Scaling Quality in Short-Term Rentals: How AvantStay Bridges the Gap Between Homes and Hotels

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

30 Mar 2026

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The short-term rental industry has moved far beyond its origins of spare bedrooms and informal weekend stays. As the market matures, larger operators are working to professionalize the sector while preserving the authenticity that initially drew travelers away from traditional hotels. AvantStay, which has grown from 10 properties in California’s Coachella Valley to 3,000 homes across 60 markets, offers a clear example of how companies are tackling this challenge.

“The hardest thing in this business is not to scale, but to scale with quality,” says Reuben Doetsch, co-founder and President of AvantStay. He points out that rapid expansion through acquisitions often leads to inconsistent guest experiences, as seen with some competitors.

Building a Consistent Hospitality Platform

Founded eight years ago by Doetsch and co-founder Sean Breuner, AvantStay started as a lease arbitrage company but quickly expanded its ambitions. The founders saw that short-term rentals suffered from inconsistent standards, making it difficult to compete with traditional hotels.

Their goal was to merge the best elements of hospitality with the flexibility of home rentals. Early short-term rental guests often encountered issues such as difficult check-ins and personal belongings left in closets, which undermined their experience. AvantStay’s solution is a hybrid model: local teams in every market handle on-the-ground operations, while a centralized tech platform manages accounting, revenue, marketing, and distribution. The company distributes inventory through more than 50 channels and has secured partnerships with major brands, including Marriott and Capital One.

Expanding into Vertical Properties

Three years ago, AvantStay moved beyond single-family homes and began operating vertical properties — hotels, condotels, and apartment-style accommodations. This shift addresses regulatory hurdles and operational challenges in certain markets where short-term rentals of single-family homes are restricted or impractical.

“In places where you cannot really run single-family homes effectively because of regulations or otherwise, there’s opportunity in the vertical segment,” Doetsch says. AvantStay’s first major vertical project, the Gilmore Hotel in Nashville, launched last year and currently ranks at the top of Nashville hotel listings on major booking platforms.

The company is rolling out several new projects: a Miami hotel opening soon, an Austin condo hotel with more than 170 units, and a Laguna Beach property in a market where single-family rentals are prohibited. These expansions allow AvantStay to maintain a presence in high-demand markets despite regulatory limits.

Adapting to Hotel Operations

Transitioning from managing distributed homes to operating hotels required adjustments, but the core platform remained largely intact. “It was less of a change than I thought,” Doetsch says. He notes that maintaining quality across many homes scattered throughout a region is often harder than running a single large property.

AvantStay’s engineering team spent several months adapting the platform to hotel-specific needs, including room scheduling, unique distribution strategies, and managing multiple units under a single address. The company also recognized the importance of preserving what Doetsch calls “the soul” of the guest experience — ensuring properties don’t feel impersonal.

To address this, AvantStay implemented front-desk services where appropriate and extended its app-based concierge service to hotel guests. This integration enables personal touches and immediate support, bridging the gap between home-rental flexibility and hotel service.

Technology That Supports Human Connection

AvantStay’s technology strategy is designed to automate repetitive administrative tasks, allowing staff to focus on guest experience. The company prioritizes tools that free up employees’ time to engage with guests, rather than replacing human interaction altogether.

“You want to use technology for things that free up time for folks to focus on what matters, which is the human connection element,” Doetsch says. The platform automates functions such as accounting, resource allocation, and scheduling, enabling staff to review synthesized information, improve the guest experience, and focus on programming rather than routine logistics.

Artificial intelligence is used selectively — primarily to handle simple customer service questions, such as pet policies or check-in times. For more complex or sensitive inquiries, AvantStay relies on trained agents who can respond with empathy and accuracy.

“We use AI for very specific things that we know the AI can handle, like ‘Can I bring pets to the property?’ But anything that’s a more in-depth flow, we have trained agents that understand how to answer with empathy,” Doetsch explains.

Market Discipline and Risk Management

Operating across 60 markets requires careful decision-making about where and how to grow. AvantStay has adopted a data-driven strategy that emphasizes building density within existing markets over constant geographic expansion.

“We’re really not trying to enter into new markets. It’s really about driving density,” Doetsch says. The company evaluates potential growth based on market performance, projected returns, and risk assessments at both the market and portfolio levels.

This disciplined approach is shaped by observing the pitfalls of less cautious competitors. For example, Sonder’s rapid expansion without adequate risk controls led to significant losses when markets softened. “You have to be really disciplined, and you have to say no to some opportunities that probably would work out, but just don’t make sense from a risk framework perspective,” Doetsch says.

Industry Maturity and Future Prospects

The short-term rental industry is moving toward greater maturity, with successful operators needing broad geographic coverage to build meaningful relationships with travelers. A company limited to one or two markets cannot capture much repeat business, but being present in 60 or more markets enables operators to serve guests across both urban and leisure destinations, building long-term brand loyalty.

“If you’re only in one market, how much do people go to each market? A lot of times, they go, maybe once a year. But if you’re in 60, 70, 100 markets, and you’re in the urban markets plus the destination markets, you can really say we can be your hospitality provider for your needs, and really build brand loyalty,” Doetsch says.

Looking ahead, AvantStay plans to keep expanding its portfolio while focusing on consumer engagement. Its dual-platform model — managing both scattered homes and concentrated hotel properties — provides operational flexibility and risk diversification that single-focus competitors cannot match.

“Institutional has a longer sales cycle. It takes longer to ramp. Single-family rentals have a shorter sales cycle. You can get density in markets that you cannot penetrate from a vertical standpoint,” Doetsch says. This approach allows AvantStay to meet customers in a variety of settings, adapting to both market conditions and guest preferences.

Lessons for Investors and Developers

AvantStay’s evolution highlights both the opportunities and challenges in today’s maturing short-term rental sector. Scale alone is no longer enough; operators must combine growth with the operational sophistication needed to maintain quality across different property types and regulatory environments.

For real estate investors and developers, the key takeaway is that success in short-term rentals now depends on consistent standards, strong local operations, and the ability to adapt quickly to new market realities. Companies that can balance these demands — offering both the flexibility of home rentals and the reliability of hotels — are best positioned to capture the next wave of growth in this competitive industry.