Demand soared this month for vacation rentals in US pockets, offering hope to reservation companies like Airbnb as well as desperate state governments for tourist tax revenues .
In Florida, where Disney World and Miami Beach are located, vacation homes are opening in some counties after the state governor eased the blockages before Memorial Day weekend.
New rental bookings had already started to recover in early May and are now 90% higher than they were 12 months ago, according to the state’s tourism website. In April, bookings fell more than 80% year-on-year in the state, creating pent-up demand that exploded with the prospect of travel restrictions.
Other states, including Georgia and Alabama, have seen similar spikes in new bookings, according to Key Data Dashboard, a provider of rental number software.
Although nearly 40 million Americans have started applying for unemployment insurance in the past two months, and the US unemployment rate is expected to increase by almost 20% this month, demand for vacation rentals indicates that people with financial security can’t wait to spend.
Figures from Florida show that reservations were made but not when stays would begin, suggesting a favorable economic indicator for the state.
There had been a particular increase in rentals from the next 30 days, said Jason Sprenkle, general manager of Key Data Dashboard, which collects data for Florida – an unusually tight time frame because people generally book vacations longer at advance.
“In the past week, the demand for vacation rentals across the United States has increased enormously, now exceeding demand for that same period last year,” he said.
In a context of heightened uncertainty, cancellation policies, which generally require that part of the stay be paid in advance, have been relaxed in favor of tenants, added Sprenkle.
Taxes levied on vacation rentals can be a significant source of revenue for states. Airbnb collected $ 137 million in taxes for Florida in 2019, up from $ 86 million in 2018. San Francisco-based Airbnb said earlier this month that its revenues for the year may be lower to half of its 2019 total due to the coronavirus economic hit.
In 2018, Florida received $ 16.6 billion in direct vacation rental spending, or about 1.6% of the state’s gross domestic product, according to a study published in December by the University of Florida. central. More than 14 million tourists stayed in vacation homes in 2018, or about 11% of total tourists, according to the report.
Signs of an improved outlook for rental homes and private condos will be a sign of hope for a state tourism industry still plunged into slump. According to Bank of America, hotel revenues per available room, which bottomed in April, were still down 74 for the week ending May 16 compared to the same period last year.
Not all rental reservations in major states have recovered, said Key Data, which collects booking figures directly from rental property managers and also monitors websites such as HomeAway and Airbnb to assess supply rent.
Hawaii has not recovered from April lows, with air travel to the islands remaining moderate. New daily rental bookings in California have rebounded, but are still below May 2019 totals, as the state remains largely closed.
“The guests are angry” about the blockages, said Vince Perez, a property manager and rental software provider in California. People are planning stays for months, he said.
One change is that people are looking to go on vacation longer or work remotely after being locked up during the pandemic, said Perez. “The number one call we’re getting right now is,” hey, I’m going to take it home for 30 days. “
For places that have eased closings and where vacationers can travel easily, “these car markets are certainly already booming” in demand, said Blake MacKenzie, board member of the Northwest Vacation Rental Professionals Association.
“If you are in a destination leisure market and you are outside the cities, you will see – and you see – a slight increase in bookings,” he said.
Demand soared this month for vacation rentals in US pockets, offering hope to reservation companies like Airbnb as well as desperate state governments for tourist tax revenues .
In Florida, where Disney World and Miami Beach are located, vacation homes are opening in some counties after the state governor eased the blockages before Memorial Day weekend.
New rental bookings had already started to recover in early May and are now 90% higher than they were 12 months ago, according to the state’s tourism website. In April, bookings fell more than 80% year-on-year in the state, creating pent-up demand that exploded with the prospect of travel restrictions.
Other states, including Georgia and Alabama, have seen similar spikes in new bookings, according to Key Data Dashboard, a provider of rental number software.
Although nearly 40 million Americans have started applying for unemployment insurance in the past two months, and the US unemployment rate is expected to increase by almost 20% this month, demand for vacation rentals indicates that people with financial security can’t wait to spend.
Figures from Florida show that reservations were made but not when stays would begin, suggesting a favorable economic indicator for the state.
There had been a particular increase in rentals from the next 30 days, said Jason Sprenkle, general manager of Key Data Dashboard, which collects data for Florida – an unusually tight time frame because people generally book vacations longer at advance.
“In the past week, the demand for vacation rentals across the United States has increased enormously, now exceeding demand for that same period last year,” he said.
In a context of heightened uncertainty, cancellation policies, which generally require that part of the stay be paid in advance, have been relaxed in favor of tenants, added Sprenkle.
Taxes levied on vacation rentals can be a significant source of revenue for states. Airbnb collected $ 137 million in taxes for Florida in 2019, up from $ 86 million in 2018. San Francisco-based Airbnb said earlier this month that its revenues for the year may be lower to half of its 2019 total due to the coronavirus economic hit.
In 2018, Florida received $ 16.6 billion in direct vacation rental spending, or about 1.6% of the state’s gross domestic product, according to a study published in December by the University of Florida. central. More than 14 million tourists stayed in vacation homes in 2018, or about 11% of total tourists, according to the report.
Signs of an improved outlook for rental homes and private condos will be a sign of hope for a state tourism industry still plunged into slump. According to Bank of America, hotel revenues per available room, which bottomed in April, were still down 74 for the week ending May 16 compared to the same period last year.
Not all rental reservations in major states have recovered, said Key Data, which collects booking figures directly from rental property managers and also monitors websites such as HomeAway and Airbnb to assess supply rent.
Hawaii has not recovered from April lows, with air travel to the islands remaining moderate. New daily rental bookings in California have rebounded, but are still below May 2019 totals, as the state remains largely closed.
“The guests are angry” about the blockages, said Vince Perez, a property manager and rental software provider in California. People are planning stays for months, he said.
One change is that people are looking to go on vacation longer or work remotely after being locked up during the pandemic, said Perez. “The number one call we’re getting right now is,” hey, I’m going to take it home for 30 days. “
For places that have eased closings and where vacationers can travel easily, “these car markets are certainly already booming” in demand, said Blake MacKenzie, board member of the Northwest Vacation Rental Professionals Association.
“If you are in a destination leisure market and you are outside the cities, you will see – and you see – a slight increase in bookings,” he said.