January 2026 Newsletter
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! As we step into 2026, we’re grateful for the trust you place in us to care for your home and your guests. The new year brings fresh opportunities to optimize performance, refine operations, and continue delivering exceptional guest experiences. We’re excited for what’s ahead and proud to be your partner.
AirDNA’s U.S. 2026 Short-Term Rental Outlook
A Measured Comeback for Short-Term Rentals, According to AirDNA
After years of whiplash, including pandemic surges, rapid supply growth, and a subsequent market correction, the U.S. short-term rental industry appears to be settling into something closer to equilibrium. That is the central finding of AirDNA’s U.S. 2026 Short-Term Rental Outlook Report, which forecasts a year defined less by dramatic growth than by steadier, more predictable performance.
The report projects that new short-term rental supply will grow by roughly 4 to 5 percent in 2026, a marked slowdown from the post-pandemic expansion that reshaped many markets. This deceleration, AirDNA argues, should ease competitive pressure on existing owners and help stabilize occupancy levels.
Demand, while not surging, remains resilient. Occupancy is expected to dip slightly—by about one percent—as the market continues to normalize. At the same time, average daily rates are forecast to rise modestly, by approximately 1.5 percent, reflecting guests’ continued willingness to pay for well-located, professionally managed homes. Stronger rate growth, the report notes, is likely to follow in 2027.
For owners and investors, the financial picture is cautiously optimistic. AirDNA points to an improving “short-term rental premium,” a measure comparing rental income potential to ownership costs. That premium is now at its highest level since 2022, suggesting that returns are becoming more attractive relative to expenses, particularly in destination and lifestyle markets such as coastal areas, mountain towns, lake regions, and select suburbs.
External forces may also provide a lift. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted across multiple U.S. cities, is expected to generate meaningful spikes in demand in certain markets, offering a reminder that large-scale events can still create outsized opportunities for prepared hosts.
Taken together, AirDNA’s outlook paints a picture of a maturing industry. The era of easy wins driven by explosive demand may be over, but for owners focused on pricing discipline, guest experience, and operational excellence, 2026 is shaping up to be a year of steadier footing.
We believe Taos remains an under recognized and under valued vacation rental market, despite an AirDNA market score of 73 points. The cultural, adventure, and culinary draws remain strong, and we believe homeowners are positioned to benefit greatly from their short term rental investments.
AirDNA is a data analytics platform that provides short-term rental owners and operators with market insights, performance benchmarks, and forecasting tools based on Airbnb and vacation rental data. Find the full article here.
New Year, New Bookings: Setting Your Short-Term Rental Up for Success in 2026
A new year is the perfect moment to pause, reset, and get intentional, and that goes for your short-term rental, too. While guests are busy planning ski trips, spring break getaways, and summer adventures, now is the ideal time behind the scenes to make sure your property is positioned to shine in the months ahead.
As your co-hosting team, we’re already looking ahead and we wanted to share a few things we are thinking about. This includes April deep cleans and chimney sweeps (if applicable for Taos city/county ordinance adherence), and restarting pest control and yard maintenance services in the Spring. We will plan to chat with you about these items.
December Portfolio Performance
December is historically one of Taos’ slowest months—we like to call it our “three-and-a-half season” lull. Even so, our portfolio performed well above the market.
- Occupancy: Our homes achieved 65% occupancy, compared to the Taos market average of 45% (+20%).
Average calculated using available nights and includes two listings with first reservations occurring in December. - Market Trends: Overall market occupancy dropped from 47% last December to 45% this year, with 18% fewer bookings across Taos, likely tied to broader economic uncertainty and softer discretionary travel.
- Nightly Rates: Average nightly rate was up $85/night compared to December 2024.
- Revenue: Only property active in December 2024 saw revenue grow by 2% this year. Other properties have unavailable data.
Looking ahead, portfolio occupancy for January is 17% higher than the Taos average of 35%, which is excellent positioning given a booking window of approximately 30 days (meaning roughly half of reservations are booked within 30 days of check-in).
1-Star Review & Instant Book Change
Well, it finally happened. We received our first 1-star review last month. After exhausting every avenue with Airbnb, the review remains. Frustrating, especially as we strongly believe it was retaliatory. Happy to share the full play-by-play over beverages if anyone’s curious 🙂)
After 215+ five-star reviews across our owned and co-hosted properties, and only a handful of four-star reviews, this was unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. Hospitality is a long game, and even best-in-class operators encounter outliers.
That said, the experience reinforced several important lessons worth sharing:
- Even great operators will get a 1-star review.
Despite strong systems and best practices, this happens. We minimize risk by:
- Building personal rapport with guests
- Staying proactive on preventative maintenance
- Addressing concerns immediately or same day whenever possible
- Offering reimbursements for drinks or meals when meaningful issues arise
These practices remain effective and necessary, but they aren’t foolproof.
- Discount-seeking guests often present higher risk.
This stay began with a discount request. While we do occasionally accommodate special circumstances (anniversaries, proposals, etc.), this experience reinforced a general rule of thumb: guests who aggressively seek discounts tend to be the most challenging to host. In this case, the temptation was a 23-day, high-value booking for a brand-new listing. In hindsight, “gut instinct” matters—and we’ll be more disciplined moving forward.o - Airbnb’s “Good Track Record” ≠ a guaranteed good guest.
We historically enabled Airbnb’s optional “Good track record” Instant Book setting, believing it reduced risk. Ironically, the guest who left this review had a 4.9-star rating across eight prior stays—and yet created one of our most difficult hosting experiences.
After listening to a Thanks for Visiting podcast episode on this exact topic, hosts Annette Grant and Sarah Karakaian made a compelling point:
99.99% of guests book with good intentions, and this setting primarily filters out new guests—not problematic ones.
That perspective resonated deeply. We’ve since removed this setting across all properties.
The result?
We immediately saw an influx of bookings from “new guests” who previously may not have been able to view our listings. Every one of them has sent thoughtful, enthusiastic messages about the homes and their upcoming stays—no red flags, just genuine excitement.
Bottom line:
This experience didn’t change our commitment to hospitality—but it did sharpen our systems, our screening philosophy, and our confidence in learning from challenges rather than avoiding them.
New Property Alert!
We’re excited to welcome 2 new vacation rentals to the High Desert Stays portfolio!
The first is a 2 bed 2 bath home in El Prado perfect for couples and small families, and boasts extreme privacy and stunning sweeping mountain views.
The second is a spectacular new construction (true kudos to the owners for a design job well done!) that sits up in the hills above Taos and exudes peace and quiet. We are really grateful to collaborate with such wonderful owners!
We’d love for you to take a look at the listings, and if you’re on Airbnb, please consider saving it to your wishlist to help boost early visibility.
