It isn't a good time for Airbnb hosts or renters in Japan right now: The private residence renting service was recently forced to cancel thousands of already booked and paid reservations in Japan, all thanks to a new set of Japanese laws that went into effect on June 15. Here's what's going on over there, and what you can do if you were planning on renting with Airbnb in Japan in the near future.

One of the big benefits to staying in an Airbnb instead of a hotel is the kitchen. If you like to cook, being able to do so away from home can be a great way to get to know a city's culture or just save some cash.

"This Uber/Airbnb/restaurant was really great," you think to yourself, as you sit down to write a review. You type up everything you loved about the ride/apartment/meal, and then you hover your cursor over the star ratings. "Well," you think, "there's always room for improvement!" or "This was great, but not literally the best ride/stay/meal I've ever had" and then you give 4/5, or 9/10 stars.

You've opened up the Airbnb app or website with the intention of finding the perfect place to stay on your next trip - so how do you make sure you pick the right option out of what could be hundreds of possible choices? You want to avoid creepy hosts and rundown rooms. So here's how to to hunt down the perfect accommodation for you, not just the listing with the lowest price or the nicest photos.

Booking a holiday stay with friends can get pretty stressful, and pretty expensive if you're the one putting down the deposit. With Airbnb's Split Payments service, however, you can you split the bill with your fellow travellers. Instead of footing the entire bill on your own and waiting for your buddies to send you their share, now you can take care of it all in one place.

Disruption is messy. That's the point - a business rethinks the rules of its industry and forces everyone to scramble and regroup, including customers. Now every purchase you make becomes a choice between two kinds of economy. Buy all your books on Amazon and your local bookstore could disappear; order UberEats and - what!? - your local restaurant might go under. Rent an Airbnb and, yep, you're raising people's rents. But, says The Atlantic's Derek Thompson, only a little.

Sharing a holiday rental with friends is a great way to cut down on accommodations costs and have a space to relax together after a long day sightseeing. But splitting a holiday rental doesn't always go smoothly -- we've all had that one friend who hogs the bathroom getting ready, spews their stuff all over the couch, or tries to skirt paying their fair share.

So you've taken the leap and decided to offer your home as a cosy place to stay for weary travellers, tourists and holidaymakers. You can list your house on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, or one of a handful of other holiday rental sites, but you want to make sure that listing looks as inviting as possible to attract customers. That means taking professional, good-looking photos.

If you're thinking of planning a holiday somewhere in the US for more than a couple of nights, renting a place through services like Airbnb can save you some money. These are the states that give you have the best and worst deals on short-term rentals.

One month after moving into a two-bedroom above our budget, my New York City roommate and I explored ways to make some extra money. We had used Airbnb as travellers and wondered about becoming hosts.

I'm so thankful that I can do my nomad thing in an era where now-indispensable travel resources like Google Maps, TripAdvisor, Wi-Fi and Airbnb exist. They make what I do entirely possible. With Airbnb, I can bounce around and set up a new home base in different countries with a few clicks of a button, and I don't have to pay out the wazoo for a hotel room. Without a doubt, Airbnb has been one juicy, giant cherry on top of my sweet travels.

Good news for frequent travellers and Airbnb devotees -- you can now earn Qantas points when you book Airbnb accommodation through the airline's website.

The rapid growth of services like Uber and Airbnb over the last decade make it clear that the "sharing economy" is not a passing trend. This has provided business travellers with a viable option beyond the usual taxi and hotel combo. However, there are still some areas of these services that require consieration. Here's an overview of what businesses need to know.

Airbnb renters keep finding hidden Wi-Fi cameras watching them without them knowing. If you want to ensure your privacy in a rental, this shell script will find any Wi-Fi cameras on the network and disable them.

Dear Lifehacker, If I were renting an apartment or house and I want to supplement my income, what's the rule on sub-letting a room or car spot? Is it illegal to put the property on AirBnB, or just frowned upon by the owner? What's a polite way of asking for permission?

If you want to ditch the hotel for a more interesting (and possibly cheaper) experience, Airbnb and its ilk can be great. If your host isn't legally allowed to sublet, however, you could end up on the street while visiting a new city.

Let's say you've got family all over the country (or the world), and you're looking for a central, affordable spot for everyone to meet up for vacation. That can take quite a bit of research, but trip planner Seeusoon makes it a lot easier.

We've praised hotel alternatives like Airbnb. But regular ol' hotels are still a solid lodging option. Before booking a potentially cheaper alternative for your trip, it's smart to compare prices with traditional hotel rooms nearby. All the Rooms makes it easy to do this in one spot.

Should we love Uber and Airbnb or protest against them? Depending on who you ask, these peer-to-peer business models are either canny disruptors that empower consumers and bring prices down, or a legally questionable free-for-all that's in dire need of government regulation. Here's what one leading economic sociologist thinks.