Hey Vacation Rental Industry! A.I. is Here, But Where Did A.R. Go? 🤖🧬👓

Remember not so long ago when augmented reality (AR) was the tech world’s favorite shiny object?

In the vacation rental tech scene, we were buzzing about AR-driven home inspections and fantasizing about Google Glass-style gadgets making our jobs easier [5]. Fast forward a year, and now it’s all artificial intelligence (AI), all the time.

As someone working in vacation rental tech, I find this both hilarious and fascinating. One minute we’re strapping on AR glasses, the next we’re asking ChatGPT to write our listing descriptions. So, what happened? Did AR get lost in the laundry with the missing socks 🧦, or did AI simply outshine it? Let’s unpack this in a fun, conversational way and see what it means for all of us in the industry.

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When A.R. Was the Star 🌟 (A Trip Down Memory Lane)

Not too long ago, AR was the hot topic. We dreamed of home inspectors donning AR glasses that could automatically flag leaky faucets 🚰 and cracked tiles in real-time [5]. Imagine walking through a property and seeing pop-up labels on every issue—like a real-life video game quest 🎮 to fix the place up.

There were even startups promising AR-driven cleaning assistants that would highlight dusty spots in red and mark cleaned areas in green (talk about a “cleaning game” 🎯). I, for one, was ready to give my cleaners superhero-style AR goggles and say,

“Go forth and vanquish those dust bunnies! 🦸♂️”

At industry conferences, you couldn’t toss a luggage tag 🎫 without hitting a booth showcasing some AR prototype.

💡 Remember the talk of Google Glass making a hit in property management? LiveRez even declared they were going to build for the Glass App Store! We thought our inspectors and maintenance teams would all look like cyborgs 🤖, streaming what they see to owners and getting instant repair tips from an AI sidekick [5].

We even joked about guests using AR for self-check-in tours:

👉 “Just point your phone at the door, and an arrow will show you the keypad! 🔑”

But then… reality (and perhaps a bit of physics and cost) set in. It turns out strapping a computer to your face is not the easiest path to operational bliss. The AR hype slowly started to fizzle. By the time we entered this year, those much-discussed AR glasses were back in their cases 📦, and conversations in the office shifted to a different two-letter tech: AI.

The AI Takeover: How the New Kid Stole the Show 🚀

While AR was still figuring out its place, AI kicked down the door and took over the conversation. In the past year, AI went from a buzzword to a daily workhorse in our industry.

Platforms like Boom and Turno now leverage AI to automate tasks 🤖, optimize pricing 💰, and enhance service without special headsets [2,3]. AI is solving day-to-day operational issues: handling bookings, adjusting rates, and managing guest communications [4].

AI is streamlining:

✅ Guest Communications: AI chatbots instantly handle guest inquiries and even analyze guest sentiment 🗣️ [4].

✅ Smart Messaging & Personalization: AI-driven messages cater to guests’ specific behaviors and preferences automatically ✉️ [4].

✅ Revenue Optimization: Real-time pricing adjustments based on trends, events, and competition 📊 [4].

AI quickly demonstrated practical value, integrating seamlessly into our existing tech tools without requiring new hardware.

AR on a Milk Carton: Where Did Our Augmented Reality Go? 🕵️♀️

So, what happened to AR? It didn’t die—it just quietly stepped back 🚶 [7]. Why?

⚠️ “Cool, but…” Factor: AR was intriguing but didn’t address immediate, pressing problems like AI did.

🛠️ Hardware Challenges: AR required special hardware and extra effort—something the industry wasn’t eager to adopt widely.

💨 The Fizzle of Flashiness: AR was flashy but not immediately practical. AI quietly proved its worth and became indispensable.

Interestingly, AR ideas didn’t vanish—they evolved or got delayed, often integrating into simpler tools (like AI-powered inspection checklists on tablets).

The Grand Reunion: AI, AR, and All the Tech Together 🎉

Eventually, all these technologies will likely join forces. Imagine:

👓 AR glasses guided by AI intelligence during inspections

📍 Guests receiving AR-guided tours powered by AI insights

Combining AR’s visualization with AI’s intelligence could create powerful, practical solutions—tech peanut butter 🥜 meeting tech jelly 🍇.

Embrace Innovation (But Stay Practical) 💡

Let’s stay excited about technology but grounded in our real needs.

Today AI leads; tomorrow AR might return.

👉 Do you think AR will make a comeback in vacation rentals, or is AI the undisputed champion for now? Drop your thoughts in the comments! 💬

Sources:

📌 1. Hostaway Vacation Rental Industry Report, 2023

📌 2. Travolution - Boom AI-powered PMS

📌 3. Turno Blog - HostBuddy AI Partnership

📌 4. Altexsoft - AI in Short-Term Rentals

📌 5. VRM Intel - LiveRez Google Glass App

📌 6. Business Insider - Google Glass Discontinued

📌 7. G2 Research - Interest Decline in AR/VR

#CiiRUS #CiiRUSTech #VacationRentalSoftware #ArtificialIntelligence #AugmentedReality #VacationRentals #PropertyManagement #HospitalityTech #PropTech #Innovation #TechTrends #DigitalTransformation #AIvsAR #FutureOfTech #SmartTech #AI #AR #TechInnovation 🎯🚀

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