A Winter Chill for U.S. Short-term Rentals Settles in for February

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Mar 11, 2021, 12:00 ET

DENVER, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AirDNA's monthly review revealed short-term rentals in the U.S. hit two records in February, seeing both the worst performance for demand and the best month for new bookings ever.

Demand for U.S. short-term rentals fell by 27.5% in February, compared to the same time in 2020. This marked the worst monthly performance since April, 2020. In stark contrast, new U.S. booking made in February 2021 surpassed last month's record, which bodes well for performance into 2021's warmer months.

"Never before have we seen such a large delta between current industry performance and that of new monthly bookings for future travel," Jamie Lane, VP of research at AirDNA said. "It's the first time since May 2020, we have reported lower demand for all of the location types than the year prior."

In the 50 largest U.S. cities demand was down 55%, year-over-year with urban areas realizing steeper declines (-60%) than their suburban counterparts (-50%). The greatest declines in demand were seen in San Jose/Palo Alto, CA (-76%), New York, NY (-75%) and San Francisco (-70%).

The Super Bowl and the beginning of spring break brought limited relief to many Florida markets, which were the least affected U.S cities, Tampa (-20%), St. Petersburg (-25%), and Jacksonville (-28%)

Optimistic Outlook as the Short-term Rental Industry Hits Another Record for New Bookings

Based on reservations made as of the beginning of March 2021, March is already 43% occupied and has only 9% fewer bookings than as of March 2019 - a significant improvement from January and February. Looking out to the summer, U.S. short-term rentals are pacing at just 11% fewer nights booked for June and July today than they did as of March 2019.

"The data highlights the growing optimism around the end of the pandemic and signals to a surge in summer travel now that vaccine distribution is underway and COVID-19 cases are falling," AirDNA's CEO Scott Shatford said.

As COVID-19 cases rose over the winter months, uncertainty curbed near-term travel plans. Now, with continued stimulus from the U.S. government and recovering employment levels, the short-term rental sector is poised for a strong recovery as expenditure shifts away from goods and back to experiences like travel.

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SOURCE AirDNA