Industry news and trends

For years, we’ve developed and maintained our own internal platform to manage reservations, guest communication, owner reporting, and day-to-day operations. It has successfully powered thousands of reservations and helped us grow into the company we are today.

But as StellarStay continued to grow, we realized it was time to build something for the next decade—not simply improve what we already had.

So over the past two years, our development team quietly started over from scratch.

The result is a modern, faster, and far more capable platform built around the way we actually operate.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is headed to the Dallas–Fort Worth area — and if you’re planning your trip, your stay should be the easiest part of your journey.

At StellarStay, we’re excited to welcome international visitors, families, and passionate football fans with professionally managed homes designed specifically for high-demand events like the World Cup.

Explore our official Airbnb profile here: https://www.airbnb.com/p/stellarstaycom

Planning a trip should be exciting — but unexpected events like severe weather, travel disruptions, or personal emergencies can quickly complicate travel plans. Many guests are surprised to learn that Airbnb’s refund policies are not based on whether they can travel, but on whether the reservation location is directly affected by a qualifying disruptive event.

Every year, January brings a noticeable slowdown across the short-term rental market. While it can feel concerning when calendars aren’t filling as quickly, this dip is both seasonal and predictable—and it’s influenced by a mix of consumer behavior and broader market dynamics.

If you’re a short-term rental host, property manager, or industry partner in Colorado, mark your calendar for Saturday, November 15, from 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM MT. The Colorado Short-Term Rental Association (COSTRA) is hosting the annual Colorado STR Summit in Denver — and this year’s theme, “Where Heart Meets Strategy,” promises to bring together the best minds and biggest hearts in the STR community.

🗓️ Update — October 2025: Airbnb Postpones Texas Data Processing Tax Collection

Airbnb has announced that the previously planned Texas Data Processing Tax—which was set to begin in October 2025—has been postponed until further notice.

“The collection and remittance of this tax will be postponed until further notice. There is no action required by you. Once more guidance is provided by the Texas tax authorities, we will notify you.” — Airbnb Team

As professional hosts, we put a lot of trust in Airbnb—not just in their platform, but also in the Support team that’s supposed to back us up when things go wrong. Unfortunately, that trust doesn’t always hold.

Recently, we experienced a situation that highlights a difficult truth: Airbnb’s conduct is not always consistent, and some of their representatives lack the training or experience needed to properly apply the platform’s own policies.

Recently, one of our guests, Stephen, faced a challenging situation. Due to severe weather, his flight was canceled, preventing him from reaching a property under our management. Unfortunately, Airbnb determined that Stephen’s situation did not qualify for their Major Disruptive Events policy, which can sometimes provide compensation for extraordinary circumstances. Stephen also didn’t have travel insurance to cover his unexpected expenses and, despite our offer to cancel his reservation as soon as possible so we could try to rebook the dates, he chose to keep the booking active. Since his reservation wasn’t canceled, it was considered a standard booking, and we received the full payment as usual, even though Stephen never made it to the property.

Here at StellarStay, we’re passionate about creating truly special stays for our guests, but every now and then, we have to make tough decisions to protect the quality experience we promise. Recently, a guest named Roy booked with us, requested an early check-in, questioned the cleaning fee, and asked for further discounts on what was already a great rate. When we politely declined and chose to cancel his reservation, he seemed surprised and even apologized, hoping to rebook. While we’re grateful for his interest, we ultimately decided it was best to stand by our decision.

We are thrilled to announce that The Stilt House, one of our most unique properties, has been officially listed on PlumGuide! Known for its rigorous vetting process and commitment to high-quality stays, PlumGuide is a prestigious platform that only accepts a small fraction of homes. After careful consideration, The Stilt House has been recognized for its exceptional character and amenities, and we couldn't be more excited to share this accomplishment with you.