Short Term Rental Inventory Impacts Seaon's Results

 "Those years especially 2020, 2021 ... those are years that we are unlikely to ever reach again in terms of the  demand, and so bookings  just far outweighed any other year we've ever seen on our site and so it's a struggle to try to compare ourself now to those years. The demand is not going to reach that point. So what we're tyring to do is compare what we were like prior to the pandemic and have come out on top of that  ... "

 — Jim Reese
COO, Weneedavaction.com

What were the summer 2023 short term rental results?

Cape Cod seasonal rental bookings company weneedavacation.com said the economic message from summer 2023 might be summed up as back to business as usual. Contrary to early some early season anecdotal reports, the data weneedavaction.com has shows that rental numbers have returned to the long term curve. Higher vacancy rates and the general sense that more space remained arose largely from an increase in inventory.

What was the impact of the pandemic?

The exceptionally high demand for Cape rentals during the pandemic years were outliers, driven by travel that focused on local and driving holidays. These numbers were a blip in the long term data, according to weneedavacation.com COO Jim Reese. The short term rental company has long term  data and says that the numbers from 2023 follow patterns from 2019 and prior years. 

In addition, a number of home owners and investors  turned to the seasonal rental market to generate income from their pandemic purchases, flooding the market with inventory while at the same time asking for higher rental rates. The market - now operating at pre-pandemic levels - responded and some of these newer and higher priced propeties did not book as quickly as they may have the previous year.

What long term changes did the region see?

The rise in popularity in the shoulder seasons, especially the fall, was growing before the pandemic and has surged since. Reese suggests the ability to work from home may have created additional flexibility leading to demand during these periods.

In addition, a combination of increased pricing and a preferences for "staying in" has driven increased expectations from seasonal renters, with demands for more in-home amenities such as patios, firepits, and other home-based socialization centers.

More 2023 seasonal activity stories:

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