As the weather turns colder and the holiday season approaches in Europe, we took a look at how top winter holiday rental markets are pacing for early 2023. While historical data should play a role in your overall revenue management strategy, access to forward-looking data is critical to driving the best revenue outcomes. As we have seen in the last few years the short-term rental market is ever-changing, so it’s essential to stay on top of and react to current trends in your area.
At Beyond, we have extensive market data that allows us to get a clear picture of how top holiday rental winter markets are pacing into the new year. Let’s take a look at performance in some popular winter destinations in major destinations. From there, we’ll dive into our recommendations for operators to respond to current trends.
Interested in drilling down into your specific market? Try Insights today to see how you can access actionable, comprehensive short-term rental market data to inform your revenue management strategy.
Holiday Rental Markets in France
In France, occupancy rates are in line or ahead of Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2022, with great improvement through Q1.
It’s important to remember the booking window shifts last year versus prior years, where the market saw many more reservations confirmed within 10 days of arrival versus prior years. We also saw very similar booking windows, pre-Covid, in Q1 2019 and in January- February 2020, .
Beyond recommendation: With the occupancy pace being around or ahead of last year, we recommend holding price positions for now as the French markets are showing equal demand through prior years. Property managers and hosts shouldn’t risk decreasing prices too early since we are anticipating the booking window being shorter. Because of this, we also recommend revisiting last-minute discounts for listings pacing ahead of last year so as not to miss ADR opportunities.
Holiday Rental Markets in Italy
In Italy, markets are pacing mostly in line with Christmas last year, with most occupancy opportunities being over the New Year’s holiday. However, Italian markets show great improvement through Q1.
It is important to note that lead time has shifted to longer booking windows for winter months. This means reservations on average are confirmed further out from the arrival day versus prior years over Q1/winter months in 2022. Italian markets have seen an increased percentage of reservations confirmed 1-2 months out from arrival versus the prior two years and we anticipate a similar situation for 2023.
Beyond Recommendation: With slight occupancy opportunities in Q1, we believe it is important for users to remain competitive with pricing in order to capture their share of occupancy – especially at a time when booking window averages have slightly increased.
Holiday Rental Markets in Spain
While Italian markets are pacing similarly to New Year’s Eve last year and most occupancy opportunities are over the Christmas holiday, Spanish markets, however, show great improvement going into Q1. Occupancy is pacing slightly behind last year at less than 5%.
In Spanish markets, reservations are being booked closer to arrival. In prior years, 20-25% of bookings were confirmed more than two months out from arrival. Patterns shifted post-Covid, and markets continue to see similar trends in 2022 with at least 5-10% fewer bookings confirmed more than two months out.
Understanding these booking trend shifts, it’s important for users to remain competitive with price positions in order to capture a fair share of occupancy, especially if listings are pacing behind last year. Operators should simultaneously be mindful of shifting market trends post-Covid where a higher percentage of guests tends to hold off booking until closer to the arrival date.
Beyond Recommendation: Reference your last-minute discounts for listings pacing in line or ahead of last year. There is always a risk with leaving some money on the table if your properties are pacing ahead and in a market with a higher volume of short booking windows.
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What are you keeping in mind for 2023? With Insights from Beyond, you can keep an eye on how trends are shaping up for your market and gain a deeper understanding of your market – plus it’s free to all owners and property managers. Get started today!
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