STR Bookings Slow & Daily Rates Low?

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
4y

Is anyone else anticipating a slowing, just as a matter of course? People were pent up in houses for far too long and then unable/unwilling to fly or stay in hotels because their fear of COVID was so strong. I saw a huge spike in vacation rental use and tourism these past two years. Yellowstone saw visitors increase from 3.8 million to 4.8 million in one year. I went to Hawaii in July and Oahu was busier than it's ever been, by far. On top of that, there's been a buying frenzy for vacation rentals the past two years.

It wouldn't surprise me to see the vacation rental market cool off as tourists start to fly and move back into hotels/motels. But maybe I'm missing something.

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  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    4y

    I am filling up at top rates throughout the Spring and Summer.

    I still have a lot of July open because I have my rates jacked way above everyone else. I noticed only 16% of Vrbo houses left for July so they will come.

    0Reply
  • Trish Mccoy
    Real Estate Agent · Grass Valley, CA · Member since 2017 · 185 posts · 198 votes
    4y

    I am as well. I have 6 STR and one of my large properties that is normally very popular has had only one booking this year... I thought maybe my rates were too high. My smaller one seem to be renting more.

    2Reply
  • Quinn OlivarezBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2021 · 115 posts · 131 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Dustin Sanders:

    Is anyone else experiencing slow bookings? I am in 3 different vacation heavy markets and my April & May calendars are at about 25% occupancy.

    It would help if you told us which markets you’re in. 
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  • Dustin SandersBusiness Member
    OP
    Realtor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2019 · 89 posts · 30 votes
    4y

    @John Underwood Where are you located? I don't understand why mine aren't filled up since I have competitive rates and pretty much 5 stars across the board with my properties.

    [email protected]850-529-3683
    0Reply
  • Dustin SandersBusiness Member
    OP
    Realtor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2019 · 89 posts · 30 votes
    4y

    @Quinn Olivarez I have the 3 markets I'm in listed below:

    - Pensacola, FL

    - St Petersburg, FL (technically Gulfport, FL)

    - Helen, GA

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    1Reply
  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    4y
    Quote from @Dustin Sanders:

    @John Underwood Where are you located? I don't understand why mine aren't filled up since I have competitive rates and pretty much 5 stars across the board with my properties.

    SC, Lake Hartwell close to Clemson University. 
    2Reply
  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    4y
    Quote from @Dustin Sanders:

    @Quinn Olivarez I have the 3 markets I'm in listed below:

    - Pensacola, FL

    - St Petersburg, FL (technically Gulfport, FL)

    - Helen, GA


     I would think Helen GA will pick up when the temperature warms up.

    1Reply
  • Dustin SandersBusiness Member
    OP
    Realtor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2019 · 89 posts · 30 votes
    4y

    @John Underwood I was in Helen this past weekend and there are still quite a few travels visiting so I'm left scratching my head as to why it's not already booking up fast. Same for the Pensacola & St Pete properties in Florida since we're starting to reach peak season for travel

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    0Reply
  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    4y

    Try adjusting your rates down a little.

    Also check your competition that is booked up. Do they have better amenities, location, pictures, description etc.? See if you can find a root cause and then fix the problem.

    Maybe they are advertising on more places? Airbnb, Vrbo, FB marketplace, Craigslist, Instagram, Twitter, paid ads etc.?

    1Reply
  • Dustin SandersBusiness Member
    OP
    Realtor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2019 · 89 posts · 30 votes
    4y

    @John Underwood I'm doing what you recommend on the advertising front though I'll check into the competition to see if they're booked up

    [email protected]850-529-3683
    0Reply
  • Carolyn Fuller
    Cambridge, MA · Member since 2015 · 652 posts · 736 votes
    4y

    My STR in Cambridge, MA was doing great until bookings & inquiries completely dried up about 3 weeks ago. When everything came to a standstill, I checked the competition and my prices were not out of line. I am about half the cost of nearby hotels and there is very little Airbnb availability. Not sure what's up.

    1Reply
  • Michael Hamby
    Flipper/Rehabber · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2015 · 220 posts · 99 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Dustin Sanders:

    @Quinn Olivarez I have the 3 markets I'm in listed below:

    - Pensacola, FL

    - St Petersburg, FL (technically Gulfport, FL)

    - Helen, GA

    The Pensacola ones aren't doing well?  I am about to start 3 here.   I have heard some agents saying the airbnb market in Pensacola is becoming saturated with some many investors doing airbnb now.   I know there is a severe shortage on the availability of long term rentals.   I am hearing 25 applications for 1 unit in some cases.  Maybe that is the correct pivot?


    3Reply
  • Michael Weigum
    Real Estate Agent · Santa Rosa Beach, FL · Member since 2019 · 112 posts · 116 votes
    4y

    I have 3 STR's in Myrtle Beach, SC that are at 83% occupied for April. May is starting to pick up. One thing I have noticed here is that people do a lot of last minute bookings. So, I have my rates high for May, June, and July right now but adjust as time gets closer. We are consistently keeping an eye on the competition and the local festivals and adjusting rates accordingly. Our biggest season is the summer, so I am confident that they will come! Gas prices here are starting to come down a bit, so I believe people will be driving out here very soon. We are seeing more bookings from VRBO. I guess all their advertising this year is giving us a bump. We mainly do Airbnb. Hopefully you will start getting filled up.

    2Reply
  • Andrew Simms
    Rental Property Investor · Marietta, GA · Member since 2017 · 131 posts · 101 votes
    4y

    My place is in Western NC (Franklin) and we are not booked up yet, but were last year with even less lead time. VRBO's market dashboard and Pricelabs both indicate about 30-32 days lead time prior to booking. So I am not worried about it yet. So you may want to check that for your market. If it says 90 days, well then, you might have a problem. 

    In the mean time, make some edits to your pictures/listing. It may help boost your search ranking. VRBO shows you roughly where you are ranked. 

    1Reply
  • Dustin SandersBusiness Member
    OP
    Realtor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2019 · 89 posts · 30 votes
    4y

    @Michael Hamby it's great to hear from you. Maybe we can meet up sometime as I'm local to the Pensacola area near downtown. Feel free to DM me.

    @Michael Weigum I suspect the same thing when it considering gas prices being reduced. I am closely monitoring the situation as I love the properties & they have traditionally outperformed what AirDNA though it's slowing down lately quite a bit

    [email protected]850-529-3683
    1Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    4y

    Is anyone else anticipating a slowing, just as a matter of course? People were pent up in houses for far too long and then unable/unwilling to fly or stay in hotels because their fear of COVID was so strong. I saw a huge spike in vacation rental use and tourism these past two years. Yellowstone saw visitors increase from 3.8 million to 4.8 million in one year. I went to Hawaii in July and Oahu was busier than it's ever been, by far. On top of that, there's been a buying frenzy for vacation rentals the past two years.

    It wouldn't surprise me to see the vacation rental market cool off as tourists start to fly and move back into hotels/motels. But maybe I'm missing something.

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  • Dustin SandersBusiness Member
    OP
    Realtor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2019 · 89 posts · 30 votes
    4y

    @Andrew Simms I tried searching VRBO's market dashboard and cannot seem to find lead times. Is there a specific tab/place on the my VRBO Owner Dashboard to locate lead time?

    [email protected]850-529-3683
    0Reply
  • Dustin SandersBusiness Member
    OP
    Realtor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2019 · 89 posts · 30 votes
    4y

    @Nathan Gesner all great insight! 

    I listened to AirBnB's CEO discuss the topic of domestic travel & AirBnB listings which they are forecasting record numbers again for 2022 & they are short by at least 1 million domestic AirBnB listings which indicates that we should be experiencing higher rates/more bookings or the CEO is just dead wrong and is only catering to shareholder confidence. I'm hoping it's the former.

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    4y
    Quote from @Dustin Sanders:

    @Nathan Gesner all great insight! 

    I listened to AirBnB's CEO discuss the topic of domestic travel & AirBnB listings which they are forecasting record numbers again for 2022 & they are short by at least 1 million domestic AirBnB listings which indicates that we should be experiencing higher rates/more bookings or the CEO is just dead wrong and is only catering to shareholder confidence. I'm hoping it's the former.


    I don't have any special insight; just a guy looking at what I can see from my corner of the world. 

    Anything said by the AirBnB CEO should be taken with a grain of salt.

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  • Wes M.
    Rental Property Investor · Southeastern, NC · Member since 2018 · 163 posts · 146 votes
    4y

    I am a new host -- one of three on my street in the last year. So, I am likely contributing to the problem of over saturation. We have had a great March and April, but have lots of open days in May. We are located in Oak Island. The summer is about half booked, and my prices are fairly high, with anticipation of lowering rates as we get closer. 95% of my bookings are AirBNB with a 19.4 average day lead time.

    2Reply
  • Andrew Simms
    Rental Property Investor · Marietta, GA · Member since 2017 · 131 posts · 101 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Dustin Sanders:

    @Andrew Simms I tried searching VRBO's market dashboard and cannot seem to find lead times. Is there a specific tab/place on the my VRBO Owner Dashboard to locate lead time?

     @Dustin Sanders My apologies, it must not have been through the dashboard. I thought it was in Market Maker, but now I am having trouble finding it. If I figure it out, I will let you know. 

    0Reply
  • Nick Rutkowski
    Rental Property Investor · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    4y

    @Dustin Sanders

    Upstate NY reporting in, I’m booked up through the spring and summer. Ithaca, NY just outlawed airbnb so I anticipate my next units being booked up as soon as they’re active.

    0Reply
  • Gary L Wallman
    Rental Property Investor · Beavercreek OH · Member since 2018 · 422 posts · 970 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Dustin Sanders:

    Is anyone else experiencing slow bookings? I am in 3 different vacation heavy markets and my April & May calendars are at about 25% occupancy.


     Guys,

    It's not rocket science. Families are being squeezed to death by inflation. A drive to any one of your locations now costs two to three times what it did last summer.

    Through in that gasoline cost and add in food, shelter and nearly every other cost going through the roof and families are panicking.

    Inflation, as measured in 1980 (thank you shadowsats.com) is running nearly 16%! Building supplies are up 5 fold.

    Throw in our current inverted yield curve and a recession seems on the horizon. When that comes were all in deep doo-doo.

    As an aside, I'm in the car business.  Even though we had plenty of inventory, our sales in March were the worst in years. Why?  It seems when prices rise 40% in a year, people buy less. Who would've thought it. LOL

    Gary

    11Reply
  • Jason Smith
    Member since 2021 · 109 posts · 130 votes
    4y

    Inflation, competition and everyone charging way more than they did pre-pandemic. I just looked at the place I stayed at on the Gulf Coast pre-pandemic, was $115/night before pandemic now asking $202/night. At $202/night, plus meals, plus tax, plus $140 cleaning fees we will just take a cruise which is now an option.

    1Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    4y
    Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

    Is anyone else anticipating a slowing, just as a matter of course? People were pent up in houses for far too long and then unable/unwilling to fly or stay in hotels because their fear of COVID was so strong. I saw a huge spike in vacation rental use and tourism these past two years. Yellowstone saw visitors increase from 3.8 million to 4.8 million in one year. I went to Hawaii in July and Oahu was busier than it's ever been, by far. On top of that, there's been a buying frenzy for vacation rentals the past two years.

    It wouldn't surprise me to see the vacation rental market cool off as tourists start to fly and move back into hotels/motels. But maybe I'm missing something.


    also travel abroad will take some folks who stayed domestic during covid Cruise lines etc etc.  Plus you do have a heard mentality in the STR space so you could for sure see over saturation in some markets I would have to think.
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