The Top 6 Short-Term Rental Market Trends Of 2022

Short-term rentals are a fantastic industry to get into, and they can provide you with a huge source of revenue when you manage them correctly. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the whole landscape of short-term rentals has changed. People weren’t allowed to leave their houses, so landlords and property managers had time to come up with new business ideas for when the pandemic subsided.

Now, it looks like we’re returning to a world of normality, and a ton of new short-term rental market trends have popped up this year. If you’re looking at getting into the industry or switching up tactics, then you may want to consider one of the following trends. 

Travel to rural locations

While many people often enjoy a city break, many others have started to book getaways in the country where they can explore the outdoors and be at one with nature. After people were stuck in the four walls of their homes for most of the covid pandemic, they are looking for open spaces where they can enjoy new experiences and breathe fresh air.

This phenomenon has become popular in countries all around the world, so you may even find some international guests booking short-term rentals. People are interested in active outdoor activities such as biking and hiking, so if you are looking at investing in new property, it may be a good idea to go the rural route. 

Working from home

Business trips have always been a popular aspect of working, and many people used to book to stay at hotels in new cities before venturing into the office. However, this isn’t necessarily the case anymore as you don’t need to be in the same location as your colleagues to work with them. Virtual meetings are now widespread, so people can be anywhere in the world at any time.

This has helped the short-term rental industry expand because people are able to take trips and go away with their families since they can just work from the location. Due to this, many properties have introduced desks into the rooms or dedicated workspaces with high-speed WiFi so people can stay on top of their tasks. 

Longer stays

Following on from the previous point, since people no longer have to be in the office as much, they are opting for longer trips away. There is no dedicated day they need to be back, so they stick to working away in the short-term rental while also enjoying some leisurely time away with family and friends. 

Instead of a weekend, people will instead opt for 4-night stays, or even Monday-Friday stays, so they can enjoy new scenery than their typical home office. Those who do still need to work in the office have also managed to accumulate a lot more holiday and time off, so this is the driving force for why they are booking longer stays - just because they can. 

More hotel-like experiences

Short-term rentals used to be a bit of a ‘you handle everything yourself’ sort of getaway, but that is starting to change. Since the market has become a lot more competitive, with many more rentals available to book, managers are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from others. The main difference they have introduced is more attentive care and more hotel-like experiences. 

Instead of guests having to clean up after themselves each day and at the end of their stay, landlords and property managers are ensuring that cleaners come in to sort everything out. They are attentive throughout the stay, providing extra towels and linens if needed and popping around if anything breaks. It makes the time in the rental more luxurious, and guests aren’t cramped in such a small room. 

Contactless technology

One of the challenges that property managers face is having short-term rentals scattered across the country and not being able to go between them when guests are there. Most of the time, they will hire staff to help out, but this can cost more and affect the business's overall revenue. Therefore, they have introduced contactless technology to help out. 

Instead of having to wait by the property at the beginning of a stay to provide guests with keys, landlords and property managers have introduced smart locks. It offers a keypad and code that can be changed after each stay. They also offer digital guidebooks with all the property information and easy ways to communicate with each other if a problem arises. 

Slow return to cities

One of the trends we’ve already mentioned is the need for more rural getaways, which means that there has obviously been a decline in people staying in cities. It reminds people of being cramped in their homes, and many shops, restaurants, and bars were closed for a long time, so people didn’t see the need to stay there.

However, since things are starting to get back to normal, there has been slow growth in people returning to the city for getaways and booking short-term rentals. This is especially true in some of the biggest capitals in the world, such as New York, London, Paris, and Barcelona. The return continues to grow, and experts have predicted that we should see a full recovery of city visitors in 2023. 

Final thoughts 

No matter what industry you’re in, there are always going to be changes and new trends. This is no different for the travel and short-term rental industry. People are always wanting to try something new, so the market trends will be unique each year. There is no saying the mentioned trends will be the same in 2023, but the chances that they will change drastically are low (unless we have another pandemic).

The best thing to do as a short-term rental property manager or owner is to keep an eye on these trends and adjust your business plan to meet them. It will undoubtedly help you meet your goals and increase your overall revenue in the next few years.