Hotels are among the worst affected businesses during this coronavirus crisis, but surprisingly short-term accommodation rentals still managed to generate good enough revenue. Short-term rentals that include apartments with a minimum of two bedrooms seem to be people’s first choice during this pandemic. Now, their performance is almost as good as before the crisis, this was revealed in a study published by STR that provides vacation rental data and analytics.
If we talk about revenue per available room, it was down by only 4.4% as compared to last year for the short-term rentals, whereas, for hotels, it was down by 64.7%, so the difference is huge. There are many property developers and private investors who want to offer their properties as short-term accommodation. According to Totalstay, never before have so many investors have contacted them for this purpose.
The reason is pretty clear; people are reluctant to go to hotels due to safety issues, so they prefer two or more bedroom apartments. So there is a great opportunity for the investors to use their unsold usable properties and offer it for accommodation purposes.
The accommodation industry saw a good growth prior to the pandemic as hotel occupancy exceeded 66% for 58 months straight. But, when the pandemic created chaos, the hotel industry was badly affected. There was a great drop in demand due to safety issues and travel restrictions.
The short-term rental industry was not as badly affected as the hotels, as revealed by the study. The industry saw great growth in the last few years as customers find them more affordable and liked the unique experience. The industry remained strong during a bad patch last year and this year’s crisis because short-term rentals provide great value for money.
It provides great space, more comfort, better locations, and a safer environment. What more a traveler can want if he gets a great place to live with less money as compared to hotels with less safety risk. They have become an ideal choice for families who want to make a long-term stay.