Les short-term rental trends 2021 were published recently by IGMS in an article (read the article), based on a study conducted by Airbnb, as well as interviews with market experts.
Who is IGMS? It is an American business of professional owners that manages short-term rentals for professional owners. OIQIA summarizes for you, Airbnb owners or concierges, the 2021 trends in this industry, which was strongly shaken last year.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed, taking them by surprise, the way in which real estate hosts and investors operated until that moment. First of all, the tourism industry, through flight restrictions and international travel, has been strongly impacted. Resilient, she remains optimistic: a study conducted indicates that 70% of respondents say they want to take a vacation in 2021! Moreover, they can't wait to enjoy it!
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The months of March and April 2020 respectively saw a drop in the volume of bookings, according to Airbnb, of 42% and 72% compared to last year, according to Airbnb. A record whose platform would have done well. Cancellations and reservation problems exploded: a challenge that hosts had to overcome and that required contextual adaptation.
Cancellation policies have been multiple: the most flexible ones have made it possible to attract new bookings. The most stringent ones have generated a number of conflicts. This made it possible to draw a lesson for 2021: to persevere in terms of flexibility and flexibility in the face of governments that are reluctant to offer precise guidelines in terms of future confinement or not. The threat continues to loom, causing many fears among travelers. Will they be refunded or not?
While the start of the pandemic caused mass tariff cuts of the order of 60%, the situation changed in June 2020. In order to make up for their loss of income, the hosts had the reflex to increase their rate per night. In addition, rental income fell from 80 to 100% during the month of April 2020, due to cancellations and the lack of reservations. This, of course, is due to lockdown.
Uncertainty about the future has forced travelers to book at the last minute. The changing, sudden restrictions by the authorities explain this globally observed behavior. In fact, travelers have encountered difficulties in planning their trip in advance. Likewise, observers point to an increase in the length of stays. An example: in November 2019, the average stay posted consisted of 3.4 days while in November 2020 the stay increased to 4.9 days.
Predicting the year 2021 is complicated, according to the authors of the study. That said, family relationships and the desire to travel remain deeply rooted values for many, pointing to great prospects for 2021. As long as the populations are not confined again or restricted in their movements.
Average prices posted on Airbnb increased by 11% between March and September 2020. The occupancy rate is following the trend, with a positive increase of +13% in more than 300 cities. Location remains a key driver and creates significant geographic differences in this respect. At OIQIA, we notice the same disparity in France, with regions being differently affected by the pandemic.
According to the expert, if one lesson should be learned from 2020, it is the need to be proactive and adaptable in order to survive and succeed. National travel will remain an important driver in short-term rentals for the time being. And will develop the offer of camping-type accommodations. Family trips with animals will also, according to him, become the norm. It is up to the hosts to take this into account and adapt.
These national movements are also of a different nature. Stays are getting longer and require specific entertainment arrangements (Netflix and TV options welcome). Not to mention the WiFi connection required, especially when it comes to teleworking: fast and reliable. We are talking about “digital nomads”, which has become a segment of travelers that will last for another 5 years. Travelers are often nationals who leave their accommodation for a furnished tourist accommodation in which they will be more comfortable: a real opportunity for hosts, which we have also seen in France.
The reinforced cleaning policy for households imposed by Airbnb would reassure travelers, according to their own statements (81% of respondents). It is recommended if the announcement was made off-platform to fully detail the procedure followed. Also, do not hesitate to call on a professional in the field. And finally, to include cleaning/cleaning expenses in 2021.
At the beginning of the year, bookings in Europe and the USA continued to show a drastic drop of 40 to 60%. All points of interest that are heavily dependent on tourism will continue to suffer as long as border policies remain as restrictive. The expert recommends a flexible cancellation policy, autonomous check-in, and instant bookings, in order to increase the reservation rate. Even if many hosts fear these last-minute bookings, the current context unfortunately favors them. Refusing to do so remains a strategy that is likely to prove to be a loser.
During the summer of 2021, it is anticipated that travelers will primarily seek adventure close to home. Travellers indicate that they want to visit less busy places to protect themselves while they are vaccinated. Beach destinations will be very popular in 2021, especially the less busy spots. It is obvious that the French context is less suitable for this, as our beaches are very crowded in summer.
This strategy will pay off in 2021 in order to maintain a stable occupancy rate. Airdna would go further, by affirming, according to the authors, that hosts who publish their ads on several sites would earn twice as much as those present on a single platform. It is also recommended to publish on social networks the list of platforms on which any host is present.
In 2021, It is recommended that hosts rely on technology and to adopt automation to respond to news short-term rental trends announced. Digital solutions will simplify the remote management process, which, depending on the health context, is more than recommended. Moreover, it is undeniable that their use will reduce operational costs. In particular, this will allow hosts to recover the losses of the year 2020. A study conducted by the authors also showed that 71.4% of hosts have no intention of reducing their software costs.
Les short-term rental trends 2021 can be summed up in 3 words: proactivity, flexibility and automation. This is something that the OIQIA team fully supports. Finally, the tools recommended by the authors of the article include the single inbox concentrating all messages, the automation of these to improve your reactivity rate on platforms, the automation of traveller reviews to increase their number, intelligent and digital tools to manage reservations, etc. Oiqia offers you this tool that meets 2021 trends.
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