Occupancy rates remain similar to last year, but average daily rates have skyrocketed alongside lead time and group size.
TORONTO – Hostaway, leading all-in-one vacation rental management platform, has released a preview of the upcoming holiday season – Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year in North America and Europe – in addition to insights on booking trends for the World Cup in Qatar.
“This time last year, property managers celebrated a return to ‘normal’ with record-setting rates and bookings,” says Marcus Räder, CEO & Co-Founder of Hostaway. “We saw average holiday season rates increase by 23% between 2020 and 2021. Today, the complex and unpredictable economic landscape is impacting prices, but the continuing desire to travel is also keeping these high. This consumer demand is shown in the big jumps in lead time and group size for upcoming trips over the next couple of months.”
Thanksgiving
Occupancy rates for professionally-managed vacation rentals for the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S. have increased by 8% since 2021, currently sitting at 63% on average. Despite this moderate increase, the daily prices of vacation rentals have soared much higher, up 38% to an average of USD $385.
Guests have been booking, on average, 47 days in advance for their Thanksgiving trips. This is an extra two weeks of lead time compared to last year, an increase of 42%. This consumer confidence is mirrored in the expansion of group size this year, which has increased by 18% from 3.2 to 4 people on average. However, the average length of stay has stayed around the same, from 3.7 to 4 nights per booking on average.
Christmas & New Year
Occupancy rates across the US, Canada & Europe for Christmas have increased by 7% and for New Year by 6% compared to last year. However, there has been a huge increase in the average daily rate on both continents, particularly for Christmas. In North America, the rate has gone up by 48.6% (to USD $532), and in Europe, by 55.9% (to 488 euros). Rates for the New Year have increased by 38% and 43%, respectively.
Globally, the booking lead time has increased by almost two weeks to an average of 49 days, meaning that consumers will want to be snapping up available stays for Christmas now. There is still time to secure a great New Year’s break as the lead time for this period is currently at 43 days, up by 34% from 2021.
People are much more confident traveling in larger groups this year, with the group size increasing by around 25% for Christmas & New Year (from 3.3 to 4.2 people per booking). Unlike Thanksgiving, the length of stay has also increased to an average of 5.2 days for Christmas and 4.4 days for New Year (up 33% and 26% from 2021).
World Cup
Earlier in 2022, Hostaway revealed that the Middle East is the fastest-growing market for vacation rentals worldwide. This growth has been boosted by the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off on November 20.
Eager fans securing their accommodation for the tournament in advance has caused an expected but dramatic increase in the booking lead time in Qatar (up from 12 to 78 days, a 550% increase) and occupancy rate (up from 34% to 62%). Average daily rates have also skyrocketed by 48%, which is in line with the global increase in rates during this period.
Marcus Räder added: “We’re excited to see the knock-on effect of the World Cup in Qatar on the entire Middle Eastern market, which remains one to watch in the vacation rental industry for its growth potential.”
A tech-first solution to vacation rental management, Hostaway is trusted by property managers and hosts worldwide. The platform helps them grow their businesses through quality channel and partner integrations, and solutions to automate marketing, sales, accounting, and much more.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
