2022 Short Term Market Trends

With restrictions lifting over the past few months, the short term rental market has finally started to grow and thrive. Everyone is wanting to get away for a period to relax and unwind after a turbulent couple of years. But the world has changed since 2020 with everything now different for the short term rental market. Guests are now looking for something different to what they were looking for pre-pandemic. After all, the lockdown gave people the opportunity to have time to consider what was important to them in both their professional and personal life. The short term rental market also changed dramatically with the market attempting to pick up the pieces after a turbulent time during lockdown. While the demand for short term rentals has no doubt increased dramatically in 2022, here are some of the short term market trends for 2022 that we are seeing emerging.

Travellers will head out of cities

A lot of people looking for short-term rentals are staying in more rural locations than ever before. While cities such as New York, London and Paris were the go-to places pre-pandemic, a lot of people are looking for a quieter change of scenery when travelling across the globe. Brand Airbnb who offer short-term rentals and has become a billion-pound company post-pandemic found that rural travel has more than doubled since the pandemic. This is the case in countries such as France, the UK and Canada. While cities always stay major attractions, it does seem quieter, relaxing breaks in open spaces are popular.

In fact a lot of people are opting for greener areas and national parks in particular for their short-term stay. Whether they want relaxing walks, beautiful scenery or stunning wildlife, they are finding that when heading to these peaceful locations instead of a busy city or touristy beach area. A few locations in particular have seen an increase in visitors is Cornwall in the UK which has had a huge increase in demand since restrictions were lifted and Sardinia in Italy which is known for its vineyards and beautiful scenery. Montana’s Whitefish Mountain and South Dakota have also seen a rise in visitors.

A lot of guests also find these types of locations ideal for active sports which has also seen an increase in demand. From surfing to hiking, these rural locations are perfect for these types of activities. Whatever rural location they choose for their stay, the accommodation offers them a blissful retreat that has gained popularity since lockdown ended.

Guests will stay longer than ever

Another big trend of 2022 is going on holidays that are longer than ever. A lot of travellers are deciding that just a two-night weekend is not enough for them with an increase in longer stays. In fact Airbnb found the average booking was now 4 nights back in 2021. This is likely to be due to a lot of people having to go without holidays since the pandemic. So now they can travel again, they want to enjoy a relaxing, longer stay. Moreover, with a lot of people remote working, they can now go away and work while on their travels. So it means a lot of people can enjoy longer rentals. Additionally, a lot of people are now booking for 28 days instead of the usual two weeks max. This again is likely due to people being able to work from home and also a lot of people are considering sabbaticals after having to work throughout the pandemic.

A lot of families are also taking longer breaks, booking short-term rentals of 2 weeks or more. Taking the opportunity to go on holiday after a tough time that affected children as well as adults has meant an increase in longer breaks. Older travellers are also taking the plunge and going on longer trips than normal too. They are putting vacations first now in 2022 and having longer breaks with family and friends. They are also working during their breaks which enables them to stay longer.

Travelling will become more business and leisure focused

While pre-pandemic, travelling would be a time to take a break from work and just focus on leisure, a lot of people now are travelling to short-term rentals for both business and leisure. After all, more people than ever are now working from home which opens up the possibilities of where they work from. Whether someone goes to stay beside a beach for a few weeks and continues working while enjoying the brilliant views to someone staying in a short-term rental near friends and continuing working during the day, travelling has changed since the pandemic began.

A lot of companies decided to continue remote working after finding it more cost-effective and happiness levels increased when employees worked from home. So now short-term rentals offer a great way to work while enjoying time in a new location. As long as the short-term rental offers great Wi-Fi and space for the individual to work, there will be an increase in people travelling during 2022 outside of weekends and holidays as they can work around this while on their travels.

Cities will slowly regaining popularity during the year

During the rest of 2022, we might see people start to revisit cities which have had a rapid decline over the past few years. From fearing a high Covid rate to the shutting of the main attractions, a lot of people have avoided cities and they have struggled to regain their popularity. A lot of attractions have had to shut and tourism has been at an all-time low, even in the largest cities such as Boston, Rome and New York.

However, with things slowly going back to normal, there is likely to be an increase over the next few months of people starting to visit cities again. Short term rentals in cities such as London, Paris and Los Angeles will be popular as they are not only cheaper than hotels but also offer better accommodation for longer stays which are popular as discussed earlier. If a guest decided to stay for a few weeks in a city, they are going to want a rental. So the market in cities will increase again as people start to explore and do face-to-face business again in the biggest cities in the world. With this in mind, they might be able to make pre-pandemic levels when we reach 2023.

The rise of families

A lot of families are switching to short-term rentals now in 2022 and this will be a trend that continues for the rest of the year. Instead of going to hotels, a lot of families are picking short-term rentals for their stays. It offers them more spacious accommodation with greater comfort. And also allows them a longer stay which they might not be able to afford if they went in hotel accommodation. They are picking short-term rentals in destinations and are now bringing their pets along for the stay. A lot have chosen pet-friendly holidays with a rise in families owning pets over the past two years. They are also venturing outside of traditional weekends and school holidays with families now having the ability to work from home.

After not having holidays over the pandemic, it looks like families are now putting their priority on having that long wanted trip. They have saved the money over the past couple of years and now booking short term rentals for their trips away.

Short-term rentals will get smarter

Over 2022 and beyond, a lot of short-term rentals will be taking steps to make their home more technology-friendly with their guests craving the ultimate digital experience. This starts from when they arrive with a lot of contactless check-in technology. A lot of people now will check-in via their phones whether on an app or a website and the smart lock on the property will allow them in. This stops the need for face-to-face key exchange. Additionally, Wi-fi is now an essential instead of just an attractive feature. With more people than ever working while away, they will need this to take the trip. A lot of families will expect Wi-fi during their short-term stay.

From guidebooks to welcome books, these will also go digital in the short term market. And a lot of hosts will now be doing all their contact online and use apps to help them set rules and regulations. With guests expecting these changes, short-term stays will need to upgrade as expected during 2022.

Large investors will join the short term rental market

While there are already some big players in the short term rental market, a lot of big investors have seen the appeal of this growing market. So in 2022, they will be jumping on the bandwagon when it comes to buying property to rent out. This will mean the smaller companies might struggle as they try to compete with international names who can charge higher prices and can scale up. You will see a lot more of these companies buying short-term rentals such as an Ohio investing firm that recently bought 5000 short term rentals.