Your rental host is Wall Street

Future. Investment firms want in on the remote work craze, so they’re spending a lot of money to acquire short-term rental homes all around the U.S. in the hope of reaping profits from higher per-night prices. But with apps like Airbnb and VRBO already the cultural go-tos for rentals, these investment firms may have a harder time putting people in homes than acquiring the homes themselves — especially without strong branding.

A financial firm touch
Short-term rentals are getting a little less personal.

• NY-based investment firm Saluda Grade is teaming up with short-term rental-operator AvantStay to buy $500 million worth of homes in the U.S.
• Startup Andes STR signed a deal with Chilean investment firm WEG Capital to buy $80 million worth of properties.
• Ohio-based ReAlpha is spending a whopping $1.5 billion on 5,000 rental homes around the country.

Real people problems
As remote-work life takes off, the goal of these firms is to target homes just outside city centers, hoping to capture more revenue per night than they would by renting out homes per year. This, of course, would further inflate property prices where rental demand is high, making it harder for families to buy homes in the area.

This exact criticism has been lobbied at Airbnb for years (with many cities around the world passing laws to restrict its influence). Ironically, Airbnb has moved toward a strategy of long-term rentals in more off-the-beaten-path locations to take advantage of a growing work-from-anywhere trend. At this point, maybe everyone is just riding in Airbnb’s wake.