In 2026, the world doesn’t just watch. It travels!
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is more than a tournament. It’s a global movement. Fans don’t just attend matches—they follow teams across cities, extend trips, and turn a single game into a full-scale travel experience.
For vacation rental professionals, this is not business as usual. It’s a surge in demand, visibility, and opportunity, compressed into just a few weeks.
And the operators who prepare now won’t just benefit.
They’ll stand out.
A Surge Unlike Anything We’ve Seen
With matches hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the 2026 World Cup will bring millions of domestic and international travelers into North America.
But this isn’t passive tourism. It’s high-energy, high-intent travel.
Fans are:
Planning months (even years) in advance for the international traveler
Traveling in groups and families
Booking longer stays to follow match schedules
Willing to pay a premium for the right experience
For property managers, that translates to:
Extended booking windows
Higher nightly rates and booking values
The ability to outperform traditional seasonal demand
If your current strategy isn’t built for high-volume, high-value bookings, now is the time to rethink it.
New Guests, New Expectations
World Cup travelers are not your average guests, and that’s where the opportunity lies.
They’re experience driven, emotionally invested, and often traveling for a once-in-a-lifetime moment. At the same time, many will be:
First-time visitors to the U.S.
Unfamiliar with vacation rental processes
Less tolerant of friction, confusion, or uncertainty
This creates a powerful dynamic: higher excitement paired with higher expectations.
The property managers who win will deliver:
Clear, proactive communication
Seamless booking and check-in experiences
Confidence at every stage of the journey
Because when the trip matters this much, every detail matters more.
Evaluate your current guest journey. Are you creating confidence from the first click or leaving room for doubt?
Plan for the Unexpected—Before It Happens
With increased demand comes increased complexity.
More bookings mean:
More turnover
More moving parts
More financial exposure per reservation
And when something goes wrong during a high-value, time-sensitive trip, the impact is amplified.
That’s why leading operators are not just preparing for demand, they’re preparing for disruption by adopting solutions like RentalGuardian.
By embedding protection directly into the booking flow via API, you can:
Offer travel protection at the exact moment decisions are made
Reduce friction around cancellations, interruptions, and changes
Protect revenue during your most important booking window of the year
Because in a moment this big, confidence isn’t optional … it’s expected.
For current RentalGuardian clients, the World Cup is more than a demand surge; it’s a chance to fully activate your strategy.
If you’re not actively encouraging travelers to opt in, you’re missing both protection and incremental revenue.
RentalGuardian’s microsite offering allows you to:
Share a direct link for travel insurance purchases
Capture bookings before or after a reservation is made
Extend your reach beyond your property portfolio
Here’s what makes that powerful: A traveler does not have to stay in your property for you to benefit.
During a global event where travelers are constantly researching, comparing, and planning, your microsite becomes a standalone revenue channel—one that operates alongside your core business.
Email support@rentalguardian.com and ask how to activate and promote your microsite now to capture demand before, during, and after the World Cup.
This Isn’t Just a Moment—It’s a Multiplier
The impact of the World Cup doesn’t end with the final match.
Global events like this elevate destinations, attract new traveler segments, and create long-term demand growth. Many visitors will return. Others will share their experiences widely.
And demand won’t be limited to host cities. It will expand into surrounding regions, secondary markets, and drive-to destinations across the country.
This is your opportunity to:
Reach new audiences
Build long-term brand recognition
Position your business for sustained growth beyond 2026
Use this moment to build a strategy that extends beyond short-term gains and supports long-term success.
Final Whistle
The 2026 World Cup will reward property managers who think bigger.
The difference between simply participating and truly capitalizing will come down to preparation.
Adopting protection.
Activating your tools.
Creating a seamless, confidence-first guest experience.
Because when the world shows up, your business needs to be ready for everything that comes with it.
Whether you’re exploring RentalGuardian for the first time or looking to get more from your current setup, now is the time to act. Prepare early, protect every booking, and turn this global moment into lasting growth.
Cancellations are a fact of life in the short-term rental industry. But lost revenue doesn’t have to be.
According to industry research, the average cancellation rate for short-term rental bookings sits between 15–20%, with spikes around peak travel seasons. Even worse? A large percentage of these cancellations fall within that frustrating 30-to-60-day window, too late to easily rebook and too early for most standard travel insurance to kick in.
While some insurance solutions exist to cover cancellation losses, they often come with steep deductibles that chip away at your recovery. Combine that with rigid policy terms, and it’s easy to see why many property managers choose to absorb the loss rather than deal with the red tape.
At RentalGuardian®, we knew there had to be a better way. That’s why we’re excited to introduce Booking Guardian, a smarter, more flexible solution built to protect your revenue without compromising the guest experience.
Guest cancellations made between 60 and 3 days before check-in are eligible for coverage.
A 20% deductible applies, but the deductible is waived if you rebook the unit for at least 50% of the original reservation value during the same dates. Multiple partial rebookings count toward that threshold.
Exclusions:
Named storm before booking: If there was a named storm in the area then the coverage won’t apply
Epidemic: Definition: A sudden outbreak of a disease that spreads rapidly in a specific area or population.
Pandemic: Definition: An epidemic that has spread across countries or continents, affecting a large number of people globally.
Endemic: Definition: A disease that is consistently present in a particular population or region, but usually at predictable and stable levels.
Why Booking Guardian Matters
Industry-wide, cancellations are on the rise, and guest expectations are shifting just as fast. In a 2023 survey, 71% of travelers said flexible cancellation policies influence their booking decisions, and listings with flexible terms tend to see higher conversion rates.
But flexibility comes with risk unless you have the right protection in place.
Booking Guardian bridges that gap. It helps you say “yes” to flexibility while keeping your bottom line secure.
Pair with RentalGuardian’s Full Coverage Suite
Booking Guardian is just the latest innovation in our all-in-one risk management platform, which also includes:
Damage Protection: Property and liability coverage for vacation rentals
Travel Protection: Guest trip protection for cancellation, delays, and interruptions
You’ve got big business goals for 2025, and RentalGuardian has proven practices for you and your team to better market and sell your travel protection benefits! Two vacation rental experts, our own John Slaughter and Bluetent’s Robyn Scott, recently gathered to share the best ways in which property managers can promote their business and travel protection.
Your business most likely already implements marketing as part of your overall business strategy. Now it’s about leveling up your existing marketing efforts through tactics like:
Yearly audits where you assess your marketing strategy, industry trends where your business fits, web content, and competitors;
Email scheduling for important timings within the booking cycle, including booking abandonment, pre-arrival, and post-departure, as well as booking anniversaries, off-season or long-term stays, and cancellations; and
Mobile-friendly email optimization.
For Those Wanting More:
Ready to up your travel and damage protection? Email our team at Sales@rentalguardian.com, and let us enhance your bookings!
Today marks the last of our Rise and Shine The Vacation Breakfast Series events for 2024, with our team toasting it up in Clearwater, FL. Our team wants to share a sincere thanks to all who were able to join us on the Rise and Shine 2024 Road Tour. We hope that the insights you gained will help you build and nurture even better bookings next year!
Were you and your team unable to make it to one of the Rise and Shine events? No worries – we are serving up more sessions in 2025! Join us next year at one of these educational half-day events that are designed for vacation rental professionals and short-term property managers! Registration is FREE and attendance gains you:
Insight into industry news and trends,
Networking opportunities,
as well as a look at our robust travel and damage program solutions!
Current 2025 locations include:
The Charleston Marriott in Charleston, SC, on January 21, 2025
The Beach House at Hilton Head, SC, on January 23, 2025
Note that breakfast will be served at 8:00 AM, and the presentation will follow from 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
Vacation rental professionals in the Palmetto State can register for an upcoming event HERE.
Not local to Charleston or Hilton Head? Don’t sweat it; more locations are coming soon, so stay tuned!
Former RentalGuardian Leader Brady Stump to Take on Role within Inhabit
Knoxville, TN, September 26, 2024 – RentalGuardian by Inhabit, a leading provider of insurance solutions serving the short-term rental industry, is pleased to announce a leadership evolution that reflects the company’s commitment to continued growth and innovation. Shama Dadhania has been appointed as General Manager of RentalGuardian. Shama brings over 15 years of experience in the insurance and travel-related sectors, with a proven track record in developing and managing global travel insurance programs. She has held leadership roles at top companies such as AIG and Chubb, where she successfully scaled insurance solutions for B2B and B2C markets.
Shama is set to lead the next phase of growth for RentalGuardian by Inhabit with a focus on creating a Client Advisory Board (CAB) to strengthen collaboration with key partners and streamline product offerings to deliver even greater value to the short-term rental industry.
Brady will continue to collaborate closely with Shama during this exciting period, ensuring the company maintains its momentum while pursuing new opportunities for expansion.
“We are excited to welcome Shama as General Manager. Her leadership in building robust insurance programs and her focus on client engagement through a Client Advisory Board make her the perfect leader to guide us forward,” said Erick Sawyer, Inhabit’s Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer.
Brady Stump, founder and visionary of RentalGuardian, will continue in his role as Director of Vacation Rental Strategy with Inhabit, where he will focus on driving strategic growth initiatives across the organization and expanding Inhabit’s market influence.
“We are thrilled to see Brady take on this strategic growth role with Inhabit, where his passion and vision for the industry will contribute to broader advancements for Inhabit and our partners,” said John Vingia, Chief Operating Officer of Inhabit.
Inhabit continues its mission to build industry leading teams and products, of which this further positions the organization for future growth.
Travel Protection is an important piece of booking the perfect trip. If guests want to protect their vacation investment, they should strongly consider purchasing travel protection. Property Managers are the subject matter experts when it comes to booking a trip to your local destination.
Since your website or reservationists are the trusted advisers in this transaction, the guest is depending on you to help them navigate the process and protect them.
Smart property managers offer travel protection to their guests, so it protects them from the unforeseen.*
Smart property managers also give their guests every opportunity to buy travel protection for the previously discussed reasons as well as the related compensation that can be earned for making the offers.*
The primary ways to offer travel protection include:
1. Offer travel protection within your website’s checkout page (as part of the booking process);
2. Offer travel protection through your reservationists;
3. Offer travel protection via a microsite;
4. Offer travel protection via follow up emails;
5. Offer travel protection via follow up texts.
Offer travel protection within your website’s checkout page (as part of the booking process).
When property managers add travel protection within the booking path, they can achieve much higher conversion rates. It’s best to offer it as a step within the checkout that is required to be made before completion of the booking.
This offering but be “opt-in”; it cannot be made as “opt-out” where the travel protection is already pre-checked. Its best to have two selections (both unchecked): purchase travel protection or choose to decline travel protection.
Your travel protection provider should offer you brief descriptions to use on the checkout page. Some property managers also offer three options: purchase travel protection, purchase travel protection with cancel for any reason benefits, or decline travel protection. Having three options rather than two increases your conversions even more.
Offer travel protection through your reservation agents.
Your reservation team is typically the first person guests connect with when making a new booking. These team members advise guests on accommodations, restaurants, things to do and much more.
Reservation agents should also make travelers aware of travel protection and why it’s so important to purchase. Most travel protection providers have small scripts that reservation agents can incorporate into their conversations with guests.
Offer travel protection via a microsite.
Some travel protection providers offer simple microsites that only offer travel protection. These travel protection microsite links can be incorporated into many places. Use the travel protection purchase links within your guest follow up emails or on a travel protection tab within your website.
These can be gentle reminders on why they should reconsider buying travel protection in case they first declined with the original booking.
Offer travel protection via follow up emails.
Most property management software platforms offer messaging systems where property managers can remind their guests on the many reasons why travel protection should be considered. If the travel protection provider also offers a microsite link, you can include the link as an immediate “buy now” button for even more travel protection sales. Some property managers also include their reservation hotline if they want to make the purchase by phone.
Offer travel protection via follow up texts.
A cutting-edge new way to offer travel protection is via text. Property Managers can deploy new software applications being offered in the industry to send text messages to their guests about the advantages of travel protection. These texts can be set up to only message those that initially declined travel protection.
Property Managers that enable all of these methods ensure their guests get the protection they want. These property managers also create another strong revenue source for their company.
To learn more about travel protection and cancel for any reason options, please contact your RentalGuardian account manager today at 888-885-5550.
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Article written by Brady Stump, CEO @ RentalGuardian (NPN 16336177)
Per InsureStays, only licensed agents holding travel insurance lines of authority, or authorized retailers of a licensed Supervising Entity like InsureStays may offer or disseminate travel insurance.
RentalGuardian digitally-automates all facets of sales and service of travel protection and damage protection programs, between property managers and their travelers. Learn more at: www.rentalguardian.com.
To learn more about how RentalGuardian automates travel protection and cancel for any reason programs, please contact your RentalGuardian account manager today at 888-885-5550.
