Guest Post: The thrill isn’t gone... it’s waiting on the next turn

AI Is giving the Short-Term Rental industry a fork in the road, and the path it chooses will define the next decade, says Amirali Mohajer, CEO and founder of hostAI

There’s a growing sense that the short-term rental industry has lost something. That professionalised supply has killed the romance. That platforms scaled the distribution but nobody improved the stay. That AI won’t restore the magic.

The concern is understandable. But it’s too deterministic for such uncertain times. The industry is standing at a fork in the road. AI is about to free up an enormous amount of operator time. How that time is reinvested will determine whether the industry drifts toward commoditisation or enters a renaissance in hospitality that many of us love this industry for.

The fork

AI is already automating the operational layer of short-term rental management. Marketing, pricing adjustments, drafting guest messages, review responses, listing optimisation—all of it is being automated. That’s not a prediction. It’s already happening. And this is precisely where the industry faces its most consequential decision in a generation.

On the one side of the fork, some operators will use these savings to do more of the same: run leaner, manage more units per head, reduce costs, and compete on price. AI becomes a cost lever, fees compress, margins shrink, and operators become interchangeable; a commoditised layer focused on throughput, not experience.

On the other side a different kind of operator will make a different choice. They’ll take the time AI gives back and reinvest it into what hospitality was always supposed to be: making the guest’s experience feel personal, considered, and memorable. They’ll build a brand. And that brand will command higher rates from guests and higher fees from owners.

Both paths start with the same technology. They end in completely different industries.

What reinvesting in hospitality actually looks like

Imagine a couple stays at a boutique property in Ojai, California. They ask the host for a dinner recommendation, mentioning it’s a birthday getaway and that the wife is exhausted from a recent film shoot. The host suggests the perfect spot. They leave a five-star review.

In the old model, that’s it. They might rebook through Airbnb next year, and the host pays 15% to reacquire a guest they already delighted.

In the new model, AI captures the context - a birthday trip, film industry connection, love for Ojai and stores it as guest intelligence. Ten months later, ahead of the Ojai International Film Festival, AI flags it. The operator sends a personal note:

"Hi Peter, the Ojai Film Festival is coming up in November. Given Sarah’s world, thought this might be a perfect excuse to come back. Happy to hold a weekend for you."

When they check in, the itinerary is on the table, plus a bottle of wine from the same restaurant where they celebrated Sarah’s birthday. That message costs nothing. AI identified the moment, relevance, and personal context; the operator added the warmth. The guest feels known, not marketed to.

Scaled across all guests, AI surfaces opportunities: the guest who visits during marathon weekend, the family traveling with a dog who loved the coffee setup, the anniversary couple who might enjoy a new private hot tub. These small, bespoke touches make each stay special—once the domain of luxury concierge services. AI makes it possible at scale, but only if operators choose to invest in it.

But not all personalisation is equal. The difference is whether operators invest in the intelligence layer that makes personalisation genuine - and the bespoke effort to act on it, guest by guest.

The economics of each path

This isn’t just a philosophical distinction. The two paths produce fundamentally different economic outcomes.

The efficiency path drives a race to the bottom. If AI allows an operator to manage 50 units per person instead of 25 (and competitors do the same) no one gains an edge. Costs fall, take rates drop, and price becomes the only differentiator. Margins shrink and stays feel transactional.

But the hospitality path works differently. Guests who feel known pay more and return more often. Owners of high-performing properties willingly pay higher fees. The brand itself becomes the asset, attracting better properties and better guests. Take rates don’t erode, they grow, because the value is tangible.

The numbers speak for themselves. A 50-unit operator at $300 ADR and 60% occupancy sees 28% repeat direct bookings versus 9% on Airbnb. Our analysis of 230,000 bookings shows that investing in the hospitality path - growing repeat guests from 5% to 18% of revenue and moving more to direct - boosts economics for both operator and owner: higher earnings, lower commission costs, and a compounding advantage year after year.

Operators with a clear brand who know their guest, curate matching properties, and deliver consistent, personal experiences unlock efficiency. Clarity reduces wasted acquisition spend, improves conversion and retention, and fuels word-of-mouth no ad budget can buy.

AI is about to commoditise the work that was never hospitality to begin with. Marketing, drafting guest messages, pricing optimisation, channel management, review responses, listing copy - these are operational necessities, not guest experiences. Automating them is a gift, not a threat.

The question is whether the industry treats that gift as a cost-cutting exercise or as the space to finally do what hospitality has always promised: a human experience.

The thrill isn’t gone. It’s waiting on the next turn. The choice is yours.