Why you should do a business management degree and why you should major in business management
Should I study business management? Pros of business management degree? In today’s video I will be going through the top 5 reasons why you should study business management or major in business when you’re in college or university. Business majors and business management degree is very common, so I thought it’d be useful to point out why this is and what are the advantages of a business management degree.
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Sustainable municipal bond ETFs have struggled to gain scale despite financing projects with identifiable environmental and social benefits.
Investor priorities, state tax incentives, limited liquidity, and fragmented bond supply make narrowly focused thematic funds difficult to construct and sustain.
A thematic tilt within a broader municipal strategy may offer a more practical balance among impact alignment, diversification, liquidity, and credit quality.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the $4.5 trillion US municipal bond market have become an increasingly prominent investment vehicle. Net assets grew from less than 0.8% of total municipal debt outstanding in 2017 to 4.3% by the end of 2025.
Yet, unlike in equity markets, dedicated municipal bond ETFs with sustainability or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) mandates remain rare, and notable offerings have struggled to gain scale or have been liquidated.
The VanEck HIP Sustainable Muni ETF and the State Street Nuveen Municipal Bond ESG ETF were liquidated in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Among currently operating funds, the JPMorgan Sustainable Municipal Income ETF had approximately $382 million in net assets in mid-2026, while the Franklin Municipal Green Bond ETF had approximately $72 million.
Although this limited uptake has coincided with growing political and legislative scrutiny of ESG investing and a more cautious approach to promoting sustainable products by US asset managers, it remains a puzzle.
Municipal bonds finance schools, roads, water systems, hospitals, and other public infrastructure, with proceeds often associated with identifiable projects or purposes. In that respect, they appear well suited to investors seeking a visible connection between their capital and environmental or social outcomes.
Why, then, have sustainable and thematic municipal ETFs that select bonds based on environmental or social purposes gained so little traction in the municipal bond market?
We posed this question because investor demand for these products could lead to more favorable issuance terms for municipalities and lower their borrowing costs.
Our interviews found that broader municipal bond strategies incorporating a thematic tilt may be more feasible than narrowly defined pure-play funds. This approach can preserve exposure to identifiable public projects while providing greater flexibility to maintain diversification, liquidity, and credit quality, making thematic alignment less of a constraint on portfolio construction.
UK property transactions can be identified and observed directly within minutes of payment settlement using CHAPS, the UK’s high-value payment system. Taking advantage of the migration to the ISO 20022 payment standard in June 2023, and the introduction of mandatory purpose codes from May 2025, we have developed a real-time indicator of housing activity. We find that this closely aligns with existing official housing market statistics and therefore can act as a reliable real-time indicator of these statistics, superseding previously developed value-based proxies.
How well does CHAPS track official statistics?
CHAPS participants are required to provide purpose codes for property transactions. The most frequently used of these is ‘PCOM’, which corresponds to the property completion payment.
In the UK, property market activity is often measured through HMRC and Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistics. These datasets capture different dimensions of the housing market; HMRC provides a measure of property transaction activity, whereas ONS statistics focus specifically on residential property transactions. HMRC statistics are based on Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) returns (which is paid after completion) and exclude transactions below £40,000. They are published with a one-month lag, with the latest month and the previous two months reported on a provisional basis. In contrast, ONS statistics are based on completed and registered residential property transactions which leads to a three-month lag in publication.
To assess how well payments with the PCOM purpose code capture completed property transactions, we compare PCOM volumes with HMRC’s property transaction series. Our analysis finds that total PCOM volume is an excellent real-time indicator of property transactions and provides an accurate measure of completed residential transactions in the UK.
Chart 1 shows close alignment between CHAPS PCOM volumes and HMRC property transaction data. From May 2025 to August 2026, there were 1.6 million uses of the PCOM purpose code, which is equivalent to over 99% of the residential property transactions reported in HMRC statistics over the same period. The mean absolute percentage difference between monthly PCOM volumes and monthly HMRC residential property transactions is 2.8%, while the Pearson correlation is 0.96, demonstrating there is a strong alignment between them. Since PCOM can be used for a broader range of property-related transactions than those covered by residential property statistics alone, extending the comparison to HMRC total property transactions (residential and non-residential) yields corresponding values of 9.9% and 0.96. This comparison suggests that our PCOM series is a useful indicator of aggregate property market activity.
Chart 1: Comparison of monthly volumes of CHAPS PCOM transactions to HMRC monthly data on property transactions
Notes: Compares monthly volumes of CHAPS PCOM payments (green), alongside HMRC monthly property transaction volumes completed in the UK with value of £40,000 or above, including total property transactions (orange) and residential property transactions (blue). HMRC data is available until August 2026, including provisional data from June 2026; CHAPS PCOM data until September 2026. The x-axis represents months, and the y-axis shows transaction volumes in thousands.
For both series (looking at HMRC total, or HMRC residential only), our analysis suggests that PCOM volumes track property completions closely, regardless of coverage. Furthermore, while HMRC data is published with a lag (delayed by one month, four if we exclude provisional data), PCOM provides a near real-time signal, meaning that CHAPS payments data could capture turning points in property market activity as they emerge.
We expect there to be some differences between the two series because they both consider slightly different sets of transactions. CHAPS may include property-related transactions below £40,000, or those not captured by SDLT returns, while HMRC may capture property purchases settled through other payment rails, funded from non-UK bank accounts, or accounted for using other property-related purpose codes.
What do payment timings reveal about housing activity?
While we do not yet have sufficient data to develop a seasonally adjusted series, the granularity of payments data in the period May 2025 to September 2026 allows us to look at other seasonal features of the data. We can confirm the patterns align with expectations:
Property transaction activity falls sharply over the Christmas and New Year period, with average daily PCOM volumes 57% lower than during the rest of the year. This reflects a seasonal pattern, in which transactions are often brought forward and completed before the holiday period.
Most people want to move before the weekend; Fridays account for 36% of transactions.
Transactions are concentrated in the morning; 56% of transactions are settled before midday; giving you the afternoon to unpack!
Housing payment values: coverage and limitations
A key advantage of purpose codes is that they allow us to identify property completion payments directly, rather than relying on value-based proxies. Therefore, the PCOM series provides a more complete picture of property market activity across the full distribution of property transactions, while offering a more precise measure by isolating only property-related transactions.
In the 12 months to July 2026, over two-thirds of PCOM property completion payments by volume sit within the £100,000 to £500,000 range, in line with the average UK house price. However, this range only corresponds to 50% of the total value of property payments settled, with the top 1% of payments by value accounting for more than 17% of the total PCOM value settled in CHAPS. This highlights the importance of capturing higher-value transactions, which were likely to be excluded under the previous value-based proxy.
Across the same period, the ONS reports that the average house price in the UK was £273,000, while the average value of a CHAPS PCOM property payment was £344,000. Here, it’s key to understand that the two measures are not directly comparable. The ONS chart is derived from their UK House Price Index, which is based on residential property transactions and uses a mix-adjusted methodology to account for differences in the characteristics of properties sold over time. In contrast, PCOM payments capture a broader set of property transactions and reflect the property completion payment value, making the average more sensitive to high-value transactions.
More broadly, while CHAPS data can provide timely insights into housing market activity, it does not contain the detailed property-level information required to construct traditional house price indices, such as those produced by the ONS, Nationwide and Lloyds. These indices adjust for differences in property characteristics through hedonic regression methods, ensuring the index reflects underlying price movements rather than changes in the composition of properties sold. As this information is not available within CHAPS payments data, CHAPS is better suited to analysing transaction patterns and market activity, limiting its ability to directly measure house price inflation or replicate established house price indices.
Conclusion and further work
The introduction of mandatory purpose codes has transformed CHAPS payments data into a powerful tool for real-time monitoring of the property market. By directly identifying housing transactions, the resulting PCOM series provides a more accurate and timelier indicator of property completions than previous value-based proxies. This data can also help the Bank monitor intraday CHAPS property transaction flows and identify and manage operational risks. The analysis presented in this article is based on using payment settlement dates, values and purpose codes; it does not use any personal information.
With transaction-level timestamps, PCOM data enables housing market patterns, shifts and developments to be monitored as they emerge. For example, we observed a peak in PCOM volumes at the end of March 2025, in line with changes to SDLT thresholds, demonstrating the potential of CHAPS data to capture shifts in market activity in near real time.
Looking ahead, we could explore relationships with mortgage related activity by enriching CHAPS data with complementary data sources, such as Product sales data. This would allow us to enhance real-time monitoring and support us to explore further housing insights.
A footnote on previous work
Previous analysis on CHAPS housing used a value-based CHAPS proxy to track housing activity, which showed broad alignment with HMRC trends when comparing year on year differences between 2007–16. However, this approach relied on assumptions in the absence of more granular data and has been less effective in recent years, with the relationship weakening from 2023 onwards. The introduction of purpose codes and enhanced CHAPS granularity now allows for a more direct and precise view of underlying housing activity, reducing reliance on proxy-based approaches which include non-housing transactions and exclude high value transactions.
The authors are grateful to James Sanders and Sam Cuthbertson for useful discussions and comments.
Simran Mehta and Valentina Macchiati work in the Bank’s Wholesale Payment Division.
If you want to get in touch, please email us at bankunderground@bankofengland.co.uk or leave a comment below.
Comments will only appear once approved by a moderator, and are only published where a full name is supplied. Bank Underground is a blog for Bank of England staff to share views that challenge – or support – prevailing policy orthodoxies. The views expressed here are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of the Bank of England, or its policy committees.
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<p>Why companies are still adopting these strategies to lower costs, reduce risk, strengthen supply chains, improve productivity, and create new revenue opportunities.</p>
[2026.10 Update] Besides the 60k offer provided by BoA itself, third party website Rakuten offers an additional $425 cashback! This is the best ever offer on this card! Note that if you choose to earn MR on Rakuten you may see $0 additional cashback, you need to choose to earn cashback on Rakuten. We no longer track the additional cashback from Rakuten (unless there’s a best ever offer) because it changes too frequently.
[2023.6 Update] The new offer is 60k. This is the highest offer on this card.
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60k offer: earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in first 90 days. This is the highest offer on this card.
Points can be redeemed as statement credit or deposited into BoA Checking/Savings account at fixed ratio 1.0 cent/point. You can also use them in BoA Travel Center or choose to redeem for gift card. Therefore the 60k offer means $600 value.
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BofA Rewards credit card rewards bonus: if you have a BoA checking account and your combined assets in BoA bank accounts + Merrill Edge investment accounts reach certain thresholds, you can receive a credit card rewards bonus. The most useful tiers include: Preferred Honors, which requires more than $100k in assets and provides a 50% rewards bonus; and Premier, which requires more than $1M in assets and provides a 75% rewards bonus.
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Intel(INTC +0.55%) will post its third-quarter results after the bell on Thursday, Oct. 29. If the past year is any guide, revenue could be the least surprising number in the release.
Intel’s revenue has topped its own forecast in seven straight quarters. And the latest one wasn’t close: Second-quarter revenue of $16.1 billion was $1.8 billion over the midpoint of management’s guidance. Investors have noticed. Shares trade near $114 as of this writing, about triple where they began 2026.
But a business can sell more chips than it planned and still struggle to profit from them. I think the number that matters most this month is Intel’s gross margin (the percentage of sales Intel keeps after paying to build its products). And its climb has slowed sharply.
Image source: Intel.
Revenue has been the easy part
For the third quarter, management forecast revenue of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion. The $16.3 billion midpoint works out to about 19% growth year over year, a drop from the second quarter’s 25% rate. Yet that’s strong for a business whose revenue was flat in 2025.
Hitting the range could depend more on Intel’s factories than on its customers. In its second-quarter filing, Intel said demand for both its PC and server chips exceeded the supply it had available, and it expects industrywide shortages of substrates, memory, and other parts to run into next year. That means revenue will probably track how many chips Intel’s plants can make.
Gross margin is different. It reflects yields at those plants, the early costs of ramping Intel 18A (its latest manufacturing process), what Intel pays for memory and other inputs, and the prices it can charge.
Is the margin still climbing?
Intel’s non-GAAP (adjusted) gross margin was 37.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025. It jumped to 41% in the first quarter of 2026, then inched up again in the second quarter, to 41.8%. For the third quarter, management forecast around 42% (41% on a GAAP basis). Each rise has been smaller than the last — a gain of 3.1 percentage points, then 0.8 points, then a guided 0.2 points. Plus, 42% would be only around 2 points over the 40% Intel reported for the third quarter of 2025.
Intel’s margin beats have been shrinking, too. The first quarter’s 41% topped Intel’s 34.5% guidance by around 6.5 points, helped partly by sales of previously reserved inventory.
The second quarter’s 41.8% beat the 39% guidance by around 2.8 points, helped by higher factory yields.
“We were very pleased with Q1 gross margins and we will continue to push for gross margin expansion. It is my top priority,” CFO David Zinsner said in April, in his comments on Intel’s first-quarter results.
In those same comments, though, Zinsner said Intel 18A was still early in its ramp and that climbing input costs, especially memory, were “growing headwinds in the second half.”
The valuation needs more than 42%
At the guided revenue midpoint, one percentage point of gross margin is worth around $160 million of gross profit a quarter. That’s about 6% of the $2.8 billion in adjusted operating income Intel earned in the second quarter.
And the share price leaves little room for a margin that stalls. At around $114, Intel has a price-to-earnings ratio of about 55 using expected 2027 earnings. Measured against its adjusted earnings over the last four quarters, the ratio is above 100. Investors are already paying for profits that haven’t arrived yet.
Today’s Change
(0.55%) $0.62
Current Price
$113.12
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$598BMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.
Day’s Range
$111.14 – $115.30
52wk Range
$32.89 – $142.35
Volume
82.9M
Avg Vol
106.7M
Gross Margin
39.05%
To be fair, the margin might keep rising. Intel said in July it had lowered the cost of its main Panther Lake chip made on 18A by around 50% so far in 2026, with another 20% drop expected by year-end.
But spending is climbing, too. Intel lifted its 2026 capital spending outlook to over $20 billion and expects 2027 spending to be much higher. New factories and equipment carry depreciation costs that might hurt gross margin when they come online.
Another revenue beat on Oct. 29 might be welcome, but it likely won’t tell investors much they don’t already know. A gross margin comfortably above 42%, plus a fourth-quarter forecast that keeps it rising, would arguably show the turnaround reaching profits.
A margin that just meets the 42% forecast, though, might not cut it for a stock priced for a comeback. At a price-to-earnings ratio around 55, I think Intel needs that number climbing faster than its own forecast suggests.
Buying property is expensive, and getting an initial foothold in the market can seem an impossible task.
Fortunately, many state and territory governments have recognised this and provide eligible first home buyers with a leg up in the form of grants, as well as stamp duty concessions.
More than 20 years on from their introduction, the grants, often abbreviated as FHOGs (first home owner grants), remain popular initiatives to help home buyers break into the housing market.
What are first home owner grants?
First home owner grants are administered by various state and territory governments, so the details can fluctuate between jurisdictions.
They range in value from $10,000 to $50,000 and are commonly only available to first home buyers building their own home or purchasing a dwelling that hasn’t been lived in before.
They can also sometimes be used to bolster a buyer’s deposit, making the grants particularly attractive to many potential first home buyers – but they are not open to all.
For starters, the ACT doesn’t offer a first home buyer grant. Instead, it offers a waiver of stamp duty to all first home owners, regardless of home value or income levels (from 1 July 2026).
Additionally, there are various price caps that apply to receiving a FHOG.
Here’s a summary in the table below (as at June 2026):
State/Territory
Value of grant
Eligible property
Property value limit
Northern Territory (NT)
$50,000
New homes
No limit
Queensland (QLD)
$30,000
$15,000 after 30 June 2026
New homes
$750,000
South Australia (SA)
$15,000
New homes
No limit
New South Wales (NSW)
$10,000
New or substantially renovated homes
$600,000 ($750,000 for house and land new builds)
Victoria (VIC)
$10,000
New homes
$750,000
Western Australia (WA)
Up to $10,000
New or substantially renovated homes
$800,000 (south of 26th parallel) $1 m (north of 26th parallel)
Tasmania (TAS)
$10,000 (some applicants may be eligible for another $10,000)
New homes
No limit
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
N/A
N/A
N/A
If you’re after more specific details on the grants, as well as information on stamp duty waivers and concessions, you also can find them on this page – just keep scrolling!
If you’re still unsure whether your purchasing plans tick the box, it’s advised you turn to official state or territory government sources or reach out to an independent expert for advice.
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First home owner grant eligibility requirements
Eligibility criteria for individuals signing up for first home owner grants vary between each state and territory.
As discussed above, many require a buyer to be purchasing or building a new property within set expenditure limits.
On top of that, they will typically need to meet the following eligibility criteria:
At least 18 years old
Haven’t owned a property previously or within the last few decades
Must apply for the grant within 12 months of settlement
Must intend to live in the property after purchasing
How do you apply for the first home owner grant?
There are generally two ways to apply for the grant: either by lodging the application yourself through your state or territory revenue office, or through an approved bank or lending institution.
The grant is usually paid to your lender at the time of settlement and applied directly to your home loan. If you are building a house, the grant will be approved when your first loan repayment is due.
If you are doing things by yourself, it is highly suggested that you apply for the grant as soon as you can after your settlement date.
You must remember that in order for your purchase to qualify for the grant, an application must be made within one year of the completion of the transaction.
Detailing first home owner grants: State-by-state breakdown
At the time of writing, every state and territory in Australia, except the ACT, offers some form of a FHOG. [Instead, the ACT offers generous stamp duty exemptions to all first home buyers, regardless of home value.]
Other states may also waive or charge concessional rates of stamp duty for particular first home buyers.
Here’s how much you could get from the grant and any eligibility criteria that may apply, depending on your state or territory.
NSW First Home Owner Grant
The NSW First Home Owner Grant is worth $10,000 and is available on new home purchases worth up to $600,000 and new home buildings worth up to $750,000.
The NSW Government also doesn’t charge first home buyers stamp duty on properties valued at up to $800,000, or vacant land valued at up to $350,000.
It offers discounted stamp duty for first time buyers purchasing properties worth between $800,000 and $1 million and land worth between $350,000 and $450,000.
To learn more, visit Revenue NSW.
Victoria First Home Owner Grant
In Victoria, first home buyers who are buying or building a new home may be eligible to receive a $10,000 grant.
The grants are only available on new properties valued at $750,000 or less.
The Victorian government also waives stamp duty for first home buyers purchasing properties valued up to $600,000. It promises discounted rates for properties worth between $600,000 and $750,000.
Visit the State Revenue Office of Victoria for more information.
Queensland First Home Owner Grant
Queensland doubled its first home owner grant in November 2023, bolstering it from $15,000 to $30,000. But the grant is set to revert to $15,000 from 1 July 2026.
Buyers can take advantage of the respective grants according to when their contracts were entered although the home being built must not be value at more than $750,000 to be eligible.
The Queensland government also waives stamp duty for all first home buyers entering into a contract to purchase a new-built home to live in (or vacant land to build one), regardless of the value of the home.
For established home, first home buyers purchasing property up to $700,000 or vacant land for less than $350,000 do not have to pay stamp duty. Concessional stamp duty rates apply for properties purchased for up to $800,000 and land purchased for up to $500,000.
For more information, visit the Queensland Revenue Office.
South Australia (SA) First Home Owner Grant
Eligible first home buyers in South Australia can qualify for a $15,000 grant if they are buying or building a new home, no matter its market value.
The state also doesn’t charge stamp duty on property purchases made by first time buyers, as long as they are building or buying a new dwelling. (Stamp duty still applies to first home buyers purchasing
Visit Revenue SA for more information.
Tasmania First Home Owner Grant
Eligible first home buyers in Tasmania could receive up to $20,000 if they are purchasing or building a new home from 1 July 2026. (This is down from $30,000 in the prior period.)
The grant will be made up of a $10,000 grant with an additional payment up to $10,000 available if certain criteria are met.
Unlike other states, there is no limit on the purchase price of the property.
The Apple Isle is also reinstating full stamp duty on first home buyers who purchase established homes from 1 July 2026.
Visit the State Revenue Office of Tasmania for more information.
Western Australia (WA) First Home Owner Grant
Eligible first home buyers can receive a $10,000 grant towards buying or building a new home.
How much an eligible buyer can spend on their property and still receive the grant depends on the property’s location.
The combined cost of land and building of a home in the Perth metropolitan area (south of the 26th parallel) must not be valued at more than $800,000 (as at 7 May 2026).
Meanwhile, houses north of the 26th parallel can be valued at up to $1 million.
The WA Government doesn’t charge first time buyers stamp duty if they’re buying new build or established homes valued up to $600,000 with a concessional rate applied to home valued up to $800,000.
No duty is payable for vacant land valued up to $450,000 with a concessional rate applied to vacant land valued up to $550,000.
Visit the WA Government site for more information.
Northern Territory (NT) First Home Owner Grant
Eligible first home buyers can receive a $50,000 grant towards buying or building a new home when signing a contract between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025.
Like Tasmania, there is no specified limit on the purchase price of the property.
The territory also doesn’t offer any specific first home buyer stamp duty discounts.
Visit NT Government for more information.
ACT First Home Owner Grant
The ACT doesn’t offer any FHOGs at the time of writing.
Instead the ACT government offers a full stamp duty exemption to all first home buyers in the territory regardless of home value (from 1 July 2026).
Visit ACT Revenue Office to learn more.
Australian first home buyer grants: FAQs
Buying your first property can be both exciting and nerve-wracking, and it can seem like there’s no end to the information that needs to be considered.
With that in mind, here are some of the most common questions about FHOGs in Australia.
When will the grant be paid?
When a grant will be paid is be dependent on many factors, including the state and territory a buyer resides.
In some cases, the grant might be paid at the time of settlement or when the first drawdown of the loan occurs, particularly for new home constructions.
In other cases, it might be paid upon the issuance of a final inspection certificate or completion of an eligible transaction.
For the most accurate and detailed information regarding the payment timing of the FHOG in each state or territory, it’s best to turn to the relevant state or territory revenue office or their official website, which can be found above.
Am I allowed to use the grant as a deposit?
If you are applying for a FHOG through an accredited agent and while in the process of purchasing a home, you could use the grant as a deposit.
However, you would still need to shell out, since the grant is generally not enough to be considered an entire deposit. It is highly advisable that you talk to your mortgage broker to know more about using the grant as your deposit.
When you apply on your own, however, you may not be able to use the grant as a deposit as you would have already applied for a loan and settled on the property.
If you’re concerned about the size of your deposit, it could be worth considering turning to the 5% Deposit Scheme.
Will my income affect the amount of the grant?
No state or territory applies a means test to receiving a FHOG. This means your income will not impact your ability to receive the grant.
As long as you fit the eligibility requirements and your property is within any value cap, you can apply for the grant.
Can I apply for the grant if I inherit the property?
The purpose of the grant is to help first-home buyers finance their home purchase.
If you inherit a property and you plan to apply for the grant, do not expect to get approved.
If I have a property outside Australia, will I still be eligible for the grant?
Generally, states and territories specify that a person turning to the grant must not have owned Australian property either ever before or within the last 25-odd years.
If you own a property outside of Australia, this mightn’t automatically disqualify you, but the specific rules of each state or territory should be checked.
It’s recommended to consult the relevant state revenue office for detailed information and clarification.
Would buying an existing home qualify me for the grant?
Each state has its specific rules surrounding the type of home that qualifies for the grant.
At the time of writing, all states and territories only offer the grant to first home buyers purchasing new homes, substantially renovated homes, or vacant land on which they are building upon.
However, those buying established homes might be able to have their stamp duty discounted or waived depending on the state or territory they’re buying in.
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If you work at a 9-5 job, but struggle to find time for investing in the market – it is costing you more than you think.
But you can apply the strategies I have explained in this video to start your own independent investing journey (without depending on mutual fund managers)
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN INVESTMENT ADVICE. PLEASE DO YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE
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A screwdriver, a hammer, a saw, and a wrench come from the same toolbox but are for different jobs. You wouldn’t grab one at random and expect it to do what you need for a specific project. You’d reach for the one built for the task in front of you.
When you begin shopping for short-term rental insurance, depending on where you look and who you ask, it can feel like you have plenty of options. They end up in the same conversation, but they’re completely different products. Before you can accurately compare anything, you have to understand what you’re actually looking at.
A short-term rental insurance policy has a specific definition. It isn’t a homeowner’s (HO) policy with a home-sharing endorsement bolted on like a sidecar, a landlord policy written on a dwelling (DP) form with a permission slip for short-term rentals tucked inside, or a supplemental product stretched over another policy like a tarp to cover the gaps.
Short-term rental insurance means a short-term rental policy: the primary insurance contract on a home rented to guests for short stays. This applies no matter what the product is called—short-term rental, vacation rental, or Airbnb insurance.
Short-term rental insurance is a stand-alone product, built as the primary insurance contract on a home rented to guests for short-term and mid-term stays.
The good news is that you don’t need to become an insurance expert yourself to tell the options apart. Five questions reveal what you’re actually looking at and whether the options in front of you belong side by side in a comparison at all.
1. Is Your Short-Term Rental’s Coverage a Stand-Alone Policy?
Start here, because before you compare premiums or coverage limits, you need to understand what role the product is actually playing.
A short-term rental insurance policy stands on its own as the primary insurance contract on the property.It replaces whatever policy is on the home now.
That separates it from a product designed to sit on top of another: a home-sharing endorsement modifies a homeowner’s policy, and supplemental host protection may add coverage around certain guest stays or exposures. Both can provide some useful protection, but neither is the primary policy on the property, and neither was built to cover the whole risk on its own. When coverage is split across two products, a claim can fall into the gap between them.
If the hosting coverage only works because a homeowner’s or landlord’s policy is still in force underneath it, what you have is an add-on or a supplemental product—not a policy that stands on its own.
On the declarations page: Your name should be listed as the named insured, and this should be the only policy on the short-term rental property. If this coverage can’t exist without another policy underneath it, that’s your answer.
2. Does It Cover the Property No Matter How It’s Being Used?
A short-term rental doesn’t sit in one occupancy box. It’s booked, empty, between guests, or used by you, sometimes all in the same month.
A short-term rental insurance policy covers the property across those normal shifts in use. It doesn’t hold a vacancy clause, a day-count limit, or a primary-residence requirement that reduces coverage the moment the calendar goes quiet.
If coverage depends on the home being occupied a certain way, lived in as your primary residence, or held under a fixed tenancy by a resident with a lease, it was written for a different kind of property. A short-term rental turns over constantly, and the coverage has to hold through every version of that.
On the declarations page: Check how occupancy is classified. If it reads tenant-occupied, the policy was generally built around a resident with a lease. Then check for a vacancy clause, an occupancy or day-count limit, or a primary-residence requirement. A short-term rental policy doesn’t restrict coverage based on any of these factors.
3. Does the Policy Say Personal Liability, Premises Liability, or Commercial General Liability?
“Personal liability,” “premises liability,” and “commercial general liability” are not interchangeable terms, and the difference decides how far your protection reaches. Read the liability line on the policy and see which one it names.
Personal liability is tied to you as a person, rather than to a property or a business. It is designed to respond wherever you or your family happen to be, but it stops where business activity begins.
Premises liability is tied to the boundary line of the property itself.It is designed to respond to covered claims that happen on the premises, but it stops at the property line, even though the incident is tied to your rental’s business activity.
Commercial general liability is built for the exposures of operating a rental, and it extends beyond the property line to follow your guests, including when they leave the property to ride the bikes, take out the kayak, or head down the street.
Your guests don’t stay put, so coverage that stops at the property line leaves a gap the moment they step off it. For a short-term rental business like an Airbnb that runs on people coming and going, the type of liability on the policy matters as much as the limit.
On the declarations page: The liability line should say “Commercial General Liability,” not “Premises Liability.” A number like $1 million tells you how much coverage you have; the type of liability tells you the boundary that figure responds in.
4. Does It Cover the Building AND What You Put Inside It?
A short-term rental is a furnished, active income-producing property, so the structure is only half of what’s exposed. You will want to check that the coverage for your Airbnb protects both the building and the contents you own inside it.
The building coverage is designed to pay to repair or replace the structure after a loss like a fire or water damage. The contents coverage protects what you furnished the place with to operate it: the beds, sofa, appliances, kitchenware, and smart TV. On a short-term rental, that coverage should also respond when a guest is the one who damages or takes something, since handing the keys to a stranger is the normal way the property runs.
A homeowner’s policy covers contents but only as your personal belongings in a home you live in, not as the business furnishings of a property you rent to guests.
A landlord policy is built around the structure and leaves contents coverage largely to the tenant, who in most long-term rental situations has renters insurance.
Even a home-sharing endorsement added to a homeowner’s policy is a patch on that residential foundation, not coverage designed around a furnished rental operation.
A short-term rental carries real value in its furnishings. Without the furnishings, there would be no income. So, the short-term rental insurance policy has to insure that value the way it also insures the building.
On the declarations page: Look for a contents or business personal property limit, and check that it reflects what you’ve actually furnished the place with. A structure-only policy leaves everything inside it uncovered.
5. Does It Insure the Business Income Your Short-Term Rental Generates?
A short-term rental earns income based on bookings, not a fixed monthly rent, so the coverage has to match how the property actually makes money. The term to look for is “business income.”
When a covered loss takes the property out of service, the repair bill is only part of the damage. The other part is the income you can’t earn while the property is down.
Business income coverage is designed to respond to that interruption, based on what your short-term rental actually earns.
“Loss of rents” is the term you’ll find on a landlord policy, and it’s tied to a long-term rental model: roughly what a long-term tenant down the street would pay, which is often a fraction of what a short-term rental brings in over the same stretch.
Loss of use is homeowner’s coverage for your own personal living expenses when you can’t live in your home, a third thing entirely.
That gap is the whole point of this question. Two policies can be described as covering lost income but be built around completely different numbers. Short-term rental insurance is measured against your property’s real earnings. A landlord policy is measured against the neighborhood’s average long-term rent.
On the declarations page: The coverage should read “business income,” not “loss of rents.” The same three words, “covers lost income,” can describe either one, so the term is what tells them apart.
Putting the Five Questions to Work
Run these five questions, and the insurance picture clears up fast. The options that looked comparable start to separate, because you’re no longer comparing prices. You’re comparing what each product is actually built to do.
That’s also when the vast differences in price between the products make sense. A lower-cost add-on and a stand-alone policy aren’t the cheaper and more expensive versions of the same thing. They’re doing different jobs.
When one option costs significantly less, it’s almost certainly not a discount on the same coverage. It’s a different product entirely, one with far less coverage.
You can do the verification yourself. Take these five questions to your agent or drop this blog into AI with your full policy, ask either one on any policy you’re weighing, and get every answer confirmed in writing. It’s real work, and you should repeat it any time you are comparing short-term rental coverage for as long as you own the property, but it’s absolutely doable.
Or you can work with a company built to address all five questions from the start. Short-term rental insurance is Proper Insurance’s only focus: A stand-alone short-term rental policy that replaces your current coverage, stays fully on however it’s used, carries commercial general liability that follows your guests, insures the building and the contents inside it, and provides business income coverage calculated from your property’s actual rental revenue.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Some people are natural conversationalists. I’m not one of them.
Like many people, I’ve always felt awkward in conversation. That’s especially hard as an entrepreneur, where talking to people is half the job. Good conversations can drive our businesses and relationships. We like to buy from, work with, and collaborate with people who are easy to talk to.
That’s why I spent the past two decades studying the patterns of master conversationalists for my latest book, Conversation: How to Connect with Anyone & Make Every Interaction Count. I learned that people who come off as instantly likable use certain phrases over and over again to build rapport. Now I’m passing those phrases along so that you can use them in team meetings, investor calls, and client sessions to make your small talk infinitely better.
The phrases involve compliments and moments of connection, so only use them if they feel authentic. Never fake it. Here are five to try.
1. ‘I was just thinking about you!’
Everyone likes to be remembered. So telling someone, “I was just thinking of you!” immediately sparks connection. For example, I wanted to check in with a certain VIP but wasn’t sure how. She had been on my mind, so I just reached out and told her exactly that. Here’s what I sent:
→ Subject: I was just thinking about you! I stopped by the pier this weekend and stumbled upon the national skimboarding competition! Of course, it made me think of you. Did you ever end up designing your own board? I took a video of the winning skim, attached. Incredible, right?
She immediately wrote back raving about the video I sent and attached a picture of the skimboard she had designed. It triggered a request for a catch-up call, then a taco breakfast, and then an invite to speak at her company’s corporate retreat.
This is a powerful phrase you can use absolutely anywhere. For example:
→ If someone pops into your head, text them: “Hey! I was just thinking of you and wanted to check in. Anything new and exciting?”
→ If you see something that reminds you of someone in your life, share it with them and say, “I just saw this amazing [blank], and it made me think of you!”
→ If you need to reach out to someone, say, “Long time no talk. Someone recently mentioned a [blank], and, of course, I thought of you.”
These are casual, immediately put someone at ease by reminding them they are top of mind, and make them feel good. Magic.
2. ‘Tell me more!’
The research is clear: Asking people questions, especially follow-up questions, makes you more likable. It shows that you’re engaged, responsive, and genuinely interested.
And here’s the simplest follow-up of all: Just say, “Tell me more!”
For example, I once visited the emergency room for very bad food poisoning. (I was fine, but I’ll never eat scallops again.) My nurse seemed grumpy, but I was very grateful for her help and wanted her to feel appreciated. I noticed a little pin above her name badge, so I asked, “Is that a pin for Mellow Velo? I just walked by there last week. It’s a bike spot, right?”
She brightened. “Yes! I’m an avid biker and I’m helping them organize a big bike ride for families.” I was tired and wasn’t sure what to say next. I also don’t know how to ride a bike (true, and embarrassing). So I just said, “Tell me more!”
Then off she went, telling me about their great local initiatives. She spent far longer in my room and stopped by frequently to check on me (once with a warm blanket!).
Here’s an advanced way to use this question. Let’s say someone is mid-story at a networking event or group dinner, and they get interrupted. The waiter arrives, someone asks for the salt, and the conversation shifts. The person might never get to finish their story — unless you say, “You were saying something so interesting. Please tell me more!” They’ll love you forever.
3. ‘Last time we were talking, you mentioned…’
Want to become effortlessly likable with someone you’ve met before? Just say: “Last time we were talking, you mentioned…” paired with something that lit them up the last time you talked.
For example, you could say: “Last time we spoke, you mentioned you were going to Greece on vacation. How was that?” Or ask about the big project they mentioned, or a show you both love.
This packs a powerful emotional punch. It shows that you pay attention, have a good memory, and consider them worthy of being memorable.
In fact, this is how Earvin “Magic” Johnson first impressed the woman who became his wife, Cookie. They attended a Michigan State University party. Shortly after, Magic showed up at her dorm room with a carefully selected surprise — yellow roses, because she had mentioned she likes yellow. It was, she said, the “sweetest thing any guy who’d ever showed romantic interest in me had done.”
4. ‘Same here!’
Research consistently shows: We like people who are like us. We’re more likely to start conversations online with people whose profiles show shared interests. Teams collaborate better when members have shared interests. And we’re even more likely to be persuaded by someone we can relate to.
This is why, at the start of a negotiation or meeting, it can be valuable to highlight mutual likes — to make someone say, “Same here!” The common ground can be as simple as your age, hometown, or background.
I discovered this myself in 2025, when I got an unexpected email from Khloé Kardashian’s team. They said she’s a fan of my work(!) and wanted me on her podcast. I’d never met someone so famous, and I was terrified of the small talk we’d have before the interview. So I made a list of things we have in common to spark “same here!” moments — like how we both attended all-girls schools and we both have two kids. I told her these when we met, and it was like activating instant bestie mode. Suddenly, everything flowed. When our recording was done, she told me, “I didn’t want that to end.”
That’s the power of “same here!” energy. It isn’t just chemistry. It’s psychology.
5. ‘You’re so…!’
What makes someone instantly likable? You might think it’s charm or cleverness. But often, it’s this: making others feel valued.
In every conversation, people are quietly wondering, Am I being boring? Am I doing well? Do they like me? Your job is to answer those questions before they’re asked. Humans love to be validated for who they are, not just what they do. Frequently. Don’t assume you’ve said it before, or that someone knows how valued they are. We can almost never receive too much validation if it’s genuine.
Doing so is simple. If you appreciate something about someone, tell them! Just say: “You’re so…” then you can highlight their humor, charisma, or even punctuality.
In fact, this is how legendary fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga got his start. He grew up poor and shy in a small Basque fishing village. Every Sunday, he’d catch glimpses of the town’s fashionable Marquesa de Casa Torres descending the church steps in her couture. One morning, unable to contain himself, he exclaimed: “How elegant you are!” (In other words: You’re so elegant.)
That stopped her in her tracks. She asked Balenciaga about his eye for fashion and discovered his love for style. A few days later, she handed him the dress he had admired so much and asked him to copy it. He did. A career was born.
Positive labels help people see themselves in a new light. And when you give someone a label they want to embody, they often rise to it. NOW I CHALLENGE YOU: Use one of these five phrases in your next conversation. And watch how quickly your connection with them improves.
Some people are natural conversationalists. I’m not one of them.
Like many people, I’ve always felt awkward in conversation. That’s especially hard as an entrepreneur, where talking to people is half the job. Good conversations can drive our businesses and relationships. We like to buy from, work with, and collaborate with people who are easy to talk to.
That’s why I spent the past two decades studying the patterns of master conversationalists for my latest book, Conversation: How to Connect with Anyone & Make Every Interaction Count. I learned that people who come off as instantly likable use certain phrases over and over again to build rapport. Now I’m passing those phrases along so that you can use them in team meetings, investor calls, and client sessions to make your small talk infinitely better.
