If you own a short-term rental in Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, or anywhere along our North Carolina coastline, you already know the online travel agencies — Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking — can feel like both a blessing and a bottleneck. They offer visibility, yes. But in 2025, they’re also introducing higher fees, stricter rules, unpredictable search rankings, and increasingly competitive listing environments. Owners everywhere are feeling it: “I’m getting bookings… but am