The new year is fast approaching, and short-term rental trends are already taking shape. 

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Preparing your short-term rental business for 2024 is vital for your continued success, so we polled our team of vacation rental experts at Beyond for their big bets and recommendations for 2024. With a combined 30+ years in the short-term rental industry, they brought forward thoughtful predictions, plus actionable advice for hosts and property managers to win in 2024.

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Julie Brinkman, CEO

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With 2024 being an election year in the U.S., I think we will see a stabilization of some of the macro jolts that both the U.S. and the world have experienced - namely with interest rates, oil prices, and exchange rates staying flat. The short-term rental (STR) industry is poised to have a fantastic year, as travelers clearly desire STRs and all they offer - and stable macroeconomic conditions give them all the confidence they need to take the trip they want. 

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Where will this manifest? Across the entire category and market types. If the vacation rental property manager and host are systematically staying on top of demand, they will not only see flat to higher average daily rates (ADRs) year-over-year, but also certainly, increased occupancy. 

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For North America, I believe destination markets will have a better year than last, especially this spring break and summer – although mid to late August might be soft again due to school schedules. Should school schedules or weather patterns change, those property managers attuned to demand will be able to proactively shift their revenue management strategies to make the most of the high travel seasons.

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For Europe, the Olympics should be another boon and give this region another fantastic summer from foreigners looking to experience incredible sights and experiences. While this summer may not set records like 2023, it certainly will return meaningful revenue for those property managers who are taking advantage of the increased travel demand. 

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While less prominent than North America and Europe, I also believe Latin America and Asia-Pacific (APAC) will continue their upswing both in supply and demand. As flight prices come down, those destinations tend to be more affordable, and the modernization of travel experiences opens up these markets to new travelers.

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While urban markets will continue to come under regulation pressure, you will start to see a banding together of those of us in STRs to tell the right story - about the economic benefit STRs bring to communities, vs. letting the hotel lobby control the conversation and cause STR infighting.

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I'm feeling bullish coming into 2024 - the past few years have propelled our industry to new heights and horizons, as demand and supply skyrocketed - and as the dust and normalcy have settled, the vacation rental hosts and property managers who have weathered this era are in an even better position to grow and flourish in 2024. 

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David Kelso, Co-Founder & CTO

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For the first time in about ten years, we saw supply growth outstrip demand growth in 2023. I believe that was an anomaly and we’ll see stabilization of U.S. supply growth, without seeing a reduced growth of demand, which will lead to higher ADRs across markets. Conversely, Europe will see more of a pullback than anticipated as travel from the U.S. retreats from its 2023 post-pandemic euphoria.

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As a result of seeing lower ADRs for the first time (outside of COVID), owners churned from property managers at higher rates in 2023, and I expect that to normalize back to historical levels. However, their increased expectations for transparency into the performance of the properties are here to stay. That leaves less room for mistakes from property managers and drives the importance of reporting, and adding real-time data sources like search data.

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Airbnb will continue to dominate and will accelerate its strength over Vrbo. Direct bookings are gaining guest mindshare, but the consistency of technology and experience is still not up to consumer expectations, so we won’t see a huge shift in direct booking share over the next year.

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Maria Flores Portillo, Managing Director, EMEA

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2024 should hopefully be the new benchmark year for some of the markets that experienced a contraction of demand vs supply in the last 12-18 months, such as in the U.S. or the UK. Global macro factors seem to be slightly more stable, which will be a very necessary factor to move into a new normal. 

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Europe, however, will likely experience a harder year as some of the demand contraction that we have seen in the U.S. overflows. We are already observing flatter demand vs previous years, and most Southern Europe property managers are getting ready for much tougher competition. 

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Regulations will continue to throw challenges especially (but not exclusively) in urban markets, with upcoming regional and national elections creating supply uncertainty and owners considering a move to mid or long-term rentals. We have however started to see the different industry actors forming a more united front to combat the hotel lobbyists and I am optimistic about some of the dialogue that is currently happening at a local and regional level. Whilst regulation is unavoidable, it is possible to create a sustainable framework that legitimizes the short-term rental industry as the beneficial economic sector for society that it has become.

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We will also continue to see the rise of property managers adopting an entire-building approach to de-risk regulatory constraints and diversifying into new models such as co-Living and corporate rentals, which is highly untapped. 

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As ever, technology, data, and revenue management craftsmanship will dictate who thrives and who doesn’t in this complex landscape. Relying on historical data makes less sense than ever -  we have moved to a world where revenue managers need to be able to predict demand with the right set of tools, rather than react to it. The complexity has already created a surge of consulting firms that aim to advise property managers on revenue management, and I predict that this trend will continue into 2024. 

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Brian Brendell, Senior Vice President Product

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Coming off a year that saw many markets retreat from pandemic-fueled highs, I believe we will see a period of relative stability. The supply and demand inequity we saw this year will shift back to a period of regular growth. And in an ‘average’ time, having access to real-time, reliable data will be more important than ever. 

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Property managers will be fighting to acquire, or re-acquire owners lost during the down year to drive the next stage of growth. Those property managers with access to reliable, proven performance data to share with those owners will be the most successful. This will cause property managers who have been resisting adopting technologies and pricing their properties by spreadsheet to lose out. 

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Artificial Intelligence and machine learning will continue their march across the STR industry, with everyone saying they ‘do AI.’  At the same time, property managers and hosts are becoming more sophisticated than ever. So, the few solutions that actually leverage these technologies to understand their users' strategies and use that personalization to drive revenue growth will win out.

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Caitlin Cassady, Vice President, Marketing

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With the supply of vacation rentals growing worldwide, standing out from the crowd and meeting guests where they are will be critical for driving more revenue in 2024. This means data-driven revenue management strategies like pricing & distribution are table stakes, and using that data to attract and incentivize more guests will be where we see the winners take the lead. 

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What does attracting those guests look like? The most successful vacation rental businesses will focus on using data to improve the experience side – highlighting the amenities they know guests are searching for in their area, creating flexible marketing strategies that allow them to react quickly to promote new events in their area, and highlighting their 5-star reviews to increase booking conversion. Combining the marketing strategies that attract guests with data-driven strategies that increase bookings will be the recipe for success in 2024. 

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Jeffrey Breece, Director, Revenue Management

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I’m predicting that 2024 will be the new baseline year, finally replacing 2019. It’s got all the markings of a new normal, as we see the tailwinds of multi-year pent-up demand travel has fully dissipated, and new travel trends take hold. A good baseline year is defined when there is a relative balance between supply and demand - stability, which we are moving towards. Steady revenues will mostly be welcomed but there will be a squeeze felt by most as costs continue to outpace. The industry overall will continue to grow and new bright spots will emerge, but 2024 will be incredibly average to those average hosts and property managers out there. 

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Ryan Saylor, Director, Product Marketing

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I agree that (hopefully) 2024 is more of a stable year for the short-term rental market. 2023 was really the first year that most markets started to struggle compared to previous years and revenue managers had to adapt quickly – which acted as a forcing function for property managers to harness their revenue management skills and ensure they had everything at their disposal to counteract changing market conditions. Supply growth has also been naturally slowing and I think market dynamics will settle a bit to allow rentals to get their footing back. 

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My one hot take (that shouldn’t really be considered a hot take) is that the third-party online travel agency (OTA) distribution channels like, Vrbo and Airbnb, will have an even greater emphasis on delivering value to hosts and property managers through new, meaningful tools. These channels are fighting for market share and one easy way to funnel more bookings through their platforms is to make it easier to manage listings, set up promotions, and increase visibility for hosts. Hotel and airline OTA channels have figured this out, so it’s time for short-term rental revenue managers to get some new tools to play with. 

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Taylor McManus, Director of Customer Experience

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In the near future, the vacation rental industry will see a shift driven by owner demands and advancements in revenue management technology. 

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Owners are getting wiser to revenue management and the tools in the space, which means their expectations are higher. Property managers will need to use their revenue management solution not only effectively but also accurately to forecast and communicate revenue targets to owners, regardless of next year’s economic conditions. Those neglecting to do these three things risk losing owners to rivals and economic shifts. Those with demand-driven revenue management solutions will maintain and grow their revenue in 2024. Furthermore, they will have a real opportunity to steal away rival owners who are underutilizing their tools and making ill-informed forecasts.

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Property managers are also becoming aware of the need to manage their current revenue management solution properly. We’ll see an influx of outsourced revenue management companies who promise to deliver but will have a hard time justifying their value at the end of the year. Property managers should look to their pricing tool for recommendations on the best partners to outsource this responsibility to.

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Similar to 2023, the property managers who continue to invest in industry-leading revenue management solutions will outperform their competition. With the shift towards demand data, like search data, fueling pricing recommendations, property managers using budget pricing tools will not capitalize on a market rebound or a continuation of the current status quo. Property managers need to be aware of budget pricing solutions promising revenue returns or demand data features that they cannot deliver on.

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Kate Kirschner, Strategic Growth Director

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We saw the rise of AI in 2023, and next year it will become even more prominent. Those hosts and property managers who leverage it in the right ways will not only be able to free up their time for revenue-driving activities but will also maintain flexibility amidst the unpredictable shifts in traveler behaviors.

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On another note, distribution and merchandising strategies are going to be a huge focus for 2024. Many OTAs already offer merchandising, like badging and strikethrough pricing, and those that don't will soon develop it. Hosts and property managers who take the time to leverage these strategies, while also balancing the importance of their direct bookings, will come out ahead.

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What 2024 short-term rental trends are you preparing for? Take charge of your revenue management strategy for next year and work wth Beyond today! And see just how much your business can grow with our calculator.

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