AirDNA: Strong summer demand boosts occupancy in Europe
Europe: Heatwaves and inflation have not been able to put off travellers around Europe this summer as guests return to short-term rentals in their droves, according to short-term rental data and analytics provider, AirDNA.
In July, Europe reached 48.9 million nights stayed, 7.9 per cent higher than July 2019.
Occupancy hit a record high for the month of July, at 66.6 per cent, as supply remained four per cent below 2019 levels, despite seeing some growth from last year.
The strength of demand and inflated occupancy rates allowed hosts to charge 2.7 per cent more on average than last July, though the growth rate is slowing compared to previous months, particularly as guests return to smaller properties in cities which typically charge less.
The top 50 markets in Europe made up 12.9 per cent of total supply in July, though the number of available listings remains 29.5 per cent below 2019 levels. This inflated occupancy rates 17.2 per cent from last year, with the highest growth in Lisbon, Budapest and Porto, where international travellers are making a comeback.
Outlook bright as international guests return
International travel is on the rebound after two years of border restrictions, and guests from abroad are driving higher occupancy in popular tourist destinations across Europe.
Larger cities felt the impact most strongly: in Dublin, Q2 2022 saw over 800 per cent more bookings from international travellers than the year before, while domestic bookings declined by over 60 per cent. The same effect was observed in Florence [international +540 per cent, domestic -8 per cent] and Rome [international +488 per cent, domestic -30 per cent].
Nights booked in Europe for the rest of the year are pacing +35.9 per cent higher than at the same time last year, and 2.2 per cent higher than 2019.
Meanwhile, for August, Germany is on track to top the charts in terms of booking change from 2019, with 24.8 per cent more nights booked, followed by Belgium [+19.3 per cent], Greece [+18.7 per cent] and Austria [+17 per cent].
