As vaccination rates rise, many states are loosening restrictions on travelers, prompting some Americans to look for homes to book for this summer. Short-term vacation rentals are seeing a surge in demand and their owners are prepared for a lively summer.
“This is probably contradictory to what a lot of people may think, but it’s really one of the most exciting times in the industry right now,” Carrington Carter, the co-founder and managing partner of Getaway Society, a luxury vacation rentals company, told The New York Times.
By the end of March, 90% of vacation homes listed on Vrbo for the Jersey Shore and Cape Cod in Massachusetts were already booked for July, The New York Times reports. Vacasa, a vacation rental company, reports the company expects to generate more than $1.25 billion in gross bookings in 2021, which would mark an all-time high—about double that of pre-pandemic levels from 2019, CNBC reports.
Demand is tight, particularly as more second-home buyers choose to live in those homes rather than rent them out. “With the flexibility of remote work, owners are finding that they have more time to enjoy their second homes and are renting them less, or not at all,” Carter told The New York Times. “This reduction in the supply of available homes to rent, coupled with increasing demand, are also factors that are driving rate increases in destinations across the country.”
Airbnb vacation rentals nationwide in July and August are expected to average around $220 compared to last year’s $194 and $185 in 2019, according to Transparent, a vacation rentals data company.
Demand is growing for all types of housing, from large houses to studios and one-bedrooms.
Also, property owners are reporting that more guests want to stay more than just a few days, with some opting to stay multiple weeks. “We’re seeing an emerging trend of ‘slow travel,’ with travelers wanting to spend more time immersing themselves in a destination than they did pre-pandemic,” Mahendra Roopa, HometoGo’s director of product, told The New York Times.
Source: https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/04/21/summer-vacation-rentals-are-already-skyrocketing