The World Cup Is 29 Days Away. Here Is What Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com Are Doing to Stop Guests From Getting Scammed.
Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com each promise to protect World Cup guests from fake listings and fraud. Here is what each…
Investigative Writer & Community Impact Correspondent
I came up through the investigative beat at a metro newspaper, where I learned early that the most important stories are usually the ones someone would rather you not write. I spent years covering housing, zoning, and urban issues before the STR boom pulled me in. It was the perfect collision of everything I care about: housing, community, money, and power, all tangled together in ways that deserved scrutiny. What I do now is pretty straightforward. When a new regulation passes, I go find out if it is actually working. I talk to the families who lost their rental income, the neighbors who finally got some quiet back, and the investors who found a workaround before the ink was dry. I sit through city council meetings, knock on doors, and read every public record I can get my hands on. Then I write it up so people know what is really happening, not just the press release version. I have been told I am relentless, and I will take that as a compliment. But the part of this work that matters most to me is making sure every voice gets heard, the long-time resident, the new host, the tenant facing displacement. These are complicated stories with real people at the center, and I think they deserve someone willing to dig until the full picture comes into focus.
Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com each promise to protect World Cup guests from fake listings and fraud. Here is what each…
Vrbo does not have a platform-funded damage guarantee like Airbnb AirCover. The Accidental Damage Protection plan caps at $5,000, excludes…
An analysis of 20,000+ bookings found that 43% of Airbnb AirCover damage claims were denied or reduced. Here is what…
Houston adopted its first STR ordinance in April 2025 and started enforcement April 1, 2026. Five weeks in, residents report…
At least five U.S. municipalities have reversed, delayed, or loosened their own STR restrictions since late 2025. Pullman WA is…
The Hermosa Beach STR ban in the coastal zone was ruled unenforceable on March 26, 2026. The California Coastal Commission…
Tisbury voters rejected cap removal and a Community Impact Fee at their April 2026 Town Meeting, but enforcement data shows…
France requires all STR platforms to suspend listings without valid Declaloc registration numbers by May 20, 2026. Paris estimates 25,000…
NYC Office of Special Enforcement found that 27% of approved short-term rental hosts are violating Local Law 18 by renting…
Hoboken has roughly 300 Airbnb listings for World Cup weekends and zero rules governing them. Councilman Joe Quintero proposed ordinance…
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