As a former mortgage banker now in real estate, I see people sell their homes in tough financial situations, and my wish for 2026 is for a more robust ecosystem to support them after the sale. I'd love to see a formalized network or platform that directly connects investors like me with a vetted pool of financial counselors and relocation services we can offer to sellers. This would allow us to provide a true 'soft landing'--not just providing a speedy home sale, but also a trusted path forward, which builds deeper community trust and helps us live up to our mission of genuinely helping people.
Are you a property owner operator? I don't "own and operate" properties in the traditional sense, but I work with thousands of owners and property managers throughout North America in my company RedAwning's platform. This vantage point affords me a front row seat to the daily challenges and opportunities operators face (from pricing optimization and guest communication, to regulations dance and vendor relationships management). It's afforded me an appreciation for the sheer complexity of the job, and how technology and policy can either pave the way or generate drag. If you could wish for anything having to do with your business, what would it be? What would I wish for in 2026? A one size fits all regulation that preserves the rights of communities and embraces the opportunities of short term rentals coupled with embedded technology so we could easily enforce and manage compliance. Today, the mishmash of local ordinances is unnecessarily confusing and costly to both property managers and platforms. A single framework — perhaps one developed in consultation with cities, operators and travelers — could promote stability and growth and liberate resources that are now lost to the distortion caused by disparate rules. Why would this matter? Because stability breeds investment. When owners and operators understand the rules of the game, and that they won't change overnight, they are more comfortable reinvesting in their properties, enhancing guest experiences around them and can even grow their portfolios. By contrast, unpredictability breeds hesitation, which retards growth not only for the sector but to local economies that depend on dollars spent by tourists. Consider a manager in charge of 50 properties spread across several cities today. They have to track dozens of distinct compliance rules — everything from license renewals to tax filings to orders concerning new safety practices, each with its own deadlines and portals. Not only is such complexity inefficient, but it is risky as well; a single missed step can lead to fines or being deranked. In short, my 2026 wish is not just for new technology or renters but coherence — a structure that balances the interests of owners, communities and travelers, and that allows businesses to blossom without constantly checking over their shoulders.
My wish for 2026 is a more predictable and expedited legal process for handling non-paying tenants or squatters, which are common in the 'burdensome' houses I buy. When I acquire a property to help a homeowner out of a tough spot, a lengthy court battle to remove an occupant can stall renovations and add thousands in costs. A standardized, faster resolution would let me confidently purchase more of these problem properties, fix them up, and get them ready for a new family without the extreme financial risk and delays that clog up the system now.
Are you a property owner operator? I'm not an operator myself, but I work closely with thousands of property owners and managers daily. This vantage point provides me with a wide-ranging view of not just what helps their businesses succeed, but also where they can encounter friction — whether it's technology that doesn't fit together, regulations that change overnight, or marketing platforms failing to reach your average traveler today. It's my job to listen to those pain points and translate them into strategies and tools that truly move the needle. If you could wish for anything having to do with your business, what would it be? Realistically, if I were to make one wish for 2026 it would be for the industry to come together to establish a new global technology standard that integrates all of these disparate systems (and anything that may pop up in future); from property management software and distribution channels through dynamic pricing tools. Now, today's operators make do with several disconnected systems, sometimes clumsily duct-taped together, and all the inefficiency takes both time and energy from what matters most: guest experience and property management. Why would this matter? Because integration has been its buried growth engine. With systems relate seamlessly, owners and managers can re focus energy on building even better relationships with guests and growing their portfolios. For travelers, that translates to better listings, seamless booking and fewer frictions the moment they walk into the property. For operators, it ensures that no time is wasted reconciling calendars or troubleshooting double bookings. I've known managers who have not quite a little more than few dozen properties end up losing entire workdays out of each month just trying to reconcile the differences from booking platforms. Instead, if tech is running in real time, that's the kind of hours they can spend honing their marketing strategy or on designing guest experiences that separate their first-timer brand. So I hope for a 2026 where the STR industry isn't just paying lip service to innovation but is incubating connectivity. It is a universe where technology recedes into the background, enabling owners, operators, and guests to concentrate on what makes hospitality noteworthy.
Are you a property owner operator? I'm not a traditional "property owner operator" but I've operated and overseen portfolios on behalf of investors, so that has really helped and provided me with an operator's point of view. In practice, this has meant navigating the tensions between tenant satisfaction, operational efficiency and investor returns. You see the whole chessboard together: renters at one end of the spectrum, regulation on the other, and a wide ecosystem of vendors and services in between. That point of view is important because it allows you to see how a relatively minor operational glitch can lead directly to financial underperformance as though along a kinked rope, andthe same way regulatory oversight can throw your expansion plans into the shredder. If you could wish for anything having to do with your business, what would it be? If there's something I could "wish for in 2026," it's very similar to how Alex put it, where we have a comprehensive financial infrastructure that runs real estate — where you're just pushing rent collection down into vendor payments and regulatory compliance and investment performance, managing it all like part of the same system. Today most operators must toggle between a patchwork of platforms — one for accounting, another for tenant communication, a third for tracking compliance. The result is more duplication of work, more human error, and a continuing feeling that you're rather reacting than planning. Why would this matter? Because clarity drives better decisions. When owners and operators are able to watch as it happens how each submitted dollar plays out against short term cash flow and long term asset value in real time the more likely they're going to feel confident enough to be strategic instead of defensive. For investors, the greater visibility lowers risk. For operators, it reduces stress. And for renters, it raises the bar of service they get, because operators are no longer bogged down with manual reconciliations and can spend more time into establishing relationships.
Are you a property owner operator? I am not in the traditional sense a property owner operator, but I work day in and day out with thousands of them across our platform. It gives me a 360-degree perspective on their challenges and opportunities — from revenue optimization and dynamic pricing to operational bottlenecks and changing regulations. What I do is to try to connect the dots between those challenges and scalable solutions, reconciling technology, marketing and partnerships into growth that's both durable and repeatable. If you could wish for anything having to do with your business, what would it be? If there was one thing I could wish for 2026 it would be all short terms rents operate under one global data standard, with the ability to easily compare, benchmark at anytime and displays cost transparency on a real time of what's happening in any given market. Today, every owner and operator has to make pricing decisions with incomplete information - haphazard data coming from OTAs or siloed pricing knowledge or inconsistent reporting. With a universal data layer, operators would be able to see exactly how they're performing relative to peers, which pricing levers it's time to pull and where operational inefficiencies are eating into margin. Why would this matter? The why: Because clarity of data decreases uncertainty, and uncertainty is the silent tax on growth. Owners aren't willing to add to their portfolios when they can't have faith in projections; managers over or under price properties without the broader demand curve being visible; even investors approach the sector with trepidation because performance visibility isn't consistent. A globally accepted benchmark standard would cut through all that noise, rendering the STR sector as transparent and investable as hotels. We can take an operator with hundred properties across three regions. Today, they could be leaning on their own anecdotal insights and OTA dashboards to price the property, which are frequently out of date with real time movement of the market. They could also compare their occupancy and RevPAR to benchmarks immediately with an industry wide data standard, adapt strategies accordingly and communicate performance credibly to investors.
Anything I could wish for in 2026, it would be technology that makes running a rental business easier without adding extra work. I compare it to sourcing. When we added automated dashboards to SourcingXpro in Shenzhen, customers cut order mistakes by 20% and avoided thousands of dollars in returns. The ideal platform for property owners would collect rent, schedule maintenance, and allow clear contact all in one place. You won't have to chase vendors or guess about safety rules anymore. To be honest, most systems today are a mess and require you to find ways to get around them. Renters would trust you more if you had a smarter, all-in-one answer. In any case, the main gain is that things are clearer and less work is wasted.
If I could wish for anything in 2026, it would be a way for property owners and operators to instantly access verified contractor and vendor performance data--things like completed project timelines, cost accuracy, and customer reviews. Too often we take risks on unreliable vendors, which leads to delays or unexpected expenses. Having a trusted, transparent system would save us time, stretch budgets further, and ultimately let us get quality homes back into the community faster.
What would be your one wish for your company in 2026? A single, standardized platform that smoothly combines vendor management, dynamic pricing, guest screening, and regulatory compliance into one ecosystem is what I would like to see. Operators currently manage several tools, including one for pricing, another for guest verification, different systems for cleaning schedules, and still others to make sure local laws are followed. Because each operates independently, there is inefficiency and a greater chance of mistakes. What issues would this wish address, and why? Fragmentation is the issue. Owners and operators are forced to navigate regulations that vary from city to city while patching together six platforms. We could cut the administrative load in half if there was a system that proactively screened visitors to lower risk, automatically modified listings to comply with local compliance regulations, and communicated in real time with cleaning vendors. Additionally, operators would no longer have to worry about operational bottlenecks or regulatory blunders, allowing them to concentrate on what really matters: providing excellent guest experiences and growing portfolios. What advantages would it offer? Efficiency is not the only advantage. Property owners would benefit from transparency brought about by a single solution, which would demonstrate the precise relationship between revenue, operations, and compliance. Operators would benefit from fewer late-night crises, fewer penalties for failing to implement local regulations, and increased confidence with owners and visitors. By eliminating the stigma associated with "side hustle chaos" and reaffirming that this is a developed, investable asset class, it would essentially enable us to further professionalize the short-term rental market.
What's one wish you have for your company in 2026? A single national standard for the laws that regulate short-term rentals is what I want to see. Now operators have to navigate a crazy quilt of regulations that vary not only by state but by city, by neighborhood and sometimes even by building. It punishes people who are trying to do the right thing, and confuses property owners and investors who want to responsibly scale. So what would be the problems he's going to try and solve with this wish, if you do? The most significant risk for investors in vacation rentals is the inconsistent regulatory landscape. A city could odds on rentals one year and then pass restrictive ordinances the next, killing an obviously profitable investment. A uniform format would allow property owners to establish long-term plans, access financing with more certainty and focus on building profitable and compliant portfolios. It would also separate the bad from the good operators creating greater trust in society. What advantages would it offer? The market would stabilise, legal uncertainty decline and responsible growth promoted through a clear and uniform regulatory setting. Renters would benefit from a more professional market, vendors would have more tax-predictable occupancy demands and owners could invest with confidence in upgrades. For one, it would take the sector a step closer to being regarded as an actual long-term asset class rather than a volatile side gig.
As a property owner and operator, it can be challenging to find tenants who match the descriptions in their applications. While no universal platform currently exists, it would be highly advantageous to have an accessible database of landlord complaints—saving us the headache of navigating state landlord tribunals. Domestic relationships can also break down, and sometimes the less responsible party remains, failing to uphold the terms of the agreement. While tenant protection laws are important, landlords also need consideration and a clear pathway for remedies.
As a rental property owner, I wish to have an all-in-one streamlined property management system this 2026. A system that will automate all my needs in managing my rental properties, such as collecting rents, maintenance scheduling, tenant communications, and tracking compliance. This will ease my burden from having to suffer through the usual hassle of add-ons that most systems use these days. From my experience operating rental properties in Vegas, I had to utilize multiple platforms to simply keep up with demands. I am utilizing QuickBooks for bookkeeping, emailing vendors for correspondence purposes, and private message sites for tenants, which is such a waste and is time-consuming. Having an all-in-one efficient tool would greatly lessen my working hours per week and also prevent any miscommunications from my tenants. This would make their stay at my properties much better. That would greatly benefit rental property operators because happy tenants will take longer to move out themselves, thus I am able to grow our collections without getting overwhelmed by administrative tasks.
If I could wish for anything by 2026, it would be a more streamlined process for dealing with city permitting and inspections. Delays and unclear requirements often stall projects that could otherwise provide quality housing faster. If local governments invested in modernizing and simplifying these systems, it would save investors time, reduce holding costs, and ultimately put more homes back on the market for families who need them.
For my business, I'd wish for a transparent insurance marketplace customized for property investors and operators. The challenge I often face is comparing dozens of policies with different loopholes, which slows down decision-making and leaves room for risk. When the chips were down during a quick property acquisition, sorting through coverage was honestly the longest part of the process. If we had a system that simplified policy options and provided competitive rates in one place, it would ease stress, protect our business better, and speed up transactions.
Honestly, my wish would be for predictive analytics that clearly spot up-and-coming neighborhoods before anyone else catches on. I've seen deals slip away because I recognized the potential too late or after the competition got there. A tool like that would not only give me an edge but also help homeowners I work with get better value from their properties when timing really matters.
By 2026, I'd love to see predictive maintenance become a built-in feature for landlords and investors. Whenever tenant issues pop up, like heating failures or plumbing leaks, I've found they usually show warning signs days beforebut no one notices. With smart sensors in place, these problems could be solved before renters are even inconvenienced. For owners, it would cut down costly emergency repairs, while for tenants, it builds trust and creates a smoother living experience.
I have seen how the operations of property owners evolved throughout the years. Since the initial steps were made to handle the properties manually and use the advanced technology systems, the mode of conducting business has changed dramatically. But in the case that I desire, in 2026, being a property owner operator then it would be regulation automation and streamlining. Changes in rules and regulations concerning rental of properties has been perceived to be among the biggest obstacle of property owners. Such changes are frequent, not only, they cause confusion but they also create extra compliance costs. Therefore, a standardized set of regulations which can be easily understood and applied, is what I would wish in 2026. As technology improved traditionally, automation has the power to be very useful in offering property management to the owners. Automation can also be used to facilitate the whole procedure of tenant screening up to rent collection and save time and effort on property owners. It would also be beneficial to tenants to have a more pleasant experience as they can readily access information and afford to pay online.