Vacation rental revenues halved, $35b loss in 2020

Worldwide: According to data from StockApps, the revenue of the global vacation rental industry is expected to drop by $35 billion in 2020, which equates to a 42 per cent drop year-on-year.

In 2017 the industry generated $78.7 million in revenue, which rose by seven per cent to almost $84 billion in 2019.

However in 2020, during the initial wave of Covid-19 in week 14 of 2020 (30 March – 5 April), the market’s biggest players witnessed huge reservation cancellations. Expedia saw a 94 per cent drop year-on-year;  Airbnb 93 per cent; and Booking.com 91 per cent. 

For context, Airbnb reported a record $9.4 billion in bookings during the first quarter of 2019.

As of week 35 (24-30 August 2020) Airbnb saw a 62 per cent drop in reservations. Booking.com and Expedia saw a 66 per cent drop and 86 per cent drop respectively during this same period.

Data reveals that the global vacation rental industry is expected to witness a recovery in 2021, with revenues growing by 36.7 per cent to $66.9 billion. Over the next three years, this figure is forecast to rise to $88.4 billion.

The number of users in the vacation rental segment is however estimated to plunge by 42 per cent year-on-year to 445 million – a drop from 777 million compared to 2019. This figure is expected to remain under 2019 levels over the next three years.

The US represents the world’s largest vocation rental market. For 2020, the US is expected to generate $9.5 billion in revenue, a 45 per cent drop in a year.

By comparison, the Chinese market is the second largest globally. It is forecast to witness a 43.5 per cent drop in revenues, falling under $5.3 billion. Japan, the UK, and Germany follow with $3.2 billion, $2.6 billion, and $2.5 billion in revenue for 2020 respectively.