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Airbnb bookings have declined over the past year in cities like Austin and San Francisco that have historically been popular destinations for short-term rentals, prompting concern over the economic uncertainty wracking urban areas and the prospect of a “doom loop” developing.

Nick Gerli, the CEO of Austin-based Reventure Consulting, recently tweeted that the “Airbnb collapse is real” and that, “Revenues are down nearly 50 percent in cities like Phoenix and Austin.”

He went on to say, “Watch out for a wave of forced selling from Airbnb owners later this year in the areas hardest hit by the revenue collapse.”

Gerli cited AllTheRooms data which showed a 48.6% year-over-year decline in the average revenue per available listing in the three-month period ending in May for the Austin metropolitan area. 

He attributed the decline to the end of pandemic-era migration, tweeting: “The pandemic is over. Fewer people are working from home / vacationing in states like Montana, Texas, and Tennessee. So the demand is way down. Just as the Airbnb supply went way up. So you get a crash.”

An Airbnb spokesperson told FOX Business, “The data is not consistent with our own data. As we said during our Q1 earnings, more guests are traveling on Airbnb than ever before, with Nights and Experiences Booked growing 19% in Q1 2023 compared to a year ago.”

Jamie Lane, the chief economist and SVP of analytics at AirDNA, also pushed back on the notion of a major decline in short-term rentals.

Lane tweeted an analysis using AirDNA data of the same metro areas covered in Gerlis analysis which found an average decline of 3.6% rather than 40%.

The AirDNA data showed the Austin metro area experienced a 7.2% year-over-year decline in revenue per available listing for the same three-month period ending May 2023.

The San Francisco Standard reported that data from AirDNA found that nights stayed in vacation rentals in San Francisco were down 29% in May 2023 compared to May 2019.

The outlet also spoke to several Bay Area homeowners who rent out rooms through Airbnb, including host Keith Freedman, who estimated that prices for San Francisco Airbnbs are down about 40% from last year and occupancy has declined 20% to 25%.

Separately, Gerli tweeted data showing that median rents in the Austin metro area declined 6% year-over-year while the San Francisco metro area experienced a 4% decline, which he said could also contribute to owners being forced to sell in the second half of this year.

Some of the decline in rents could be attributed to slowing population growth in those metro areas. 

While the Austin area has seen rapid growth over the past decade, particularly in the suburbs outside the city limits, the Census Bureau estimates that Austins population grew 1.3% from April 2020 to July 2022.

Unlike Austin, San Francisco’s population growth has been on a downward trend in recent years.

The Census Bureau estimates that San Francisco Countys population declined by 7.5% from April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2022. 

Slowing population growth or overall declines in a citys population raises the prospect of an “urban doom loop” developing.

An urban doom loop involves a decline in workers in offices in city centers, which results in businesses shrinking their office footprint and their rental overhead. 

The decline in demand causes real estate prices to fall, which in turn reduces property tax revenue while other sources of tax revenue, like sales tax, also take a hit due to the reduced traffic in downtown areas.

As the overall tax base declines, it becomes harder for city governments to fund services like law enforcement, which can lead to a rise in crime that makes downtown areas less desirable, worsening the “doom loop.”

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World

Driver hits several people on French holiday island of Ile d’Oleron

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Driver hits several people on French holiday island of Ile d'Oleron

A driver has knocked down several people on the French island of Ile d’Oleron.

Two people are in intensive care following the incident and a man has been arrested, French interior minister Laurent Nunez said.

Several others were injured after the motorist struck pedestrians and cyclists, he added.

Thibault Brechkoff, the mayor of Dolus-d’Oleron, told BFMTV the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” (Arabic for God is Greatest) when he was detained.

Arnaud Laraize, the public prosecutor in La Rochelle, told the Sud Ouest newspaper the 35-year-old suspect “resisted arrest” and was “subdued using a stun gun”.

He said the suspect was known for minor offences such as theft, adding he was not on a list of people considered a threat to national security.

Pedestrians and cyclists were hit on a road between Dolus d’Oleron and Saint-Pierre d’Oleron, he added.

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Police were alerted, with the first calls made at around 9am, according to French media reports.

Mr Nunez said in a post on X that he was heading to the scene at the request of the French prime minister.

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Aerial images show destruction of Typhoon Kalmaegi in Philippines – with at least 66 killed

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Aerial images show destruction of Typhoon Kalmaegi in Philippines - with at least 66 killed

At least 66 people have died after Typhoon Kalmaegi struck the Philippines, as footage emerges showing the scale of destruction.

A further 26 people have been reported missing, half of them in Cebu, where floods and mudslides killed at least 49 people, the Office of Civil Defence said.

Six crew members of a military helicopter were also killed when it crashed on the island of Mindanao, where it was carrying out a humanitarian disaster response mission, according to the military.

The powerful storm, locally named Tino, made landfall early on Tuesday and lashed the country with sustained winds of 87mph and gusts of up to 121mph.

Drone footage shows wrecked homes after heavy flooding in Cebu province. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Drone footage shows wrecked homes after heavy flooding in Cebu province. Pic: Reuters

Some communities have been wiped out. Pic: AP
Image:
Some communities have been wiped out. Pic: AP

‘State of calamity’ in Cebu

Several people were trapped on their roofs by floodwaters in the coastal town of Liloan in Cebu, said Gwendolyn Pang, secretary-general of the Philippine Red Cross.

She said in the city of Mandaune, also in Cebu, floodwaters were “up to the level of heads of people”, adding that several cars were submerged in floods or floated in another community in Cebu.

Cebu, a province of more than 2.4 million people, was still recovering from a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on 30 September, which left at least 79 people dead.

A state of calamity has been declared in the province to allow authorities to disburse emergency funds more rapidly.

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Entire towns flooded in the Philippines after typhoon

Damaged vehicles after flooding in Cebu City. Pic: AP
Image:
Damaged vehicles after flooding in Cebu City. Pic: AP

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Fierce winds either ripped off roofs or damaged around 300 mostly rural shanties on the island community of Homonhon in Eastern Samar, but there were no reported deaths or injuries, mayor Annaliza Gonzales Kwan said.

“There was no flooding at all, but just strong wind,” she said. “We’re okay. We’ll make this through. We’ve been through a lot, and bigger than this.”

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Red Cross staff rescue people and dogs. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Red Cross staff rescue people and dogs. Pic: Reuters

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Hnndreds of thousands evacuated

Before Kalmaegi’s landfall, officials said more than 387,000 people had been evacuated to safer ground in eastern and central Philippine provinces.

The combination of Kalmaegi and a shear line brought heavy rains and strong winds across the Visayas and nearby areas, state weather agency PAGASA said.

A shear line is the boundary between two different air masses such as warm and cold air.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

A boy with a goldfish he caught after a nearby fish farm flooded. Pic: AP
Image:
A boy with a goldfish he caught after a nearby fish farm flooded. Pic: AP

Vietnam gears up for storm

The Vietnamese government has said it was preparing for the worst-case scenario as it braced for the impact of Kalmaegi.

The typhoon is forecast to reach Vietnam’s coasts on Friday morning. Several areas have already suffered heavy flooding over the last week, leaving at least 40 people.

Kalmaegi hit the Philippines as it continues to recover from several disasters, including earthquakes and severe weather over recent months.

Around 20 typhoons and storms hit the Philippines each year, and the country is also often struck by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes.

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Environment

Royal Enfield unveils Flying Flea S6 scrambler-style electric motorcycle built for urban adventure

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Royal Enfield unveils Flying Flea S6 scrambler-style electric motorcycle built for urban adventure

Royal Enfield’s new electric motorcycle brand, Flying Flea, just pulled the wraps off its second model – the scrambler-inspired FF.S6 – at EICMA 2025, and it’s an agile, tech-packed machine that brings serious trail-ready vibes to city streets.

Inspired by the iconic 1940s Flying Flea motorcycle (which was literally parachuted into battle, hence the logo), the FF.S6 is a modern reimagining with off-road chops and futuristic tech. Royan Enfield assures us that this is a far cry from an average urban electric motorcycle. Instead, it’s a lightweight, connected, and capable machine that blends classic scrambler style with serious smart features.

Built on a lightweight frame with staggered 19-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels, a USD front fork, and chain final drive, the FF.S6 is ready for both tight urban corners and loose gravel backroads. A high-torque electric motor paired with a magnesium finned battery case keeps weight low while enhancing cooling, and the long enduro-style seat offers comfort for longer rides.

Tech-wise, the FF.S6 goes way beyond what you’d expect from a typical commuter. A circular high-res touchscreen display nods to the original Flying Flea while delivering fully connected features, including lean-angle sensing ABS, traction control, off-road mode, and built-in navigation. Voice Assist lets riders launch music or maps hands-free through their phone, and OTA updates ensure the bike gets smarter over time.

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The system is powered by a Snapdragon QWM2290 processor, the same class of chip you’d find in advanced smartphones. Riders can use a smartwatch or phone app to manage everything from keyless start to charging status and diagnostics.

Production of the FF.S6 is expected to begin by the end of 2026.

Electrek’s Take

Sure, this is largely just an experiment in applying some mods to the same motorcycle prototype that Royal Enfield showed us last year, but it’s a cool-looking example of it! And while we’re still waiting to see what these bikes will cost (not to mention a few more hard and fast tech specs), I’m glad to see that Royal Enfield’s Flying Flea team is jumping in with bold design and bleeding-edge software. The FF.S6 looks like a scrambler but thinks like a smartphone and rides like an urban bike – likely. And for a new wave of connected urban riders, that might be the perfect combination.

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