Short-Term Rental Statistics & Trends for 2024

Stay ahead with key insights for the short-term rental market in 2024, and beat competitors by focusing on innovative smart tech.

Understanding the key short-term rental statistics and trends for 2024 is crucial for anyone looking to capitalize on this continually evolving market.

In this article, you’ll learn about the latest growth figures, market demand insights, and the impact of regulatory changes. You’ll also see how occupancy rates have shifted in the US and which international events could boost demand and which regions will benefit most.

Plus, we talk about changes in guest needs, and how vacation rental technology can help you create the autonomous stays guests look for and make your management processes more scalable.

Market overview, projections of growth, and OTAs

The US short-term rental (STR) industry ended 2023 strongly—with very high numbers of listings, record stays over the summer, and the highest-ever revenue.

So far, the start of 2024 has looked far more promising than that of 2023, suggesting there could be an even more positive year ahead.

Key stats from 2023 that bode well for 2024

The end of 2023 confirmed that the year had been positive in terms of demand, suggesting that people are still excited to spend their hard-earned cash on stays away from home.

Growing demand in US STR industry

• $64 billion annual revenue, the highest yet
• 24 million nights stayed in July, the most in-demand month on record
• 1.64 million available listings in September, the most ever in one month

Increased spending power across the US economy

• 216,000 new jobs added nationwide in December
• Unemployment rate stable at 3.7%
• Inflation slowed to 3.9% in December
• Reduction of interest rates down to 6.6% in December from a high of 7.8% in October

End of “inflated” post-Covid boom

Despite those revenue increases, last year also saw the end of the post-pandemic “boom,” with occupancy rates overall dropping below the pre-Covid levels for the first time. This appeared to be a correction of the unusual post-Covid explosion, rather than the start of a true decline in demand.

As a result, 2024 should continue to correct this artificial spike in demand, allowing the vacation rental market to settle while maintaining predictable and still-high occupancy for property managers.

Hosting challenges and opportunities

Being aware of the year’s challenges may help you stay pragmatic in your plans, but the year is also set to present plenty of inspiration too.

Challenges

Major challenges having a growing impact on the STR market include:

Increased regulations on STRs

Extra laws and changing permissions—including a ban on non-owner-occupied properties—have led to a decline in demand, especially in busy cities NYC (NY), New Orleans (LA), Maui (HI), and Philadelphia (PA). Hotels have started to take note of STR trends and have modified their prices to match, making competition even tougher for rentals alone.

Continued geopolitical tensions and high inflation

While inflation has slowed, an uncertain market and unstable global situation may have an impact on people’s tendencies to spend on vacation travel. Uncertainty around November’s Presidential Election could amplify this effect.

Continued OTA dominance

Despite the benefits of direct booking for both businesses and consumers, OTAs (online travel agencies, or online booking rental platforms) show no sign of slowing down, highlighting the importance of convenience and strong branding to travelers during the search and booking processes.

Figures published in 2023 show that the Booking.com app achieved 80 million downloads in 2022, and continues to grow, cementing its place as a leading global travel app.

Booking.com generated $17 billion in 2022, a staggering year-on-year increase of 56%. It also reported $121.3 billion worth of bookings via its hotel and vacation home listings, with 895 million nights booked.

Airbnb was in second place on downloads in 2022 (52 million), and Expedia in third (27 million). Still-emerging apps are Agoda (12 million), Vrbo (20 million), and Hopper (19.8 million.)

Opportunities

The STR market in 2024 is ripe with potential, highlighted by a nationwide surge in demand and strategic opportunities to boost income. Here are some of the top reasons to be positive about STR growth this year.

Growing demand overall

STR demand is already up nationwide compared to 2022 and 2023, a positive sign and start to the year. Nightly rates are also likely to continue growing, albeit at a slower level than at the start of 2023 (the rate of increase slowed over the course of last year to 1.7%).

Modern renovations

If higher interest rates hit your real estate portfolio hard in 2023, you can still maximize your income from vacation rentals in 2024 by investing in your estate with guest-pleasing upgrades and renovations that will ensure your listings stand out above the rest.

More demand for smaller towns and unique destinations

Non-obvious places with original attractions, such as Wisconsin Dells’ penchant for waterparks, or properties near environmental marvels such as the Mojave National Park (CA), will prove increasingly attractive. In fact, coastal markets saw a 25% increase in demand in 2023 compared to 2019.

Major sporting events (summer)

Both the Paris Olympics and Paralympics (from July 26th through August 11th, 2024), and Euro 2024 (in Germany from June 14th through July 14th) will have a major impact on STRs in their relevant cities, with opportunities galore to capture sports fans in droves.

Guest expectations and preferences

With continued high demand in the STR industry, the competition between STR businesses is set to continue in 2024.

Exceed guest expectations and stand out in a saturated market with these tech-focused tips.

Keyless entry

Setting up keyless entry at your rentals is a must for modern properties in 2024. 

Guests are automatically sent their access code before check-in and can get in easily without an in-person exchange of keys. You don’t have to hire someone to welcome your guests, and there’s no stress if their arrival is delayed.

Security is tighter, as there’s no risk of lost or stolen keys, and you can change the codes with each new guest. This offers peace of mind to you, saves your teamwork, and gives guests greater autonomy throughout their stay.

Use a system that can integrate with your Property Management System (PMS) and sync with your calendar, so you can keep track of unit status and see as soon as a guest has checked out.

Digital communication

Guests today increasingly expect communication to be fast, personal, and efficient, and 2024 will only amplify this trend. 

Scheduling messages to their phone—whether to confirm their rental booking, send them arrival information, welcome them, or remind them of the checkout process—shows your professionalism and ensures guests have everything they need for an easy, seamless stay.

Automated guest messaging lets you communicate directly with guests when you need to, without having to spend hours watching your phone or manually typing out texts.

Digital communication also means making it easy for guests to book online (whether through an OTA or by improving your direct booking website and social media presence.

You can also connect your rental calendar to a dynamic pricing platform (like Wheelhouse, Beyond Pricing, or PriceLabs) to help optimize your rates whether to make your stays more competitive within your local market or to take advantage of a high-demand event.

Smart security

STR security has gone beyond clumsy and intrusive CCTV cameras or enlisting a local resident to keep watch.

In 2024, rentals will increasingly rely on scalable home protection solutions like Minut, which can detect motion in a vacant property.

For example features that detect if a window is broken, and can recognize individual alarms to alert you if something needs attention (such as a fire alarm or a carbon monoxide alarm). This gives you peace of mind even if you manage your rentals remotely and have a large inventory, as you’ll receive an automated smartphone alert as per your customizations whenever there’s an issue across your portfolio.

Modern amenities

Even the sleekest new tech won’t impress guests in 2024 if they don’t have the amenities they need and want. 

Be sure to highlight your rentals’ devices and provisions clearly in your short-term rental listings, so your vacation rental company stands out above the rest. Include a screenshot of a speed test of your high-speed Wi-Fi if you want to attract digital nomads or professionals; show your eco-friendly, luxury toiletries in the bathroom to appeal to green-conscious guests; and be sure to highlight your pool and outdoor space for summer vacationers.

Tech extends here too; you can offer guests a digital guestbook with recommendations included, so they can plan their trip itinerary or order upsells (such as sports equipment or taxi rides) through their smartphones as well. A well-equipped, modern property means happy, satisfied guests in 2024.

Spotless cleaning

The peak of COVID may have long receded, but it had a lasting effect on guests’ expectations of cleanliness, especially in a popular property with many guests, and this will continue into 2024.

Setting up an efficient cleaning and maintenance team—whose access can also be controlled remotely via smart locks—will ensure your business turnovers run smoothly and your properties are always sparkling before guests arrive, even if they booked last minute.

Emerging technologies

The biggest innovations in the STR space go beyond smart locks and texts. Set your business up for success in 2024 and beyond with this advanced vacation rental tech.

Detect excess noise and send automated reminders to your guests.

Noise and occupancy detection

Preventing parties, damage, and disruption is a continued priority for vacation rental hosts in 2024. Ensure guests keep to your rental rules by installing noise and occupancy detectors.

These discreet, all-in-one devices don’t infringe on guest privacy by recording, filming, or listening in. Instead, they detect decibel levels beyond your customized threshold for a specified amount of time and count how many smartphones are in the property. No more loud music at 11pm or 10 people staying in a two-bed.

If anything appears amiss, automatically message your guests with a polite reminder of the rules. There are also features out there that can send responders trained in mediation to your property to save you and your team from having to directly manage a potentially confrontational situation.

Cigarette smoke detection

Determine the difference between cigarettes and burnt toast.

Cigarette smoke can be very costly to your business and affect your relationships with guests and homeowners. The latest technology not only detects cigarette smoke, distinguishing it from other types of smoke, but automates an alert and guest message.

By letting guests know about the technology before their stay, it also helps prevent any cases of guests breaking your house rules. Plus you can use events log as evidence of their smoking should you experience a dispute.

AI background checks

With the growth of ChatGPT, the year 2023 was a controversial time for artificial intelligence (AI), but its ever-evolving abilities can also help with your STRs, with AI-powered background checks on guests.

These tools can check for any negative guest reviews, see if the guest is listed on any criminal records or databases, and detect if they might be using a stolen credit card, or committing fraud.

This helps you spot potential problems before they occur and gives confidence to your homeowner clients that you have the resources to properly protect their properties.

 

Short-term rental trends in 2024: Stand out with smart tech

A positive end to 2023 has put the STR industry on a promising footing for 2024, but challenges remain as the market continues to become more saturated, hence the drop in occupancy rates.

In such a competitive space, and with OTAs continuing to dominate the industry, the most successful property managers will be those who are ready to innovate and embrace new technologies, simplifying their processes while efficiently meeting guest expectations on convenience and autonomy.

Hosts that use the latest devices to monitor noise and occupancy, communicate efficiently, automate messaging, simplify access, and enhance security will be well-placed for business growth in 2024 and beyond, riding out any challenges in the sector while profiting from new opportunities too.

2024 STR statistics: Sources

www.hotelnewsresource.com

www.statista.com

www.businessofapps.com

Key Data

www.beyondpricing.com

www.rentalscaleup.com