In January, various factors dampened the demand for short-term rentals across the United States.
A notably cold spell, characterized as an “Arctic air mass” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ushered in record low temperatures nationwide,while we endured a relatively severe flu, COVID, and RSV season
Which led to total booked nights seeing minimal growth at just 1.3% compared to the same period last year, failing to reach the pre-pandemic occupancy levels witnessed in late 2023.
Historically, February stands as the lowest month for listings. This year saw a significant drop of 73,000 listings, a departure from the typical January figures, however this decline aligns with the anticipated reduction characteristic of February.
AirDNA reports Key U.S. STR Performance Metrics for January 2024
- Revenue per available room (RevPAR) declined 6.6% year-over-year (YOY) to $133.80
- Available listings were 1.54 million, up 10.5% YOY
- Total demand (nights) rose 1.3% YOY
- Occupancy was 7.0% lower YOY at 43.2%
- Average daily rates (ADRs) increased 0.5% YOY to $309.63
- Nights booked decreased 2.7% YOY
“January produced the first negative YOY change in new bookings (-2.7%) in 21 months. Some of this can be attributed to the strong performance in bookings in January 2023, which stands as the highest monthly bookings recorded in the last 34 months. On the other hand, the growth in demand for January was just 1.3%, which is considerably lower than December’s 4.1% or November’s 7.4% growth rate.”
What’s that mean for the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area?
Our area was one of the 25 markets that saw an increase in demand.
“Even though demand saw a downturn, the growth in average daily rate (ADR), or the average rental income per paid occupied room in a given period, improved in January compared to December. “
This year Easter falls in March, instead of April, so we may see an early influx of Spring Breakers.
The tourism board provides the school breaks for the surrounding areas!
The majority of the school systems listed on this document will be out during the weeks of 3/25 and 4/1.
You can use this to see if your short term rental is seeing a shift based on the shift in holidays.