Short Stay: State of the Market Report

Updated December 2020

covid-19 impact

Bookings

Revenue

Regional Impact

the current market

Types of Guest
Booking Trends
OTA Policies (Coming Soon)

surviving & Thriving

How to maximise revenue (Coming Soon)

Cutting costs & preserving capital (Coming Soon)

Knowing your numbers (Coming Soon)

COVID-19 IMPACT

BOOKINGS

The impact of Covid-19 on OTA bookings - first due to a drop in demand, then due to government restrictions - was significant:

Statistica Research Department

During the initial lockdown, both Airbnb and Booking.com were closed to public bookings, resulting in a 96% drop in OTA bookings. Some short stay providers in the UK closed their properties, but most adapted to the changing market.

At the beginning of lockdown, large numbers of key workers were looking for medium-term accommodation for either professional or shielding reasons. Many providers offered accommodation at reduced rates, in order to cover costs.

Many short stay providers were also involved in the large-scale effort to keep the families of NHS staff safe, by shielding front line staff in short stay properties

REVENUE

Short stay providers were less impacted by Covid-19 than hotels, according to revenue figures (Q1/Q2 2020) from AirDNA and STR:

-64.8%

The same report shows that short stay properties in USA, Spain, Italy, France and China all showed higher Average Daily Rates post-lockdown than the previous year.

REGIONAL IMPACT

Septembers hotel revenue data from Visit England shows how different regions of the England have been impacted by Covid-19:

Unsurprisingly, London is the most affected with travellers shunning the capital in favour of rural retreats. This also explains why Southwest England has been least impacted.

-64.8%

Year-on-Year Revenue for Hotels

-4.5%

Year-on-Year Revenue for Short Stay

THE CURRENT MARKET

TYPES OF GUEST

Booking.com have identified 3 emerging types of guest, based on their extensive booking and search data and customer research:

DOMESTIC ADVENTURER

Travellers are exploring closer to home, seeking out nature, beaches and outdoor activities

77% feel comfortable travelling domestically in the next 6 months
53% plan on driving to their destination
46% planning a “rural retreat”

REMOTE WORKER

Travellers who work from home are looking to book longer trips that combine work with pleasure

37% would book a stay just to work from there
Home and apartments accounted for 40% of bookings between April and June
56% of operators considering promotions for longer stays

CROSS-BORDER EXPLORER

Travellers are still looking to travel internationally, with more budget conscious choices

28% plan to travel internationally in the coming months
48% plan to visit lesser known places
75% say good value rates, discounts and deals are important

BOOKING TRENDS

Booking trends have changed substantially, according to the
latest Q4 2020 data from Airbnb:

domestic

Over 98% of bookings have been domestic guests

flexible

Moderate & flexible bookings in the UK increased to 69%,
from 43% in Q1

entire homes

83% of bookings were for “entire home”, with 31% groups of 3+

last minute

39% of bookings were made with a booking window of less than 7 days