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Airbnb to hosts: please stop filming the guests
Airbnb has released new privacy policies that forbid the placement of any cameras inside rental properties. The new rules also limit outdoor camera use.
Hertz will order up to 65,000 Polestar EVs for its rental fleet
Hertz will order as many as 65,000 Polestar EVs to help electrify its rental fleet.
Uber will rent up to 50,000 Tesla EVs to drivers
Uber will rent up to 50,000 Tesla EVs to US drivers through Hertz, potentially saving them money as they help the planet.
Bird's Safe Start discourages intoxicated riders from using its scooters
Bird has launched Safe Start to keep users under the influence from unlocking its scooter rentals at night.
Airbnb's flexible search focuses on where you're travelling, not when
Airbnb has introduced a flexible search that offers wiggle room on dates — a better fit for an era of remote work when you don't have to return to the office.
Alexa for Residential lets landlords create smart apartments
Amazon wants to make it easier to have a smart home without actually owning a home.
Bird’s electric scooters can now be unlocked with Bluetooth
Bird has introduced a new feature that will help scooter renters get off the blocks more quickly. Quick Start uses the Bird app and your smartphone’s Bluetooth to detect when a scooter is within range, then gives you the opportunity to unlock it with the tap of a button.
Zillow's new search tool helps find housing for those in need
Escaping homelessness is an enormous undertaking, not least because so many landlords and property managers have strict criteria for new tenants. Those that have been homeless are often unable to provide rental histories or sizeable deposits, for example. Now though, property platform Zillow is teaming up with a housing company in Washington to help tackle the problem.
Lyft debuts car rentals in Los Angeles and the SF Bay Area
Lyft's car rental service now exists as more than just an experiment. Rentals are now available for "select users" in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, giving you an option when you'd rather drive yourself. As expected, the service relies on both tie-ins with Lyft's usual ridesharing and the elimination of a few typical rental headaches. To start, you'll get $20 in ride credit each way for the trips to and from your rentals. Lyft will also refuel your car for you (at a "local market price"), offers unlimted miles and promises cars with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and optional gear like car seats, ski racks and tire chains.
Airbnb bans 'party houses' following Halloween shooting
Airbnb is tightening its rental policies following a Halloween shooting that left five dead in Orinda, California. CEO Brian Chesky has announced that the service is banning rentals for "party houses" like the mansion at the heart of the shooting, where over 100 people had gathered before the shooting started that night. Chesky also promised "immediate action" against people found violating the policy, including removing them from the service.
Porsche's app-based car subscriptions come to four more cities
You no longer have to live in Atlanta to try Porsche's alternatives to car ownership. The automaker is expanding its app-based Passport subscriptions and Drive rentals to four more North American cities, including Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego and Toronto. The fundamentals for each remain the same. Passport lets you drive and swap cars as much as you like starting at $2,100 per month, with your only added cost being fuel. Drive, meanwhile, is closer to traditional rentals with options to drive a car for stints between four hours and a week. In both case, concierges both drop off and pick up your ride.
Airbnb makes it easier to find a place to stay on business trips
Airbnb wants to make it easier to find work-friendly listings, and its solution is fairly simple. Before, the company would ask if you were traveling for business at checkout. Now, it's offering a work trip toggle that you can select at the beginning of your search. The feature will bring up listings that are more relevant for business trips.
Dish launches a WiFi and TV service aimed at apartment dwellers
Last week Dish announced a new service designed to make smart home technology available to all, now it's launching another service that makes modern tech accessible to everyone. "Dish Fiber" is a combined WiFi and livestreaming TV bundle for those living in multifamily communities, such as apartment blocks and student housing.
Lyft just started experimenting with car rentals in San Francisco
Between offering on-demand rides and peppering cities with electric scooters, Lyft has been pushing hard to minimize the need to actually own a car. Now, the company is exploring yet another way to further those ambitions (and boost its bottom line after a turbulent IPO in the process). Engadget has learned that, as of this week, Lyft has begun to experiment with longer-term car rentals, offering them to a small group of customers in San Francisco.
Bird's monthly scooter rentals let you ride as much as you like
Bird isn't staying out of San Francisco just because it doesn't have a permit for its usual scooter service. It's launching a personal rental service in both San Francisco and Barcelona that gives you a scooter of your own for $25 per month. Order a scooter through the app and Bird will deliver it (plus a charger and lock) to a location of your choice, after which you can use it as much as you like. Bird will also pick up the two-wheeler when you're done.
Car2go: 'Fraud' caused Chicago shutdown, not hacking
Car2go's rental service just suffered what appears to be a major incident. The company has temporarily suspended operations in Chicago after a "fraud issue" in the city. While Car2go didn't provide details (it told Engadget there was an "ongoing investigation"), sources for CBS' Brad Edwards claimed that up to 100 luxury cars had gone missing or were reported stolen, some of which had been used for crimes. Over 12 people were in police custody, Edwards said.
Avis makes it easier to find a parking spot for your car rental
Driving in an unfamiliar city can be stressful, and finding parking is even worse. Eventually, we'll have autonomous vehicles to deal with that for us, but until then, companies are looking at ways to ease the strain. That's why car rental brand Avis has partnered with mobility solutions company Arrive to add a space-finding feature to its app. The Avis app already lets drivers rent a car on the go, and includes a bunch of other helpful features such as remote car locking -- with Arrive integration customers in the US can now instantly find, book and pre-pay for parking. Arrive is already used in some 230 cities around Canada and the US, predominantly by third-party and business customers. Encouraging consumer use makes sense, especially as many city-dwellers don't drive a car on a daily basis -- knowing parking is already taken car of is just one less thing to worry about when you're behind the wheel.
Audi adds Q7 SUV to its Silvercar on-demand rental service
Audi is hoping to attract families and groups of travelers to its Silvercar service, through which you can reserve and unlock cars with your phone, by adding its Q7 to the fleet. You can now reserve the SUV in Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix and Salt Lake City for rentals starting February 15th. Audi says it will make the Q7 available at its other Silvercar locations from June.
Paris launches world's biggest e-bike fleet to curb pollution
Residents of Paris and its suburbs may soon have access to up to 20,000 electric bicycles. Public transit company Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) is launching an e-bike renting scheme called Véligo with 10,000 e-bikes to start with. If that works out, IDFM will expand to 20,000, which would make it the world's largest electric bike rental system.
Arcimoto is opening its first rental center for its three-wheeled EV
Arcimoto's three-wheeled Fun Utility Vehicle is a blast to drive, but there's a catch: given that the first orders haven't arrived, there hasn't been an easily accessible way to take one for a spin. You'll have an option in a few days, though. The company is opening its first rental location (plus customer experience center) at 543 Blair Boulevard in its hometown of Eugene, Oregon on October 27th. Pricing hasn't been set yet and will vary by location, but it's safe to say this will be considerably more affordable than committing $11,900 to buy the FUV outright.
