The Friday Drop: ADRs Rising + Bentonville Steal

It’s go time!

Your action-oriented weekly briefing on short-term rental updates, deals and winning strategies just dropped. Let's dive in.

Read Time: 3-4 mins

By The Numbers
Data...and what you should do about it.

+1.5% ADR boost for 2026

We know—1.5% doesn’t sound life-changing.

But after years of supply growth wildly outpacing demand, things are finally cooling off.

Listing supply growth is expected to land around 4.6% this year. To put that in perspective, back in 2021–2022, supply growth was closer to 20%.

Why this matters:

Slower supply growth = pricing power slowly returning to hosts.

Hang tight, even stronger ADR growth is projected for 2027.

Host Headlines
The latest stories and takes in the world of short-term rentals

Airbnb Just Made Its Biggest AI Move Yet

Airbnb has hired Ahmad Al-Dahle, Meta’s former Head of Generative AI, as its new Chief Technology Officer.

Al-Dahle also spent over a decade at Apple working on core product technologies.

CEO Brian Chesky has been clear: Airbnb wants to move up the funnel and become more than a booking site.

Think:

• Smarter travel discovery
(helping guests before they even know where they want to go)

• AI-powered recommendations that feel more like a travel concierge

• A step closer to Airbnb’s long-stated ambition of becoming the
“Amazon of travel.”

How are competitors like Expedia stepping up, and what does this all mean for the future of AI on the platform? Read the full article to learn more.

Lisbon Walks Back STR Bans (But Not How You Think)

Lisbon has officially scrapped its 2019 ban on new short-term rental licenses after data showed the restrictions weren’t fixing the housing crisis.

In fact, after the ban:

• Home prices nearly doubled

• Rent prices continued climbing

But what happened in Lisbon wasn’t a rollback. In some ways, the new rules are even stricter than before.

Read the full article to learn:

✔️ The full story and what Lisbon’s new STR rules actually allow

✔️ Which other cities are reversing STR bans right now

✔️ What these changes mean for Airbnb hosts and investors

High Home Insurance Costs Set to Increase in 2026

Home insurance costs are up nearly 70% since 2021, driven by climate risk, more frequent claims, and rising repair costs.

And 2026? Another ~16% increase is expected.

Insurance can’t be an afterthought anymore.
You need it baked into your underwriting from day one.

Use our FREE STR Calculator to see whether any potential deal is a money printer—or a money pit.

Deal of the Week: Bentonville, AR 4 Bed Duplex

3504 SW Landau Ct, Bentonville, AR, is a duplex already approved for STR use on both sides, with a flexible strategy that lets you optimize for both weekdays andpeak bike/event weekends.

The Property

• Purchase Price: $475,000

• Duplex: 2 × 2BD / 2BA (4BD / 4BA total), 2,080 sq ft

• STR use confirmed for both units

• Quiet residential pocket near Bentonville’s popular bike and outdoor activity areas.

The Strategy

Run as two separate 2BD listings most of the year or combine into a single 4BD “parent/child” listing for weekends, events, and peak bike season.

Why Our Coaches Like This Deal

• 2BDs in Bentonville land $190–$220 ADRs with ~70–78% occupancy.

• Hot tubs, privacy fencing, bike-friendly garage conversion = higher ADRs

• Projected ~32–33% cash-on-cash return at stabilization

The Numbers (Stabilized)

• Target Gross Revenue: ~$130,000

• Estimated NOI: ~$87,000

• Cash Flow (after debt): ~$57,000/year

• Total Cash In: ~$175,000

• Unlevered Yield: ~15.7%

View the full listing on Zillow →

Find out why the Bentonville market still prints STR cash →

Peek the Playbook
Real host strategies you can steal (tested in the wild)

How one host turned Alaska’s Northern Lights into a $60M+ destination

Adriel Butler bought a stretch of icy, remote land outside Fairbanks—and built a glampsite so iconic it’s now considered one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights.

It’s called Borealis Basecamp: glass-ceiling igloos and cubes designed around one jaw-dropping moment—watching the aurora dance overhead from bed.

The performance is wild:

• ~65% average occupancy

• $7.3M–$18.6M estimated annual revenue

• $60M–$124M potential valuation less than 10 years after launch.
(And that’s just STRs—there’s also an on-site restaurant.)

Read the full playbook to see Adriel's strategy and how he turned a “one-season” winter stay into an 8-month resort-level glampsite with ~90 peak days.

👉 Get the full playbook here

Airbnbs we ♥️
Our favorite listings that stop the scroll + raise the bar!

We're obsesses with Host Camper Nish’s sleek mirrored cabin that somehow blends into nature and stands out.

The Aura Cabin looks straight out of a design magazine (or the future)—and yes, it’s rocking a perfect 5-star streak. Check it out here.

Got a Few More Minutes? Dive Deeper.

Why “Weird” STRs Are Quietly Beating Safe Rentals

A $13K Home Depot shed. $8–11K/month domes. Nearly 100% ROI.

Kai breaks down why small, weird, experience-driven stays are outperforming big, “safe” houses—and how investors can jump in and take advantage.

▶️ WATCH THE VIDEO

The Next Los Angeles Is Hiding in Plain Sight

Home prices are soaring—and 75% of U.S. homes are now unaffordable.

Rob dives into the data to find out where demand is moving next, before prices skyrocket.

▶️ WATCH THE VIDEO

That’s it from us this week!

Happy Friday,

The Host Camp Team

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