ChatGPT is changing how guests search for properties – and most short-term rental hosts are completely unprepared for what's coming. Here's how to get ahead of it.

In this episode of the Host Planet Podcast – powered by Lodgify – Amirali Mohajer, Founder of hostAI (gethostai.com), breaks down how LLM search is reshaping vacation rental discovery and what it means for your direct booking strategy right now.

Guests aren't just using Google anymore. They're asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini to find their next stay – and AI is already picking winners and losers based on signals most hosts don't know exist. Amirali explains exactly why one property gets recommended over another, how to make your listing visible to AI search, and why this shift could finally make direct bookings achievable at scale for independent hosts and property managers.

🕐 TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Episode starts

1:22 Sponsored by Lodgify – get 60% off by using the code HOSTPLANET60: https://www.lodgify.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=creator-collab&utm_campaign=host-planet

1:59 A fundamental shift: guests are using ChatGPT to find short-term rentals

2:58 How to take advantage of LLM search

8:49 Why is an AI picking one property over another?

16:11 Will AI discovery make direct bookings more achievable?

18:41 The LLM shift the STR industry is underestimating

22:29 What hosts get wrong when targeting direct bookings

26:02 The hidden cost of OTA dependence

29:55 Where to start with direct bookings

35:00 Should you aim for 100% direct bookings or always diversify?

36:50 Three key takeaways

37:44 hostAI

🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES

hostAI → https://gethostai.com/

Lodgify → https://www.lodgify.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=creator-collab&utm_campaign=host-planet

Host Planet → https://www.hostplanet.club/

📌 ABOUT HOST PLANET

Host Planet is your go-to resource for short-term rental success. We cover everything from Airbnb growth hacks and direct booking strategies to vacation rental marketing, automation, and property management – helping hosts and managers build smarter, more sustainable STR businesses.

🎙️ Subscribe for new episodes every week.

#ShortTermRental #DirectBookings #AirbnbHost #VacationRental #HostPlanet #AITools #PropertyManagement #AirbnbTips #STRPodcast #HostAI

Most Airbnb hosts are leaving money on the table on event nights — not because they don't want to raise their prices, but because they never knew the event was happening.

HostAlert is the tool that fixes that. Co-Founder Andy Crosby joins the Host Planet Podcast – powered by Lodgify – to explain how it works, why it's different from dynamic pricing tools like PriceLabs and Beyond, and which events hosts consistently underprice for.

🕐 Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

0:56 Lodgify: https://www.lodgify.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=creator-collab&utm_campaign=host-planet

1:35 Why Andy built HostAlert

6:22 HostAlert vs PriceLabs and Beyond – what's the difference?

10:31 What events does HostAlert flag for property managers?

13:34 The events hosts consistently underprice for

16:24 How HostAlert works – it flags events, you decide the price

19:31 Are you tracking events? Drop a comment below

20:02 HostAlert for property managers

22:32 Who will benefit most from HostAlert?

23:57 HostAlert pricing: from £14.99/month

25:10 How to get better at tracking local events

26:24 What's next for HostAlert

27:45 Three key takeaways

🔗 Try HostAlert: https://hostalert.co.uk

💰 Get 20% off with code: HOSTPLANET20

🔗 Use code HOSTPLANET60 to get 60% off Lodigfy (offer valid until 30 June 2026). Try Lodgify today: https://www.lodgify.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=creator-collab&utm_campaign=host-planet

📺 Host Planet Podcast – helping you build a smarter, more successful short-term rental business. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter: https://www.hostplanet.club/

#ShortTermRental #AirbnbPricing #HolidayLet #HostPlanet

Are you leaving money on the table with your Airbnb pricing strategy?

In this episode of STR Pricing Pulse, we sit down with Dr Zak Ali – President of the International Society of Short Term Rental Management (ISTRM) – to break down the revenue management decisions costing hosts and property managers real money.

This episode is powered by exclusive data from Beyond. Download The Automation Playbook using the link below.

📥 Beyond's The Automation Playbook: https://go.beyondpricing.com/en/the-automation-playbook-2q26?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=cta&utm_campaign=host+planet

─────────────────────────────────────

IN THIS EPISODE

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→ Are hosts and property managers really losing 7 hours a week on revenue management?

→ The one revenue management task a tool does better than any human

→ Should you hand your pricing over to an algorithm?

→ How to build a pricing strategy that actually works

→ Pricing events: 30 days out vs 90 days out

→ The biggest mistake property managers make when building a comp set

→ Why obsessing over occupancy is holding your revenue back

→ Dr Zak's weekly pace review – a best practice framework

→ Why your minimum stay rules need an audit right now

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Episode starts

1:25 Dr Zak Ali and the ISTRM

3:18 Are hosts and property managers losing seven hours a week?

6:11 The revenue management task a tool can do better than a human

7:28 Should hosts be worried about handing revenue management over to an algorithm?

9:33 How to set a strategy

11:33 How to price events 30 days out vs 90 days out

14:10 The biggest mistake property managers make when building a comp set

16:25 Why you should not obsess over occupancy

18:50 Dr Zak's weekly pace review

22:23 Fix this to make more money: audit your minimum stay rule

25:02 ISTRM Revenue Management Intelligence — Leeds, UK on 25 September – join us!

ISTRM EVENT — LEEDS, 25 SEPTEMBER 2026

Revenue Management Intelligence – organised by Host Planet & ISTRM

📍 Leeds | 📅 25 September 2025

🎟️ Use code LEEDS for 50% off your ticket

👉 https://www.hostplanet.club/events

ABOUT BEYOND

This episode is sponsored by Beyond – the leading revenue management platform built for short-term rental hosts and property managers.

👉 https://beyondpricing.info/launchbase

ABOUT HOST PLANET

Everything you need to know about short-term rentals – revenue, automation, growth, and management.

🎙️ Subscribe for new episodes every month.

#AirbnbPricing #ShortTermRental #RevenueManagement #HostPlanet #STRPricingPulse #ISTRM #Beyond #VacationRental #AirbnbHost #HolidayLet