Short-term Rental News Digest – March 2022

In last month’s digest, we shared how recent studies have revealed that travelers are feeling more confident about their travel plans for the coming year. Since then, the world has been sent into turmoil (again). It’s too soon to tell what impact the Russian-Ukraine war will have on travel in the next few months. 

What we do know at the moment is that there’s a looming need for short-term rental accommodation in nearby countries that include Poland, Hungary, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, France, Netherlands, UK, and Ireland. Airbnb announced that it will offer free, short-term housing for refugees who are forced to flee Ukraine. To find out more about how you can help by donating or hosting, and what other events have impacted the industry in the past month, continue reading our digest. 

Airbnb to Support Ukrainian Refugees

In response to the Russia-Ukraine war, Airbnb has announced that it has set a goal to offer free, short-term housing for as many as 100,000 refugees who are fleeing Ukraine. Airbnb Inc., donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund, and hosts will fund these stays. 

According to Airbnb, as of March 14, over 36,800 hosts have already signed up to offer accommodation to refugees. In fact, in just the first two weeks of March, more than 22,300 new hosts have joined this initiative. 

All stays are free for refugees, funded by Airbnb, Airbnb.org donors, and through the generosity of hosts. You can support Airbnb’s initiative by hosting a refugee or donating to the cause. Follow this link to find out how: https://www.airbnb.org/help-ukraine. 

AirDNA Acquired by Alpine Investors

Regular readers of our monthly digest would already be familiar with AirDNA, a short-term rental data and predictive analytics software provider. This time around, we’re not reporting on the latest data regarding the vacation rental market that they’ve gathered, but instead exciting changes at the company itself. 

Moving forward, AirDNA users can look forward to enhanced data solutions and more advanced tools thanks to its recently acquired strategic partnership with Alpine Investors. One of the partners at Alpine Investors, Mark Strauch, commented that their foremost priority would be to scale the engineering and customer-facing capabilities of AirDNA. 

2022 Shortyz Awards to Be Held in London

The third edition of the Shortyz Awards is set to take place on 18 May 2022 at The Skyline London at Tower Suites – Blue Orchid Hotels. The Shortyz are international awards that recognize the achievements of both individuals, such as short-term rental accommodation owners and rentalpreneurs, as well as companies, like channel managers and insurance agencies. 

Last year’s event boasted over 350 entries and attracted more than 69,000 votes from all over the globe in just a single week. Not only is it set to attract hundreds of entries and thousands of votes again, but the event can also boast about its number of big sponsors. This year’s list of sponsors includes the likes of Vrbo, Beyond, AirDNA, PriceLabs, and NoiseAware. 

NoiseAware Gets New CEO

NoiseAware, one of the leading noise resolution monitoring solutions, has appointed a new CEO. Kevin Locraft, former vice president of partner success at Expedia/Vrbo, will share his industry knowledge and executive leadership experience to enhance their leadership. 

Locraft commented that the technology used by NoiseAware was critical to the growth and sustainability of the short-term rental industry. Since they launched in 2015, they have monitored more than 3 million stays on behalf of hosts and property managers across the world. Thanks to their technology that proactively deals with noise-related problems, they have helped hosts to prevent damage to their property, complaints from neighbors, injuries, and fines. 

Airbnb Reveals Best Times and Locations to Host

Airbnb shared new data about host income that paints a promising picture. This new data reveals that the average US Airbnb host managed to generate an income of more than $13,800. This is an increase of a whopping 85%, compared to 2019. 

When breaking down the income for 2021 according to state, the following states performed the best:

• California
• Florida
• Texas
• New York
• Georgia
• North Carolina
• Tennessee
• Arizona 
• Colorado
• Pennsylvania

With regards to the best time of the year to host, the platform identified the following dates on the calendar:

• Labor Day weekend
• Memorial Day weekend
• Fourth of July
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas

Increased Rush to Book Summer Vacation Homes

New data shared by Vrbo shows that travelers are starting to book accommodation for the summer vacation earlier this year. Compared to last year, the demand for summer homes on the platform is already 15% higher. As a matter of fact, in a number of the most popular destinations, like Outer Banks, North Carolina, more than 70% of the accommodation has already been booked for July. 

According to the platform, this early surge in demand for summer accommodation is fuelled by popular events returning to the calendar and a desire to make up for what travelers had missed out on in 2021. 

Spring Break Bookings Boom

The latest monthly review published by AirDNA has revealed that the short-term rental industry in the United States is enjoying a very good year so far. 

For example, spring bookings, specifically, are already up by more than 4% compared to three years ago. Some of the most popular destinations for the spring season include:

• Orlando, Florida
• Sarasota, Florida
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Pigeon Forge, Tennessee