The Ultimate List of Vacation Rental Statistics – 2022 [Update]

June 21, 2021
Arthur Colker

Vacation Rental Statistics

We have compiled a comprehensive list of vacation rental statistics, including the latest data relating to Covid-19’s impact on the vacation rental industry.

Vacation Rental Statistics - Categories

Covid-19 Vacation Rental Statistics

AirDNA Global Covid-19 Booking Tracker

AirDNA United States Covid-19 Booking Tracker

United States State-Level % Change in New Vacation Rental Bookings (2019 vs 2021)

United States Market-Level % Change in Vacation Rental Demand Urban vs. Suburban (2020 vs 2021)

AirDNA Global Covid-19 Vacation Rental Statistics

United States Vacation Rental 2021 Update

AirDNA 2021 U.S. Vacation Rental Outlook Report

United States Vacation Rental Covid-19 Overall Demand Recovery

– In Q1 of 2021, the U.S. hit a new booking record each month until April 2021 when demand surpassed 2019 levels. (AirDNA)

United States Vacation Rental Occupancy Rates 2021 vs 2019 by Market Type

– In April 2021, U.S. short-term rental occupancy hit an all-time high of 61.6% (AirDNA)

– In April 2021, the occupancy rate recovery varied widely by market type vs. 2019 – 67% more in small cities/rural markets, 25% more in destination/resort markets, 8% growth in mid-sized cities, 13% decrease is suburban markets, and a 41% decline in the 50 largest U.S. cities. (AirDNA)

United States Vacation Rental Forecast (2019-2022)

– AirDNA forecasts two years of elevated vacation rental occupancy as supply lags catching up with increased demand. (AirDNA)

– Short-term rental ADR (average daily rate) growth in 2000/0221 as demand shifted to larger non-urban properties. (AirDNA)

– As more urban & small properties return to the short-term rental market, AirDNA projects a decline in ADRs to begin in 2022. (AirDNA)

– 2022 rate contraction still means the average rate will be 7.5% higher than in 2019. (AirDNA)

– Total United States short-term rental revenues will increase by 42% over the four-year period. (AirDNA)

– In most U.S. markets demand growth is outstripping supply growth, despite new campaigns from Airbnb and Vrbo. (AirDNA)

– As of May, ~52K new units have been added on either Airbnb or Vrbo in 2021. (AirDNA)

– The average unique available listings count on Airbnb and Vrbo is expected to increase by 20.5% in 2022 to over 1.3 million listings (AirDNA)

United States Vacation Rental Booking Demand 2021 vs. 2019

– By mid-May, demand in small cities and destination markets is already up 40% over the same time period in 2019. (AirDNA)

Vacation Rental Management Companies

Vacation Rental Company Market Size

– 25,000 Vacation Rental Companies in the United States (Hostfully – 2021)

– 9,679 Vacation Rental Management Companies in Mexico (Hostfully – 2021)

– 2,896 Vacation Rental Management Companies in Canada (Hostfully – 2021)

– 37,575 Vacation Rental Management Companies in North America (Hostfully – 2021)

– 78,683 Vacation Rental Management Companies in Europe (Hostfully – 2021)

– 24,415 Vacation Rental Management Companies outside of Europe & North America (Hostfully – 2021)

– 140,674 Vacation Rental Companies Worldwide (Hostfully – 2021)

– Average Number of rental properties managed by a United States vacation rental company: 75 (Hostfully – 2021)

– Number of professionally managed vacation rental properties in the Unites States: 1.98 million (Hostfully – 2021)

– 9% of professional vacation rental managers manage 1-4 properties (Rentals United)

– 10% of professional vacation rental managers manage 5-9 properties (Rentals United)

– 12% of professional vacation rental managers manage 10-19 properties (Rentals United)

– 15% of professional vacation rental managers manage 20-29 properties (Rentals United)

– 7% of professional vacation rental managers manage 30-39 properties (Rentals United)

– 7% of professional vacation rental managers manage 40-49 properties (Rentals United)

– 17% of professional vacation rental managers manage 50-99 properties (Rentals United)

– 12% of professional vacation rental managers manage 100-199 properties (Rentals United)

– 6% of professional vacation rental managers manage 200-499 properties (Rentals United)

– 2% of professional vacation rental managers manage 500-1,000 properties (Rentals United)

– 3% of professional vacation rental managers manage 1,000+ properties (Rentals United)

Vacation Rental Company Listing Practices (OTA Usage)

– Average # of OTAs used by Vacation Rental Companies with 51-250 properties: 2.6 (Rentivo). – Average # of OTAs used by Vacation Rental Companies with 251-1,000 properties: 4.3 (Rentivo). – Average # of OTAs used by Vacation Rental Companies with 1,000+ properties: 5.0 (Rentivo). – In 2018, 75% of vacation rental bookings were made on a booking site like Airbnb, HomeAway, or TripAdvisor (Hostfully). – Vacation Rental Managers that use instant book on Airbnb increase their bookings by an average of 20% (Guesty).

Vacation Rental Software and Services

– Total of $15.5 billion spent on property management & guest communication software in 2018 (Hostfully). – Vacation Rental Managers spend an average of 5% of revenue on property management and communication software (Hostfully). – Vacation Rental Managers spend an average of 8% of revenue on commissions paid to channel managers (Hostfully). – Vacation Rental Managers spend an average of 10% of revenue on commissions to booking platforms (Hostfully). Read more about selecting vacation rental software here.

Vacation Rental Marketing Statistics

– On average, Vacation Rental Companies earn $44 for every $1 spent on email marketing (HomeAway). – Vacation Rental Companies increase direct revenue 30% YoY when they upgrade to a modern, mobile friendly booking site like Lodgify (HomeAway). – 84% of Vacation Rental Companies include a printed guidebook within the property (Hostfully). – In 2016, 52% of vacation rental bookings came within 30 days of check-in (Bookfull). – Website visitors spend on average 59 seconds on booking sites (Crazyegg). Read more about increasing vacation rental direct bookings here.

Vacation Rental Market Data

Global Vacation Rental Market Size

Global Total Vacation Rental Revenue by Year (Statista)

– 2020 Global Vacation Rental Revenue: $49.541 billion (USD) (Statista)

Global Vacation Rental Revenue Growth by Year (Statista)

– 2020 Global Vacation Rental Revenue Growth: -41.0% (Statista)

Global Vacation Rental Guests by Year (Statista)

– 2020 Global # of Vacation Rentals Users (Bookers): 444.8 million (Statista)

Global Vacation Rental Average Revenue per User (ARPU) by Year (Statista)

– 2020 Global Vacation Rental Average Revenue per User (Booker) in 2020: $110.40 (Statista)

Top 5 Vacation Rental Markets (Countries)

2020 Vacation Rental Market - Top 5 Countries by Revenue (Statista)

– United States: $10.335 billion (Statista)

– China: $5.400 billion (Statista)

– Japan $2.982 billion (Statista)

– United Kingdom: $2.616 billion (Statista)

– Germany: $2.495 billion (Statista)

2020 Vacation Rental Market - Top 5 Countries by Penetration (% of Population Using Vacation Rentals) (Statista)

– Spain: 24.0% (Statista)

– Qatar: 22.4% (Statista)

– Kuwait 21.7% (Statista)

– Italy 21.6% (Statista)

– France 21.6% (Statista)

United States Vacation Rental Market Size

United States Total Vacation Rental Revenue by Year (Statista)

– 2020 Total United States Vacation Rental Revenue: $10.335 billion (USD) (Statista)

United States Vacation Rental Revenue Growth by Year (Statista)

– 2020 United States Vacation Rental Revenue Growth: -41.0% (Statista)

United States Total Vacation Rental Users (Bookers) by Year (Statista)

– 2020 Total United States # of Vacation Rentals Users (Bookers): 35.2 million (Statista)

United States Vacation Rental Penetration (% of Population Using Vacation Rentals) by Year (Statista)

– 2020 United States Vacation Rentals Penetration Rate: 10.6% (Statista)

United States Vacation Rental Average Revenue per User (ARPU) by Year (Statista)

– 2020 United States Vacation Rental Average Revenue per User (Booker) in 2020: $293.87 (Statista)

United States Online vs. Offline Booking Share by Year (Statista)

– In 2020 25% of United States Vacation Rental Bookings were offline vs. 75% online (Statista).

2020 United States Vacation Rental Booking Share by Age Cohort (Statista)

– In 2020, 17% of vacation rental bookings were made by individuals 18-24, 32% by ages 25-34, 24% by ages 35-44, 17% by ages 45-54 and 10% by ages 55-64 (Statista).

Vacation Rental Real Estate

– 30% of vacation rental homeowners will rent them as short-term rentals in 2018 (National Association of Realtors). – 32% of investment homeowners will rent them as short-term rentals in 2018 (National Association of Realtors).

Vacation Rental Guest Statistics

United States Vacation Rental Travel Preferences

– 31% of travelers want to take their pet with them (Vrbo). – 33% of travelers take trips within 250 miles of their home (Vrbo). – Instances of short trips (4-7 nights) and long trips (7+ nights) are each down 4% compared to a 8% rise in long weekend trips (Vrbo). – Demand for larger format rentals like Castles & Estates rose 55% and 25% respectively on HomeAway 2018 (Vrbo). – 52% of travelers seek out recommendations on social media when planning a trip (Bookfull). – The top amenity cited by 64% vacation rental travelers for booking a vacation rental is the kitchen (Bookfull).

United States Vacation Rental Segments

– 81% of Gen Z travelers have stayed in a vacation rental like a home or condo (HomeAway) – 74% of millennial travelers have rented a vacation rental from an online marketplace like Airbnb or HomeAway (Hipmunk). – 38% of Gen-X travelers have rented a vacation rental from an online marketplace like Airbnb or HomeAway (Hipmunk). – 20% of Baby Boomers have rented a vacation rental from an online marketplace like Airbnb or HomeAway (Hipmunk). – There was a 325% increase in growth among travelers with children on Vrbo in 2018 (Vrbo).

Vacation Rental Booking Sites (OTAs) Statistics

Airbnb Statistics

– Airbnb has 100 million users in 191 countries (Lodgify). – Airbnb has over 4 million listings in 191 countries (Business Insider). – Airbnb has 640,000 hosts (Lodgify).

Vrbo (HomeAway) Statistics

– Vrbo family of sites has over 2,000,000 properties in 190 countries (Vrbo). – Vrbo family of sites have 44 million site visitors every month (Lodgify).

Trip Advisor Statistics

– TripAdvisor and its 26 sister sites like FlipKey have over 800,000 properties in 190 countries (Lodgify). – 340 million travelers use TripAdvisor every month (Lodgify).

Vacation Rental Booking Site (OTA) Fees

– Airbnb charges 0-20% service fee to guests and 3-5% transaction fee to hosts. – Vrbo charges 6-12% service fee to guests and transactions fees of 8% or more to hosts. – TripAdvisor charges an 8-16% to guests and transaction fees of 3% to hosts. – Booking.com does not charge guests but charges hosts 10-25%. – Expedia does not charge guests but charges hosts 15-20%.

Arthur Colker

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