Host Intelligence | May, 2026
Each month, your Host Success Manager team puts together the data, platform news, and market signals you need to run a high-performing PadSplit portfolio. This issue covers what is happening in your markets right now, what changed on the platform this month, and a few opportunities most hosts have not acted on yet.
MARKET SPOTLIGHT
Richmond, VA: The quiet powerhouse
- 592 rooms across 103 properties, served by 53 hosts. This is a metro of 1.3 million people with virtually no PadSplit competition. The demand is real, and the supply gap is enormous.
- 5% supply growth over the last 3 months confirms the market is expanding at a healthy pace without flooding. New rooms are being absorbed quickly, not sitting vacant.
- Rooms fill and stay filled. At 94% occupancy, vacancy losses in Richmond are near zero. The combination of high fill rates and 214-day average tenure means revenue is unusually predictable for hosts in this market.
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE
What’s happening in coliving right now
MARKET SIZE
Global coliving market on track to hit $16 billion by 2030
The global coliving market, valued at $7.82 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $16.05 billion by 2030, growing at a 13.5% compound annual rate. Affordability pressure, shifting lifestyle preferences, and institutional investment are all accelerating demand. Hosts who build strong portfolios now are entering a market that is still in early innings.
INDUSTRY EVENTS
National Co-Living Conference heads to Denver, June 5 to 6
The 2026 National Co-Living Conference is scheduled for June 5 and 6 in Denver, Colorado. The agenda centers on housing affordability, rental market dynamics, and the operational models shaping the industry’s next phase. Attendance includes founders, executives, and institutional investors.
NEW — MAY 2 | PADSPLIT X CITY OF PORTLAND
The city of Portland will pay you $1,000 to add a room.
PadSplit just partnered with the City of Portland on a home-sharing pilot program. Eligible homeowners receive $1,000 for the first room rented and $500 for each additional room, provided weekly rents stay at or below $200. If you operate in Portland or are considering expanding there, this program directly changes the entry economics.
$1,000 first room | $500 each additional | $200/wk or less rate requirement
PLATFORM UPDATES
PadSplit platform updates: May 2026
New earnings page
Your new earnings dashboard is live. Payouts, per-room performance, and projected revenue are now clear at a glance. You can also filter by property, and the CSV export will reflect that filter. If you have not logged in to see it yet, now is the time.
More specific cancellation reasons
When a member cancels a move-in or transfer, you will now see more specific reasons why. The updated cancellation reason options are now consistent across mobile and web. This gives you better visibility into why rooms are not filling as expected and helps you spot patterns across your portfolio.
Get paid without delays from day one
When you add a new listing, you will now be prompted right away to designate who receives your payouts and connect that bank account immediately. No more delays waiting to set up payouts after your first member moves in.
Manage your properties from your iPad
The PadSplit app now runs on iPad with a larger screen for your dashboard, move-out timelines, and member conversations. Everything you could do on your phone, now with more room to work.
PRICING INTELLIGENCE
The rate decisions that actually move rooms
Pricing is one of the highest-leverage decisions you make as a host. Most of the conventional wisdom is wrong.
- Rooms priced within 5% of the market median fill 2.3 times faster than rooms priced 10% or more above it, even when the higher-priced room has better amenities. Residents filter by price first, every time.
- A $5 per week reduction on a room that has been vacant 14 or more days cuts average days-to-fill from 11 to four. The revenue loss from one week of vacancy almost always exceeds months of a modest rate cut.
- Rooms relisted on Sunday evenings fill 34% faster than rooms relisted Monday through Friday. Member search activity on PadSplit peaks on Sunday nights, and timing your relists to that window costs nothing.
OPERATIONS TIP
Keeping it clean between professional visits
Getting complaints about cleanliness, even though you pay for professional cleaners? Stock a small basket of cleaning supplies in a shared space, like a bathroom or kitchen cabinet, so members can tidy up between professional visits.
A bottle of spray cleaner, paper towels, and a toilet brush cost under $15 and go a long way toward bridging the gap. Members who have the tools are far more likely to use them.
HOST OPERATIONS
Non-payment process: know every step
The fastest path to resolution is a consistent one. Here is exactly what happens when a member misses a payment, and when your actions matter most.
- Day 1 — Automated notice sent to member via platform
- Day 3 — Your host outreach window opens
- Day 7 — Escalation to PadSplit support team
- Day 14 — Removal process initiated if unresolved
Zero balance and cash for keys: Resolve any outstanding balance to zero before initiating an exit agreement. Cash for keys arrangements must be documented through the platform. Undocumented agreements are not enforceable under PadSplit’s terms.
Collections Best Practices Guide.
AMENITIY INSIGHTS
The case for a mini-fridge
Mini-fridges are present in only about 16% of PadSplit rooms. That gap is an opportunity. Rooms with one command higher weekly rates with no meaningful difference in occupancy or member retention.
16% have a mini-fridge. 84% do not.
Rooms with a mini-fridge charge approximately $30 per week more. Same occupancy and retention.
- Typical cost to add one: approximately $150
- Weekly rate premium: approximately $30
- Payback period: approximately 5 weeks
- Annual revenue lift per room: approximately $1,560
AMENITIY INSIGHTS
What’s on the policy radar
- California AB-628, effective January 1, 2026: All California residential rental units are now required to contain both a stove and a refrigerator, applying to new leases and renewals. If you operate in California and any room lacks a refrigerator, you may be out of compliance. Note: properties with shared or communal kitchen spaces may be exempt under the law’s text, which is good news for many PadSplit hosts. The compliance cost pays for itself in about 5 weeks of rate premium.
- AB 325, California, pricing algorithms: California’s AB 325 targets algorithmic rent-setting software, requiring disclosure when landlords use algorithmic tools to set rents and banning price-fixing coordination between software platforms. It is aimed at large multifamily operators using tools like RealPage. It does not affect individual hosts who set their own rates on PadSplit.
- Short-term rental regulations in Memphis and Birmingham: Memphis has enforced STR permitting requirements since 2023, continuing to reduce short-term inventory and redirect some housing demand into the rental market. Birmingham is currently reviewing its own STR framework. Both markets are showing solid coliving fill velocity as alternatives to STR activity grow.
Your impact
You are helping solve one of America’s most urgent problems
The U.S. is short 7.2 million affordable rental homes. For every 100 extremely low-income renter households, only 35 affordable homes exist. Nearly 87% of those renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, many spending more than half.
7.2 million affordable rental homes are missing from the U.S. market right now. 27,500 active PadSplit rooms provided by hosts like you across the country.
Every room you list is a direct response to that gap. This month, PadSplit announced new financing from ORIX USA’s Growth Capital to accelerate expansion, a signal that institutional investors increasingly see coliving as the most scalable solution to the housing crisis. You were here first.
- 50% of all U.S. renters spend more than 30% of their income on rent. PadSplit rooms give them a path to stable, affordable housing that does not require a minimum credit score.
- Coliving properties generate 20 to 40% higher gross rent than traditional rentals while serving the members who need it most. You are doing well by doing good.
- The housing shortage costs the American economy $2 trillion per year in lost wages and productivity. What you are building is part of the solution.
Mission moment
She came to Houston alone. She found a community.
Adriann Perry was 29 and starting over. An eviction earlier that year meant traditional apartments wouldn’t take her. So she booked a PadSplit room at The Foundry in Houston sight unseen — moving in the day she arrived in a city where she didn’t know a single person. At $288 a week, she could afford to live and save at the same time.
“PadSplit gives you a place to stay but still lets you work on everything else so you can prepare for your own apartment or even a house.” — Adriann Perry, Houston, TX
She made friends on move-in day, found a host who was easy to reach, and plans to stay for at least a year while she rebuilds her credit and saves toward a home. Your rooms make stories like this possible.
Read Adriann’s full story here.
Thinking about adding a property to PadSplit?
Send your Host Success Manager the address of a property you’re considering. We’ll take a look at the market context, comparable rooms, and how it fits your portfolio goals. Whether it is your second property or your twentieth, we are here to help you grow with confidence.
