AirDNA's latest monthly market review indicates this summer will be the strongest on record, with booked vacation rental demand already up 10% from last year's highs. And travelers are planning ahead for their stays: March 2023 saw the highest number of nights booked for future travel of any month on recordmore than 21 million.
AirDNA's latest monthly market review indicates this summer will be the strongest on record, with booked vacation rental demand already up 10% from last year's highs. And travelers are planning ahead for their stays: March 2023 saw the highest number of nights booked for future travel of any month on record—more than 21 million.
After rapid growth in the spring of 2022, supply in the U.S. is stabilizing, with available listings remaining at around 1.35 million since July 2022. The year-over-year growth rate for March was 20.3%, which, based on housing sales, we expect to continue to drop. Meanwhile, demand is still growing off 2022's record highs, with 15.8% more nights stayed in March 2023 than in 2022. This narrowed the occupancy gap to just 2% below last year.
"When understanding what data points are actually telling us, it's important to separate the signals from the noise," commented Jamie Lane, AirDNA's Vice President of Research, "This spring, we are seeing strong signals that the short-term rental industry will defy #airbnbust speculations. Booked revenue for the summer is 14.5% above where it was at the same time last year."
Where are guests traveling?
Florida and other Southern states lead the way for this summer with destinations Orlando, Panama City, Florida, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, seeing the most nights booked, while larger urban cities are seeing the highest growth from last year.
For those looking further afield, demand for this summer in Europe is very strong, with 39.8% more nights booked than at the same time last year. In Europe, September is seeing a huge boost of 77.7% year over year as travelers take advantage of greater work flexibility to travel out of high season. Poland, Austria, and Croatia are seeing the largest booking increases compared to last year.
"While increased supply means more competition for guests, those hosts with a strong revenue management strategy and optimized listings are already seeing an excellent summer in the cards," said AirDNA's CEO, Demi Horvat, "We expect revPAR and occupancy to remain above 2019 levels, as the market reaches a new normal."
Click here to read the latest report.