Destination Innovate

20/12/2025

17/11/2025

Save the date. STRs and DMOs are long overdue for frameworks.

Rolling up our sleeves in 3...2...
https://www.linkedin.com/events/hosts-hometeams-anationalworkin7396237378149023744/

27/10/2025

👀 Big change alert for Airbnb hosts.
Starting today, October 27, 2025, Airbnb is rolling out a mandatory flat 15.5% host-only fee for anyone using third-party property management software (or operating as hotels/serviced apartments).

✅ No more “split fees.” Guests will see one price — the host’s total.
❌ But hosts lose the smaller 3% structure and take the full 15.5% hit.

On paper, it “simplifies” the guest experience.
In reality? It shifts pricing pressure squarely onto hosts.
To maintain earnings, most hosts will need to raise nightly rates by roughly 15.5%, at a time when guests are already watching price creep closely. For destinations and DMOs, this matters too. Rate increases could impact booking behavior, stay length, and overall visitor spend patterns.
So, STR community - how are you planning to adapt?
🔹 Will you increase rates?
🔹 Absorb the fee?
🔹 Or explore other platforms entirely?

Drop your take 👇 we’re watching this one closely.

08/10/2025

The Destination Effect™ is live.

Your property isn’t “just a listing.” It’s part of the story travelers come to live.

Any other hosts tired of copy-paste Airbnb advice that treats your place(s) like a commodity? Cause Same. We’re elbows-deep in destination marketing, brand strategy, tourism data, and the STR world. And here’s the truth: most rental brands are operating in silos while the destination narrative cruises right past them. That gap is YOUR opportunity.

What we built for hosts and property managers with 10 to 5,000 doors who want boutique-level brand power and a seat at the destination table:
👉🏼 👉🏼 6-week cohort that teaches vacation rental owners to market like destination marketers. Because you’re not selling square footage. You’re selling place, feeling, and belonging.

This is not another Airbnb bootcamp. This is STRATEGY built for hosts who want to stand out, scale up, and own their role in the tourism ecosystem.

First cohort limited to 20 seats. Enrollment opens starting NOW.
 
Email [email protected] or DM Jenn Barbee with “Destination Effect Cohort” in the subject line for more info.

⚡ Booked. Branded. Unbothered.

16/09/2025

👀 Airbnb might be collecting your room tax, but if you don’t know who stayed, who hosted, or how they experienced your destination, you’re in the dark.

That’s what we call mystery tourism. And destinations can’t afford it.

At DI, we’re building solutions that pull back the curtain:
• Host Kits for DMOs that bridge the experience gap.
• Frameworks to connect short-term rentals to destination experiences.
• Systems that turn hidden stays into measurable impact.

If your reporting stops at “tax collected,” you’re missing the story travelers are telling about your destination and the chance to shape it.

We know DMOs need more than numbers. You need insight. That’s where we come in.

And you don’t even know who’s supplying your destination Imagine someone showed up at your house, threw a pile of money on your porch, and said: “This is from some people who slept here. Don’t worry about the details.

15/09/2025

Strategy doesn’t win when everyone else (stakeholders, local businesses, political actors) is already running with optics.

Here’s what the data tells us: In recent destination branding studies, stakeholder brand engagement (local residents + entrepreneurs + visitors) mediates the impact of destination image on actual brand equity. In other words... if your strategy isn’t keeping up, your stakeholders fill the void, often with Murky Narratives.

Also: many destinations still treat stakeholders as an afterthought. We get it. We live IN your world, so we know how the strategic process can go. But continue to push your leadership to understand that when stakeholders are deeply involved from the start, the brand is more resilient, authentic, and better able to weather crises.

If your brand isn’t built on a strong framework that includes stakeholder voices, you’re always chasing someone else’s version of your identity. Next week, we’re unpacking how to build frameworks that anticipate *not react* to stakeholder expectations. Stay tuned!

04/06/2025

Seven years in, and we’re just getting started.

At Destination Innovate, we didn’t show up to play by the rules. We showed up to rewrite them.

Seven years of rewriting the narrative for destinations that want more than the expected. A rebellion against boring. A rally cry for bold ideas, barrier-breaking strategies, and brands that aren’t afraid to shake the industry up.

With our clients, collaborators, and partners, we’ve built more than campaigns, we’ve built momentum. Together, we’ve turned insights into action. Strategy into impact. Vision into transformation.

Seven years of pushing boundaries. Thousands of moments of reinvention...And we’re nowhere near done.

Here’s to the next era of innovation.

24/02/2025

Regulations are always a hot-button issue in the short-term rental industry, so why not go into community meetings armed with the language legislators speak - data? 📊

Rent Responsibly has provided their 2025 predictions as well as a full study conducted last year on just this! We've pulled out insights we found particularly interesting as a starting point for anyone looking into the state of the STR industry!

Want more of the Rent Responsibly take? We've got you: https://tinyurl.com/3x3rszea

19/02/2025

We work with destination professionals around the country and worldwide, helping them tell their stories and attract visitors from around the world. 🌎 Today, we celebrate their passion and impact!

06/02/2025

The tourism playbook is dead—or at least it should be. The game has changed, and if your strategy hasn’t, you’re about to get left in the dust. If your marketing plan feels more like a museum exhibit than a roadmap, we’ve got a problem. So, since the only constant is change, here are a few New Rules to live by:

🔎 Get Personal - Make travelers feel seen, speaking directly to their interests, quirks, and dreams.
🧪 Experiment Like Mad - Think beyond normal, run-of-the-mill channels and actually try them. Fail fast, learn faster.
🔀 Prioritize Flexibility - Build strategies that can pivot on a dime. Flexibility breeds resilience.

Share this playbook with someone you want to collab with on adding more flexibility to your strategy!

03/02/2025

February Zodiac Marketing Insights brought to you by the Destination Innovate Prediction Experts:

♒️ Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
Visionary Aquarius, embrace technology and innovation in your campaigns. Experiment with AR/VR to create immersive experiences.
💡Campaign Idea: Offer virtual previews of your destination with interactive 360-degree tours and special booking incentives.

February is a month of inspiration and new beginnings. What campaign inspo will you get from your zodiac? https://destinationinnovate.com/february-zodiac/