STR, AirDNA analysis of short-term rentals and hotels in 27 global markets

Short-term rentals have maintained higher performance levels than hotels during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the preliminary findings of a joint global analysis by STR and AirDNA.

The full analysis will be made available via each company's website and through press release distribution during the coming weeks. Additional preliminary findings will be shared this Thursday, 23 July, via a Cloudbeds webinar featuring Scott Shatford (AirDNA founder and CEO) and Robin Rossmann (STR's managing director).

For the purpose of the analysis, STR and AirDNA looked specifically at performance of traditional hotels, hotel-comparable short-term rentals (studios and 1-bedroom units) and larger short-term rentals (2 bedrooms or more). The analysis used weekly data from March 2019 through the week ending with 27 June 2020.

Preliminary findings:

• Supply fluctuations remained consistent across the three accommodation types.
• Traditional hotels saw the most severe year-over-year declines in performance as well as the lowest absolute points during the pandemic.
• During the most recent week of the analysis, larger short-term rentals showed the highest occupancy level of 61.4%. Short-term rentals most comparable with hotels came in at 58.2%, while traditional hotels were at 39.2%.
• For most of the time of the pandemic, larger short-term rentals posted the most favorable week-over-week percentage change in average daily rate (ADR). During the final two weeks of the analysis, however, traditional hotels showed the highest growth of 5.1% and 2.4%, respectively.
• Regional areas are seeing faster performance gains than urban areas across the two accommodation sectors.