We’ve learned that even in a global pandemic, travel does not stop entirely. It just shifted. Even with the promise of COVID vaccine and herd immunity. We predict air travel will not recover in 2021 but drive-to vacation rental markets will continue to thrive.
If you don’t feel safe on an airplane, how safe will you feel at a hotel pool or elevator full of strangers? We predict single-family vacation rentals will achieve a higher proportion of the overall lodging market, while hotels’ market share continues to shrink.
With work and school going remote, extra bedrooms once dedicated to sleeping are now being repurposed as offices and classrooms. The same will hold true for vacations: whereas a 5-bedroom home used to be the target for multi-family trips, the same property is now within the search parameters of a single family. Our booking data is starting to reflect this shift.
Going with the remote work and school trend, as well as a mindset of “if I am going to travel, I might as well make it last for a while,” We predict length of stay will continue to climb—though this will likely stabilize relatively soon and eventually creep back down to average levels at a speed that will depend on your particular market.
Recognized and experience host will get majority of the bookings. When your vacation is on the line, there are certainly people who will roll the dice and go with an unknown quantity host. When your life’s on the line? The professional vacation rental management companies will continue to gain more market share.
Just like we saw in 2008 on the heels of the financial crisis, the corollary to the increased awareness and demand for single-family rentals in 2020 means that new—and new kinds of—guests will be drawn to vacation rentals. Often these guests bring higher expectations for service levels, responsiveness, property quality, and more.
2021 is full of promise and opportunity for us at Casago. Adapting to the changing customer expectations and adopting value-add technologies and services will be the difference in making 2021 a successful year.
Tom Lyons
CRO
Casago Vacation Rentals
