Now that the summer has come to an end, it’s time to ask: How did the vacation rental industry fare this season?
To find out, we’ve turned to our internal data, analyzing over 412,000 U.S. bookings from 2023 and 2024. See the top highlights below or keep reading to get the full picture.
Summary:
- Fourth of July weekend was the most popular holiday of the summer, with 1.9% more bookings per listing than Labor Day weekend and 3% more reservations than Memorial Day weekend. Labor Day has stolen Memorial Day’s position as the second-most popular summer holiday this year.
- Texas has four cities on our list of the most-booked summer destinations, making it the most popular state.
- Average daily rates (ADR) for the summer are up by 3.5% since 2023. Of all accommodation types, ADR has risen most year over year for camping and glamping accommodations (+13.6%).
- Last-minute bookings continue to be the norm for the summer season. 30% of bookings this summer were made within a single week of the arrival date.
- The average length of stay (ALOS) remains basically unchanged year over year, except when we look at specific accommodation types. The average stay length is up 14.2% for hotels and resorts and 12% for camping and glamping.
- Summer occupancy rates are up by an average of 2.9%, with the most year-over-year growth seen in August bookings.
The most popular summer holiday in 2024 is…
…July Fourth! Fourth of July weekend had 1.9% more bookings per listing than Labor Day weekend and 3% more than Memorial Day weekend this summer.
This is in keeping with last summer, when Independence Day weekend was also the most popular holiday in terms of bookings per listing.
What’s interesting is that Labor Day has stolen Memorial Day’s position as the second-most popular holiday this year. Bookings per listing have grown 8.7% year over year for Labor Day weekend, while they’ve only grown 0.5% for Fourth of July weekend. What’s more, bookings for Memorial Day weekend have decreased by 0.7%.
It seems that Labor Day’s rising popularity is being felt elsewhere in the travel industry as well: In late August, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) predicted its busiest Labor Day travel period in history, with an expected 17 million screenings.
Take me to Florida Texas?
In mid-May, we reported on our top 15 most-booked lodging destinations for the coming summer months. Now, we can update the list with all of the last-minute bookings made after that point:
- Kingsbury, Texas
- Miami, Florida
- Marion, Texas
- Ocean City, Maryland
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Los Angeles, California
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Houston, Texas
- Four Corners, Florida
- Galveston, Texas
- Sevier County, Tennessee
- Big Bear Lake, California
- West Pennington, South Dakota
- Bayfield, Wisconsin
So, what changed? For one thing, the most popular state: While Florida was the state with the most cities on the previous version of our list, Texas has taken its place, with the cities of Houston and Galveston joining Kingsbury and Marion.
Other new cities on the list include Los Angeles, Cedar Rapids, Sevier County, Big Bear Lake, and West Pennington. Which cities did they oust? Check out the original report to see.
A (very welcome) increase in ADR
Average daily rates (ADR) for the summer are up by 3.5% since 2023. (For context, the U.S. inflation rate currently hovers at 2.9%.)
Specifically, the average daily rate for the summer of 2024 was $366, compared to $354 in 2023.
Diving a bit deeper, we see that ADR is growing faster for direct bookings (+4%) than for bookings made through third-party listing sites (+3.1%). But the really interesting insights come from looking specifically at accommodation types.
As you can see in the graph below, camping and glamping accommodations have seen the biggest growth in ADR year over year (+13.6%), followed by B&Bs and inns (+11.2%). ADR for apartments and houses/villas is relatively stable (at +1.2% and +0.2%, respectively), whereas ADR for hotels and resorts is down by 10.5%.
Last-minute bookings are the summer norm
Last-minute bookings continue to be the norm for the summer season. As much as 30% of bookings this summer were made within a single week of the arrival date. What’s more, nearly half (47%) of bookings were made within three weeks of arrival.
This is in keeping with data we shared in our 2023 summer report, so we don’t expect the trend to go anywhere. That’s to say: Don’t sweat it if you’re not fully booked before the summer begins, and make sure your listing is optimized throughout the entire summer to capture those last-minute bookings.
Stay length remains unchanged—except for campers and hotel guests
The average length of stay (ALOS) has hardly changed at all since last year, down ever-so-slightly from 3.61 days in 2023 to 3.60 days in 2024.
However, the picture is quite different when we look at specific accommodation types. For example, consider some of the biggest changes in stay length we’re seeing:
- The average stay length for hotels and resorts is up 14.2%. It seems that travelers are taking advantage of their 10.5% year-over-year drop in ADR to stay for longer.
- Camping and glamping stay lengths are up 12% on average, despite the fact that these accommodations are 13.6% more expensive than last year. (Camping and glamping’s growing popularity may mean that people don’t mind paying more to stay for longer.)
- Meanwhile, the average length of stay for houses and villas is down 2.7%. This is the only accommodation type that saw a decrease in stay length since 2023.
Occupancy on the rebound
Finally, let’s end on a positive note: Summer occupancy rates are up by an average of 2.9%. While this may not seem like much, it’s particularly good news considering that last summer saw an 8% year-over-year decrease in occupancy.
Why the reversal? While last spring the industry was dealing with a surge in supply, the opposite was true heading into this summer. In June, AirDNA reported an 11.4% increase in demand and slowing supply growth, setting vacation rentals up for a boost in occupancy.
As you can see in the graph above, August saw the biggest growth in occupancy, up 5.3% from 2023, compared to just 2.3% for June and 1.1% for July.
Gearing up for the season ahead
Whether you’ve been welcoming or dreading the end of the summer, there’s one thing we can agree on: It’s been a strong season for vacation rentals, with both ADR and occupancy up and stable stay lengths.
So, what learnings should you keep in mind for next summer—and the time in between?
First, the popularity of holiday weekends changes each year. Make sure your listing is optimized heading into each and every holiday to make the most of fluctuating demand, even if a holiday hasn’t been busy for you in the past. Better yet, make sure your listing is optimized year-round to capture those last-minute bookings.
Additionally, if you haven’t increased your nightly rates this summer, you may be missing out on potential revenue. This is a good reminder to use a dynamic pricing tool to take the guesswork out of pricing.
And, of course, if you need a little help managing your vacation rentals, Lodgify is here. You can use our website builder to create a direct booking site, our channel manager to connect with the top booking platforms, and our property management software (PMS) for help with operations.
What are you waiting for? Sign up for a free seven-day trial or demo!
Methodology
We analyzed over 412,000 U.S. bookings in Lodgify’s internal data from 2023 and 2024, including direct bookings as well as bookings from Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia, Google Vacation Rentals, and other OTAs. All reservations analyzed were for stays with arrival dates between the Friday before Memorial Day and Labor Day (Friday, May 26, 2023 – Monday, September 4, 2023 and Friday, May 24 2024 – Monday, September 2, 2024). Dates analyzed to determine the most popular holiday of the summer are as follows:
- 2024:
- Memorial Day weekend: Friday, May 24 2024 – Monday, May 27, 2024
- Independence Day weekend: Thursday, July 4, 2024 – Sunday, July 7, 2024
- Labor Day weekend: Friday, August 30, 2024 – Monday, September 2, 2024
- 2023:
- Memorial Day weekend: Friday, May 26, 2023 – Monday, May 29, 2023
- Independence Day weekend: Friday, June 30, 2023- Tuesday, July 4, 2023
- Labor Day weekend: Friday, September 1, 2023 – Monday, September 4, 2023
