her background as a systems builder and consultant, the moment she realized AI could redesign the industry, and how a personal experience with managing family properties revealed a real business case for automated communication and decision-support tools.
Ten Blue Links Are Dead: What AI Really Means for How Guests Find You with Milena Nikolić Heywa Labs
Q: Do you think AI will replace traditional search or advertising models soon?
Milena believes that while large models will play a major role, foundational AI providers cannot feasibly own every niche experience. Brands and companies will still need to win users through service quality, ease of use, and tailored experiences, with AI enabling new forms of discovery rather than fully replacing current platforms.
Ten Blue Links Are Dead: What AI Really Means for How Guests Find You with Milena Nikolić Heywa Labs
Q: What is Heywa Labs trying to solve in the travel and hospitality space with AI?
The company aims to replace linear text-based interactions with intuitive, visual interfaces that can summarize and compare options, personalize results, and filter by nuanced user intents. This includes optimizing input methods, presenting a handful of well-matched options with clear trade-offs, and enabling a more efficient, mobile-friendly decision process.
Ten Blue Links Are Dead: What AI Really Means for How Guests Find You with Milena Nikolić Heywa Labs
Q: How did Milena transition from CTO of Trainline to starting Heywa Labs, and what sparked the shift to focus on AI UX?
Milena describes a longstanding itch to build something of her own and a growing belief that AI would fundamentally alter how people interact with information. After years in software leadership, she wanted to create products that end-to-end shape how businesses run, and she saw the potential of AI to transform user experiences, which led to Heywa Labs' focus on AI-native, visually rich interfaces.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
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Frequently Asked Questions About STR Unpacked

What is STR Unpacked about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show focuses on short-term rental market dynamics, regulatory developments, and technology-driven operational improvements. Across recent episodes, listeners hear data-driven takes on occupancy, pricing, licensing regimes, and policy shifts in Europe, alongside practical guidance for operators navigating licensing, compliance, and paperwork. A notable throughline is the growing influence of AI and automation on guest discovery, messaging, and distribution, contrasted with the ongoing push-and-pull between regulators and market demand. The format typically blends market analysis with expert guest insights, offering operators and investors tangible takeaways for strategy, compliance, and competitive differentiation.

Where can I find podcast stats for STR Unpacked?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for STR Unpacked. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to STR Unpacked and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does STR Unpacked get?

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What are the audience demographics for STR Unpacked?

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How many subscribers and views does STR Unpacked have?

To see how many followers or subscribers STR Unpacked has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to STR Unpacked?

These podcasts share a similar audience with STR Unpacked:

1. STR Global Unlocked with Simon Lehmann: Unfiltered knowledge for the short term rental industry
2. Short Term Rental Secrets Podcast

How many episodes of STR Unpacked are there?

STR Unpacked launched 6 months ago and published 119 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact STR Unpacked?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for STR Unpacked?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for STR Unpacked from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on STR Unpacked?

Recent guests on STR Unpacked include:

1. Fiona Campbell
2. Alistair Handyside
3. Janet Uttley
4. Milena Nikolić
5. Georgina Kennerknecht Biosca
6. Marcus Räder
7. Sarah Nan Dupre

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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