US: Portland-based vacation rental management platform Vacasa has released its 2021 Vacation Rental Search Report, sharing insights into how consumers searched and booked vacation rentals during a pandemic year.
With summer now well underway, there are signs of pre-pandemic travel trends re-emerging as the ‘new, old normal’. Summer guest occupancy at Vacasa vacation homes is currently pacing up 57 per cent compared to 2019.
Released this week, the 2021 report dives deep into 12 months of data from Vacasa.com, narrowing down tens of millions of site visits and thousands of vacation home reservations to 15 key findings about browsing and booking habits that the company believes will have a lasting impact on travel preferences.
Here are some of Vacasa’s main findings from the report:
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Squad goals: Family travel remains a popular choice, with 31 per cent of guests who search by home size seeking out two-bedroom homes.
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Keep it even-keel: Homes that host an even number of guests are preferred to those with odd-numbered accommodations. The most popular searches are for homes that accommodate two adults [38 per cent] and for those fit for four [17 per cent].
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Wide-open spaces: While they may have a specific state in mind, consumers are open to new destinations. Of the top 20 searches, seven are for anywhere within state lines as opposed to specific cities or towns.
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Waterworld: Of the top seven amenities guests search for, six are water-related. Whether the home is beachfront or simply features a hot tub, guests are making a splash this summer.
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Weeks are the new long weekend: Seven-day trips make up 15 per cent of Vacasa’s bookings, up from ten per cent the previous year. While trips are getting longer this year, guests are looking for homes with lower nightly rates, with 49 per cent of price range-based searches looking between $50 and $249.
Caleb Donegan, VP of Digital at Vacasa, said: “As travel picks back up after a pandemic year, we are confident that several of the search trends we’re seeing will linger—including travel in smaller groups, staying a bit closer to home and interest in outdoor adventure. However, as more and more states remove restrictions, allowing activities such as races, concerts and live productions to resume, we know changes abound, but expect the increased popularity of vacation homes to stick around for years to come.”
The 2021 Vacation Rental Search Report can be found in full here.
