The short-term rental industry had a volatile time last year. Bookings dipped in the early days of the Coronavirus Disease-19 pandemic thanks to traveling restrictions and lockdowns. Although they picked up later on that year, it was evident that these were not your ordinary, days-of-past-vacation bookings. Interest in more remote and rural properties jumped dramatically.
Travelers looked for vacation places to socially distance and isolate themselves instead of partying up or hit up the usual cultural vacation destinations. Stays to these places got longer. Will these vacation trends continue as vacationers get further into 2021? What if vaccines are widely distributed? Let us take a closer look at some facts.
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Five vacation trends people need to expect
Once the vaccine distribution speeds up, there is a good chance that travel will gain steam as well. But it does not mean it will go back to what it is a couple of years ago by any means. As a matter of fact, according to new studies from Airbnb, people can expect some significant changes in the travel industry in 2021 (maybe beyond). Here are some trends vacationers can expect this year and beyond.
The lack of seasonality
Before the Coronavirus Disease-19 pandemic, it was straightforward to predict when tour bookings would pick up their pace and slow down. But now that individuals are working from home (and a lot of children are also schooling from home), the usual seasonality is not really valid anymore.
Now that remote learning and work are giving a lot of individuals more freedom to choose where to go and when to travel, a considerable percentage of vacationers are more open to traveling during off-week days of the week, times of the year. According to Airbnb’s recent studies, more or less 25% of people traveling opt for off-peak days this year.
The travel industry is less tied to seasons. For instance, according to AirDNA’s recent studies, ski towns are usually popular destinations during winter seasons; booking shows a person’s plan to visit these places well into spring in 2021 – especially places like Lake Tahoe, Big Bear, or Aspen.
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Close-to-home locations
According to experts, most individuals are planning to stay close to home in 2021. At least half said that they are planning to go somewhere local or domestic, while more or less 21% say they will go further out or international. Another twenty percent say they will stick within driving distance of their house.
Wherever people go this year, for most individuals, it will not be far from their homes. Travelers will get in cars to go somewhere near, dispersing to hundreds if not thousands of smaller rural communities, towns, or cities, making the tourism industry an essential part of how local communities and economies recover from the pandemic.
Spacious tour bookings
Pod travel starts big this year. A lot of families pick at least one household to isolate themselves with, and they usually lean on each other for the needed socialization, support, and often kid’s schooling while maintaining health protocols from other people on the property.
They also usually travel together, which needs more significant vacation properties with more space. Property owners who managed bigger and single-family units made out the best of 2020. Most companies’ project, it will outperform other industry segments this year, so if an individual or family is thinking about new investments, they need to keep in mind to choose the property wisely.
Longer stays
People are also opting for more extended vacation stays at the best Revelstoke vacation rentals and other destinations. It is because remote school and work arrangements increase, as well as the desire for a change in scenery during COVID-19 isolation. Research shows that short tour bookings of one to seven days are accounted for at least 80% of bookings before the pandemic. After that, it fell to more or less 30% last year.
More meaningful vacations
According to studies, 2021 will be one of the most meaningful travels people will take. In 2021, tours will be less about where people go and when to go. It will be more about who individuals are with and what they can do together. Once travelers feel safe to go on vacation, they will do everything in their power to do it. But it will look different, not what it used to before the pandemic. Tours will be viewed as an antidote to disconnection and isolation.
Individuals do not usually miss landmarks, lines, and crowded shuttles, as well as lobbies packed with vacationers. A mass tour is just a different form of social isolation. Individuals are anonymous, herded around other vacationers, never experiencing the culture of the community and the people. What individuals want from tours now is what they have been deprived of – spend a lot of meaningful time with their friends, families, and loved ones.
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