<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="9584019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="short-term-rental">Short-term rental</keyword> tech company <keyword id="11164648" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="guesty">Guesty</keyword> raised a $50 million Series D led by Apax Digital Fund.</li><li>The company has also acquired two competitors in the last month, Your Porter and MyVR.</li><li>Summer 2021 vacation-home bookings are up 32% from pre-pandemic levels, the startup said.</li></ul><p>Guesty, a firm that makes property management software for short-term rental companies and owners of vacation properties for rent announced on Tuesday that it has raised a $50 million Series D funding round.</p><p>The Tel Aviv-based company has now raised a total of $110 million. It declined to provide a valuation.</p><p>The funding round was led by the Apax Digital Fund, the tech investment arm of English private equity firm Apax Partners, and included investments from the AMI Opportunities fund. Previous investors Viola Growth, Vertex Ventures, Kingfisher Investment Advisors and La Maison Partners also took part in the round.</p><p>The funding comes amid new optimism for the short-term rental industry as signs indicate that increased vaccinations will lead to a resurgence in <keyword id="6354692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> this spring and summer. The industry slowed during the early day of the pandemic as travel essentially stopped, and travelers have returned in fits and starts even in recent months.</p><p>Guesty data shows that reservations volume for this summer is up 282% compared with last year - and even up 32% from the pre-COVID summer of 2019, suggesting a clear boom in 2021. Earlier this month, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-needs-millions-of-new-hosts-cnbc-2021-4">Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said that the company needs millions of more hosts</a> in order to meet skyrocketing demand.</p><p>Guesty's software provides end-to-end property management assistance for short-term rental operators, from small-time operators who rent a few properties out on <keyword id="719382" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Airbnb">Airbnb</keyword> to sophisticated large-scale operators who manage properties on behalf of institutional owners. The software handles everything from marketing to accounting across an entire portfolio.</p><p>The company is also announcing today the acquisition of property management software provider Your Porter, which specialized in smaller operators. Earlier this month, the company acquired another software company, MyVR.</p><h2>After a year of restrictions, people will travel again</h2><p>This Series D round - which cements Guesty's place as the short-term rental property management startup that has raised the most funding - is a sign of brighter times ahead for the travel sector. Early in the pandemic, shutdowns led to some operators <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjSg-HKxpzwAhVhQhUIHbE0BloQFjAAegQIBBAD&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Flyric-exits-final-location-mint-house-software-hospitality-startup-pandemic-2020-11hospitality-startup-pandemic-2020-11">shuttering their portfolios</a>, while others <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zeus-living-shifts-to-third-party-listings-layoffs-landlords-2020-6">had to make quick pivots</a> in the face of a collapse in demand.</p><p>Some operators with rural properties or those well-suited to long-term quarantine <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/short-term-rentals-lengthen-stays-for-customers-who-want-isolation-2020-4">did well</a>, but urban operators found themselves with a large amount of inventory and almost no bookings. The imbalance of supply and demand was exacerbated by a near moratorium on business travel. </p><p>Guesty President and COO Vered Schwarz said that at first, the company expected sales of its software to halt. Instead, she said Guesty was "pleasantly surprised" that some demand for its product persisted during the slowdown.</p><p>"Something I learned about the industry is its optimism," Schwarz told Insider. "No one said 'This is the end of the world,' instead, they said, 'It was a bad year right now.' But they were thinking about how to prepare for a surge in travel post-COVID."</p><p>Investors seem to have had similar thoughts. Short-term rental companies (and Guesty customers) <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kasa-pitch-deck-raised-30-million-short-term-rental-startup-2020-11">Kasa Living</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/casai-short-term-rental-startup-48-million-a16z-latam-mexico-2020-10">Casai</a>, both raised funding rounds during the pandemic, while Airbnb <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi2-O3EyZzwAhXTtHEKHbzRD4UQFjABegQIAhAD&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fairbnb-ipo-valuation-tops-three-hotel-chains-combined-opening-day-2020-12-chains-combined-opening-day-2020-12">is trading more than $100 above</a> its trading debut price in December. <keyword id="2899863" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="sonder">Sonder</keyword>, the largest venture-backed short-term rental operator, may also be getting in on the action, with reports that it may be going public in 2021 <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiJ3ervyZzwAhWxUxUIHf7ZBNIQFjAAegQIAxAD&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fwhy-proptech-and-real-estate-cant-get-enough-of-spacs-2021-3&amp;usg=AOvVaw2QOqAIyswL_MeXa8QjWiBa1-3&amp;usg=AOvVaw2QOqAIyswL_MeXa8QjWiBa">via a SPAC.</a></p>

Guesty, which makes software for managers of Airbnbs and other short-term rentals, raises $50 million as travel starts to take off again

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Brittany Betts left her job bartending at Twin Peaks in 2021 to pursue a marketing career.</li><li>She started as an intern at StaySense and moved up before becoming the CMO within three years.</li></ul><p><em>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brittany Betts, a 28-year-old CMO in Nashville. It's been edited for length and clarity.</em></p><p>I'm the online travel agency manager and CMO of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.staysense.com/">StaySense</a>, a short-term vacation rental management platform owned by Guesty.</p><p>I started working at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sonic-drive-in-burger-first-time-review-2022-9">Sonic</a> when I was 15. When I was 17, I had a few random serving and hosting jobs at restaurants like Chili's.</p><p>I went to college and needed to make more money, so I applied and started serving at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/twin-peaks-vs-hooters-breastaurant-brands-battle-it-out-2018-4">Twin Peaks</a>, a restaurant similar to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hooters-vs-buffalo-wild-wings-which-is-better-review-2024-5">Hooters</a>, in 2015 because I heard the tips are higher than at a traditional restaurant.</p><h2 id="6ba29dbf-7b65-4174-a393-4836a316e06b"><strong>When I first started working at Twin Peaks, I was young and extremely shy</strong></h2><p>I was grateful for my first few years at Twin Peaks. I started to break out of my shell, felt confident, and made a good living.</p><p>As I got older, my body and mindset changed. The Twin Peaks in Tennessee, where I worked, valued the size of my pants over my work ethic. I also briefly worked at a Twin Peaks location in Florida, and it was the same. There's a franchise standard for working there.</p><p>Customers and managers commented on my weight and other women's appearances, which felt demeaning. I told myself it was what I signed up for since I signed a waiver to be a model there (hostesses, servers, and bartenders are considered "models").</p><p>When I started, my brother died, and I barely ate, was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/mental-health/what-is-depression">depressed</a>, and was tiny. My body started changing as I got healthier, and I knew I had to lose weight to keep my job. I began to struggle with an eating disorder.</p><p>I hit a breaking point in 2020. Working at Twin Peaks helped me pay my way through college, but I realized I was ready to venture out in my career. I quit in 2021.</p><h2 id="ad02b728-9fe9-428c-a662-a7c2109719be"><strong>During the pandemic, I started taking marketing classes on LinkedIn, so I would be prepared for my exit</strong></h2><p>I loved my business administration classes about marketing in college, so I always knew it was a potential career choice.</p><p>I took an intro and advanced Google Analytics class, a Scrum Master class for managing software meetings, a content marketing intro class, a marketing copy class, an online marketing foundations class, and a social media promotion class during the pandemic.</p><p>I had one internship and freelance social media management experience, but I had a very hard time finding a job when I left Twin Peaks. I didn't want to do another internship initially because I wanted to make a better living.</p><p>Luckily, I had an extremely supportive partner who knew I was unhappy. They sat with me and discussed opportunities, and we found the internship for StaySense on Indeed. I remember being so nervous for the interview that I was shaking, but I put it plainly that I was willing to learn, and I wanted to develop my career.</p><h2 id="17b826a4-ce1e-4115-a359-4cd7bb145a79"><strong>I started at StaySense 2021</strong></h2><p>I was hired and started a marketing internship at StaySense in the summer of 2021. My internship mostly consisted of data entry, reviews, and content writing. I made it a point to tell StaySense how much I enjoyed working there and that I wanted more responsibility.</p><p>After a few months, I was hired as a full-time marketing specialist, and my responsibilities grew. Two years later, I was promoted to CMO over our business unit. This year, I also became Guesty's online travel agency (GOTA) manager.</p><h2 id="f4d9d9aa-b5ed-424e-ae52-162c1b5969b2"><strong>My income has doubled from bartending to marketing</strong></h2><p>I work in the office <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/turned-down-job-interview-because-of-return-to-office-rto-2023-9">five days a week</a> from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., an additional day on the weekend, and a few extra hours some nights. I try to maintain a healthy <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-work-life-balance-advice-boss-lessons-job-2024-1">work-life balance</a>, so I work when I can but make time for my family and friends.</p><p>In three years, I doubled my bartending income. When I left, I made in the mid-five-figure range, and now I make in the low six figures.</p><h2 id="69651002-a6fe-4ad2-9f0a-702308a5d08f"><strong>I highly suggest finding a mentor</strong></h2><p>Having a mentor and asking questions are two main reasons I progressed so quickly. I had two mentors, the former CEO and owner of my company and my direct manager when I was hired.</p><p>I asked to learn more about marketing, about the startup from the ground up, about previous failures, and for more responsibility and opportunity.</p><p>I didn't care if it sounded stupid or I "should have" already known the answer. Instead, I asked, got my answers, and continued to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-develop-personal-brand-small-business-owner-2023-11">develop my own personal brand</a> through the help of mentors and peers. Rely on them and build your network.</p><h2 id="8575d4f6-bf40-4d96-ae5f-f894e0ad8dea"><strong>Don't stay in one place for too long because of the fear of trying something new</strong></h2><p>The most common notions associated with the fear of something new are increasing self-doubt, lack of security, and worry of failure.</p><p>Failure stems from not putting yourself out there. You can't expect results like happiness, wealth, and career progression without taking the steps to get there. My only regret is not leaving my service industry job sooner to start my marketing career.</p>

I quit bartending and doubled my income when I got into marketing. My only regret is not leaving the service industry sooner.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Michael Elefante and his wife built a portfolio of six vacation rentals in Tennessee and Florida.</li><li>They bought their first short-term-rental property in 2019 and scaled while working full time.</li></ul><p><em>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michael Elefante, a real-estate investor and an Airbnb Superhost. It has been edited for length and clarity.</em></p><p>My wife, Jill, and I bought <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starting-airbnb-business-vacation-rental-superhosts-florida-tennessee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our first short-term-rental property</a> in November 2019 after moving to Nashville. I thought it would be a lucrative investment now that we lived in a tourism hot spot. </p><p>By March 2020, only three months after putting our property on Airbnb, we were set to make $7,000 in profit. Although COVID-19 cancellations dented that goal, the income potential from investing in STR properties was clear.</p><p>We continued to work full time while scaling our short-term-rental portfolio. In May 2020, we liquidated our retirement funds to purchase our second Nashville property. Three months later, we used savings from our salaries and cash flow from our properties to put a deposit down on a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.</p><p>We now own and manage six Airbnb properties that generate up to $118,000 a month, and I run a successful online STR coaching business. In 2022, our bookings came to $740,000.</p><p>I think we've been so successful because we focus on selling an experience, not just a place to sleep, but it's been a learning curve. These are my best pieces of advice for beginners to avoid common pitfalls when investing in short-term-rental properties. </p><h2>1. Conduct basic market-research analysis of the area in which you're looking to buy or rent</h2><p>The first thing prospective investors should do is look at travel trends in the area they're considering investing in. Then research the area's local laws and regulations regarding short-term rentals — local government sites usually have these details.</p><p>If I'm unsure about a property, I call the city or county zoning office to ask if the address can legally be a short-term rental.</p><h2>2. Leverage as much local knowledge as you can by reaching out to people already in the industry </h2><p>Finding a profitable short-term rental is different than hunting for traditional real estate.</p><p>To avoid investing in an area that won't be lucrative, find a real-estate agent who works with investors or has experience with short-term vacation rentals in the area where you're looking to buy. They will know which locations are the best for STRs and why people are willing to pay more to stay in a specific ZIP code. </p><h2>3. Do a thorough investment analysis before you invest in a property</h2><p>If you're considering investing in an STR, always do a complete investment analysis first. I use an Excel spreadsheet to help me visualize where my money will go and the potential outcomes of a new short-term-rental investment. </p><p>When I first looked into investing in real estate, I did online research and used investment calculators on sites such as Bigger Pockets to work out the purchasing costs, operating costs, potential earnings, and costs of additions like furniture or decorations. </p><p>I then conducted market research on other short-term-rental properties in the area that were similar to the property I wanted to pursue and compared their prices and characteristics. I would also look at AirDNA to see what I could expect for daily rates and occupancy in a given market or ZIP code.</p><p>With all this information, I crafted my investment-analysis template on Google Sheets, which I use to analyze properties to this day. </p><h2>4. Always plan for the worst-case scenario</h2><p>I always use conservative numbers when I evaluate potential properties in my Google Sheet template. I input slightly lower-than-expected daily rates and occupancy and slightly higher-than-expected operating expenses.</p><p>Once I have a subject property that matches my return-on-investment criteria, I then "stress test" the investment. I rerun the numbers to see what the break-even point is and what the best potential profit could be. Running these numbers gives me a lot of confidence when buying a property. </p><p>I've only had one major unforeseen cost crop up. One of our Florida homes has a pool heater, and the electricity and general-maintenance costs have been higher than expected most months. Our monthly cash flow is lower, but it hasn't been detrimental to the investment overall.</p><h2>5. Invest in property-management software</h2><p>I currently use Guesty and pay $31 a month for it. Property-management software allows you to manage multiple properties across sites such as Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com. You can have one synchronized calendar and centralized correspondence for check-in and check-out messages.</p><p>This software can prevent you from making rookie errors that can hurt your ratings, such as double booking locations. </p><h2>6. Use dynamic smart-pricing software</h2><p>Everyone should be leveraging smart-pricing software such as Price Labs or Wheelhouse. These applications automatically adjust the nightly rates of your rental in line with market conditions. Using software can help you increase occupancy and find the best rate for a property faster when you're unfamiliar with a market.  </p><h2>7. Automate and outsource cleaning and maintenance</h2><p>One of the biggest mistakes people make is cleaning their properties themselves. It may be cost-effective in the short term, but it's not scalable.</p><p>If you want to build your portfolio, you need to learn how to outsource. Consider hiring cleaners as an efficiency boost to your business. Tools like TurnoverBnB and ResortCleaning help to automate calendar syncing. </p><h2>8. See what your competitors are offering and one-up them </h2><p>Use AirDNA to find the top-performing properties in your area and consider what makes people want to book those places. What are their design features? Do they have pools, games rooms, or hot tubs? Do they have accent walls? Use that knowledge to choose and build your vision for your property. </p><p>Our first property was in Nashville, where you can find murals across the city. We commissioned an artist to create a mural at our property, which attracted guests to our place and separated us from the pack. </p><h2>9. Don't underestimate the earning power of good design </h2><p>Many people don't focus on design because they don't understand the return on investment when it comes to design and STRs. </p><p>If you don't have a big budget for furniture and design, my advice is to look for a smaller property that costs less to furnish. You can bargain hunt for furniture and decor. It can be more time intensive than shopping online but will save you money and make your property stand out. </p><p>Once you start turning a profit, you can spend more updating the design or hiring an interior designer, ultimately boosting your future revenue and cash flow. </p><h2>10. Use a professional photographer</h2><p>Photos are everything. Even the best property can get passed up by thousands of potential guests if the first photo on your listing is poor quality.</p>

I made $740,000 on Airbnb last year. Here's my best advice for beginner hosts to maximize success and avoid common mistakes.

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e8ce9e5dcd88c7ba2018847-1800/oregon log cabin.jpg" alt="oregon log cabin" /><p class="source"><span>Airbnb</span></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Coronavirus has hit the travel and hospitality industries hard, leading some short-term rental operators to offer their properties up as places for customers to quarantine. </li><li>Property managers are adjusting their amenities to include pandemic-ready items like protective masks and large cases of wine. </li><li>The slowdown has hit urban areas the hardest, while rural areas have seen upticks in demand. </li><li>D.Alexander, a short-term rental company, has started a campaign called "Destination Isolation," offering their properties for stays as long as three months and no shorter than one month.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Click here for more BI Prime stories.</a></li></ul><p>Peter and Brynn, a twenty-something professional couple based in San Francisco, are repeat customers of Airbnb, having used the vacation rental company for travel in the past. </p><p>Now, they're using it to quarantine. </p><p>Peter and Brynn, who asked not to use their last names because of the sensitivity around traveling right now, felt compelled to move closer to their parents, who live in Connecticut and are in their fifties and sixties. They are both working remotely and wanted to find a way to travel home that didn't put their parents at risk. </p><p>The solution came in the form of a short-term rental property near the beach in West Haven, Connecticut. Their friends, still finishing up their own two-week quarantine, had flown home to Connecticut and booked this property. This weekend, their friends will leave and Peter and Brynn will take their place for two weeks, quarantining near the beach before they are in the clear to see their parents.</p><p>Coronavirus has put nearly all tourism on hold, triggering layoffs in the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hotel-industry-could-lose-4-million-jobs-coronavirus-covid19-unemployment-2020-3">hotel</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-backed-zeus-living-cuts-thirty-percent-of-staff-2020-3">short-term rental </a>industries and the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-hosts-criticized-260-million-assistance-plan-2020-4">stirrings of a revolt among some property managers who rent their properties on Airbnb</a>. Property managers who relied on tourism revenue have had to find ways to adjust. </p><p>Property managers and short term rental companies have adjusted their strategies to meet the needs of customers who are looking to quarantine after a flight or to find a rural escape from the city. They're changing their marketing strategies to attract customers with different needs, offering amenities that are specifically tailored for social distancing, and opening up their properties to longer stays.</p><p>Even Airbnb is getting into the action: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-raises-1-billion-amid-big-hit-from-coronavirus-crisis-2020-4">the company's blog post announcing its $1 billion fundraising round on Monday</a> highlighted longer-term stays as a "core product" for the future of the company, a first for the company.</p><h3><strong>How property managers pivot in a pandemic</strong></h3><p>Vered Schwarz, the COO of short-term rental property management software company Guesty, told Business Insider that her customers are repurposing their properties in ways that fit current needs. </p><p>For rural properties, that means opening them up to long stays for what Vered calls "cityscapers."</p><p>"These are folks that are escaping from the center of town, and prefer to go to the Catskills," Schwarz said. These customers often have families and are searching for areas where they can ride out months of isolation in a home that has a backyard for their kids to play. </p><p>Guesty data showed that this time last year the Catskills, a mountain range in upstate New York, had an occupancy rate of about 30%. This year it's more than 60%. Schwarz said that she has seen similar increases in other rural areas.<strong style="color: #ff0000;"> </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-flee-for-rentals-rural-areas-amid-coronavirus-2020-3">A study by hospitality data company AirDNA also found that remote areas in the US were seeing spikes in short-term rentals.</a></p><p>For suburban and some urban properties, property managers have focused on customers like Peter and Brynn that are looking to quarantine. Properties in dense, urban areas have seen a precipitous decline.</p><p>Customers are staying longer than usual across all locations, Schwarz said, with the average length of stay doubling to nine days, from four-and-half days. Some of these property managers are offering discounts for longer stays, a trend that Peter and Brynn noticed when they were booking their stay.</p><p>Property managers are also providing coronavirus-specific amenities to support customers looking to isolate. Schwarz said that she's seen property managers offer extra cleaning products, masks and hand sanitizer on their properties, and shipments of food to a customer's front door.</p><p>Marketing strategies have also changed, as property managers are no longer trying to attract tourists, and instead draw in "cityscapers" that are only a gas tank away or people looking for a place to quarantine after a flight. The specific changes in strategy are contingent on the types of customers they're trying to attract: with property managers advertising in local Facebook groups and looking for direct reservations instead of trying to attract tourists on sites like Airbnb and VRBO.  </p><h3><strong>"Destination Isolation"</strong></h3><p>D.Alexander, a short-term rental company that operates properties on Florida's Emerald Coast, Sedona, Arizona, and in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, unveiled its "Destination Isolation" campaign at the beginning of April. </p><p>The program offers stays for one to three months at a fixed rate for people searching for a place to isolate, and D.Alexander pledges to donate 10% of the cost of booking to a coronavirus-related charity. The company will also provide customers with a collection of wine and Malin &amp; Goetz cleaning products and Sheets &amp; Giggles linen.</p><p>The idea came as the D.Alexander team was brainstorming how the company could potentially help people to isolate, Alex Allison, CEO and co-founder of D.Alexander told Business Insider.</p><p>"We recognized very early that this won't be a two week isolation period," Allison said.</p><p>One thing that is much shorter with this campaign, Allison said, is the lead time between a customer booking a stay and their stay beginning. </p><p>"If you booked a property today, you wouldn't stay there for 115 days," Allison said. "That's now shortening from 115 days to one week."</p><p>The prices are also reduced: a three-month stay in Sedona, Arizona has been discounted to $46,000 from an original cost of $79,000.</p><p>While D. Alexander has been able to adjust to the change in demands, other property managers haven't been able to. Joanna Ahrens, who lives in Florida, owns a rural property in Swain County, North Carolina near the Great Smoky Mountains. Before the coronavirus hit, she had most of March and 28 days in April booked up. </p><p>Customers started to cancel in mid-March, but within days, the same dates were being booked by different, more local customers. </p><p>"People started booking from the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee: a gas tank's drive away," Ahrens told Business Insider. </p><p>That changed when Swain County, which draws a lot of tourists, <a href="https://www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/28761-swain-order-shuts-down-certain-businesses-short-term-rentals">shut down all short-term rental</a>s in the county because of coronavirus fears. Ahrens had to cancel most of her bookings, though she's kept her late April bookings in case the county reopens short-term rentals. </p><p>"It's all up to the county at this point," Ahrens said. </p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/10-up-and-coming-fintechs-2019?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=finance&amp;itm_campaign=10-up-and-coming-fintechs-2019-2"><img src="https://static.businessinsider.com/image/5dcb0cab7eece5025933c502" alt="Exclusive FREE Slide Deck: 10 Up and Coming Fintechs by Business Insider Intelligence" style="margin: 0 auto !important; width: 100% !important; min-width: 280px !important; max-width: 640px !important" /></a></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/federal-reserve-zero-percent-rate-dow-dropped-2020-3">Why the Dow plummeted after the Federal Reserve set interest rates at 0%</a></h3>                    <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/bPY4gJQb-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;"></iframe>            

Short-term rental managers are ramping up their amenities to include masks, hand sanitizer, and large cases of wine as city dwellers look for their 'destination isolation'

<p>Koby Soto, the Israel-based CTO and cofounder of startup <a href="http://www.guesty.com">Guesty</a>, was wearing his trusty Fitbit Charge HR like usual when his boyfriend broke up with him.</p><p>Which means that this might be the saddest Fitbit heartbeat-tracking chart of all time. Soto sent it to us. The spot where they broke up is marked by the red arrow.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/569eafcce6183e26008ba89d-750-1334/img_1553.png?maxX=467&amp;maxY=831" alt="koby soto fitbit heartbreak graph" width="467" height="831" data-mce-source="Koby Soto" /><p class="source"><span>Koby Soto</span></p></div><p></p></div></p><p>Fitbits are usually for tracking workout routines and long runs, not moments of emotional stress. Not that Soto minds that part. </p><p>"<span>I'm a geek myself, having [written code] for a decade and founding my own startup so I like logging and tracking anything I can," Soto tells Business Insider. "I <span>absolutely don't think it is intrusive. I chose to wear it and I found it interesting enough to share."</span></span></p><p>After Soto <a href="https://twitter.com/iamkoby/status/689521611611971588">shared this chart on Twitter</a>, it <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10932968">became a hit on popular startup news site Hacker News</a>.</p><p>In the comments, there was a lot of debate over whether he was the one doing the dumping (he wasn't) or whether this means a Fitbit could be used as a polygraph-style lie detector (probably not). </p><p>"<span>I don't think it's nearly as accurate to detect lies BUT I find it really interesting to use big data to calculate probabilities before they happen," Kobo says.</span></p><p>The <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10933136">best Hacker News comment</a>, though, is both pretty funny and raises some questions about what it means to give these devices access to your life:</p><p>"<span class="comment"><span class="c00">Perhaps if everyone tagged their breakup moments on their fitbits then fitbit could mass-process the preceding few months / weeks to find a common pattern. </span></span>You show up a few minutes early to the restaurant and your fitbit can just let you know what's about to happen."</p><p> </p><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fitbit-blaze-video-2016-1">Fitbit just released an Apple Watch killer</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="dnOG8wMDE6l_y4wMvqDYMwvx6KzX79zx" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'dnOG8wMDE6l_y4wMvqDYMwvx6KzX79zx',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "guesty" and got 5 results

Guesty, which makes software for managers of Airbnbs and other short-term rentals, raises $50 million as travel starts to take off again

Alex Nicoll

I quit bartending and doubled my income when I got into marketing. My only regret is not leaving the service industry sooner.

Perri Ormont Blumberg

I made $740,000 on Airbnb last year. Here's my best advice for beginner hosts to maximize success and avoid common mistakes.

Narina Exelby

Short-term rental managers are ramping up their amenities to include masks, hand sanitizer, and large cases of wine as city dwellers look for their 'destination isolation'

Alex Nicoll

This is the most heartbreaking chart you'll see all day

Matt Weinberger