OYO places “thousands” of staff on furlough and temporary leave
Worldwide: Hospitality chain OYO Hotels & Homes has placed a “certain number” of its employees, known as ‘OYOpreneurs’, on furlough and temporary leaves “in the U.S. and other countries”, it was revealed in an internal video message recorded by CEO and founder, Ritesh Agarwal. Though Agarwal declined to mention specific numbers in the video to […]
NHS Homes scheme expands to over 2,500 homes
UK: NHS Homes, the scheme launched by the short-term rental sector to initially offer free accommodation and amenities to NHS key workers in London, has rapidly expanded its capacity and geographical reach thanks to several new members joining. The scheme is operated by a number of professional management companies in the short-term let industry, under […]
Airbnb disables instant book functions to halt lockdown retreats
UK: Airbnb has switched off its ‘instant book’ function and blocked all private room bookings for the foreseeable future in the UK in response to a national report which revealed short-term rental hosts were using the platform to offer Covid-19 ‘retreats’ despite the nationwide lockdown currently in place. A report published by the BBC highlighted […]
New South Wales minister clarifies short-term rental ‘ban’ stance
Australia: Earlier this week, it was reported across Australia that a blanket ban on Airbnbs and all short-term rental accommodation would be coming into effect indefinitely in New South Wales, however a state minister has now moved to clarify the local government’s position on the matter. There was initial confusion after New South Wales minister […]