Vacation rental marketing runs on other people’s numbers — a commission rate, an occupancy forecast, a channel split. Get one wrong in front of a manager who knows their own economics, and everything around it stops being believable.
So this page has one rule: every statistic below is traced to a live primary source, with the publisher, the study and the year stated. If a number could not be verified against the original research, it was cut rather than repeated. Where two credible sources disagree, that is shown instead of hidden.
Figures are drawn from AirDNA, Key Data, Lodgify, Phocuswright, Granicus, NAR, and the quarterly filings of Airbnb, Booking Holdings and Expedia Group. The final section is our own data — a study of 223 vacation rental websites that produces benchmarks published nowhere else. Here to set up tracking for your own site instead? Start with our guide to vacation rental analytics with Google Analytics 4 — the exact setup we run for clients.
Last updated: August 2026. Every statistic on this page links to its primary source.
Modeled market-size estimates for this industry diverge wildly — five research firms put 2026 between $72B and $165B, measuring different things, and most sit behind paywalls. So this section is built on audited public-company filings instead. Every figure here is reported to shareholders and independently verifiable.
Airbnb has grown to over 5.5 million hosts, who have welcomed over 2.5 billion guest arrivals. (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
Airbnb’s Q1 2026 gross booking value was $29.2 billion, up 19% year over year. (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
Airbnb Q1 2026 revenue reached $2.7 billion, up 18% year over year (15% excluding currency effects). (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
156.2 million nights and seats were booked on Airbnb in Q1 2026, up 9% year over year. (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
Booking Holdings booked 338 million room nights in Q1 2026, up 6% year over year, on $53.8 billion in gross bookings. (Booking Holdings, Q1 2026 Results 2026)
Alternative accommodations account for roughly 38% of Booking.com room nights, with listings up 9% to 8.8 million. (Booking Holdings, Q1 2026 Results 2026)
Expedia Group posted $35.5 billion in Q1 2026 gross bookings, up 13%, on 6% room night growth and 4% ADR growth. (Expedia Group, Q1 2026 Earnings Call 2026)
Expedia works with nearly 3.7 million properties, 800,000 of them exclusive, and grew lodging property count about 10%. (Expedia Group, Q1 2026 Earnings Call 2026)
For the first time, vacation rentals on Expedia reached an annualized run rate of $1 billion. (Expedia Group, Q1 2026 Earnings Call 2026)
The US short-term rental market is 20 times larger than it was in 2011. (Granicus, 2026 Trends in the Short-Term Rental Market 2026)
5% of US homes purchased were intended for vacation use, and 13% of purchases were for a non-primary residence. (NAR, REALTORS® Confidence Index 2026)
All-cash buyers hold a steady 28% share of the US housing market. (NAR, REALTORS® Confidence Index 2026)
Roughly half of foreign buyers purchased a US home as a vacation home, rental investment, or both — against 17% of all existing-home buyers. (NAR, International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate Jul 2026)
AirDNA revised its own 2026 forecast mid-year, cutting expected supply growth from 4.6% to 2.7% after mortgage rates moved back above 6%. Both figures appear below, because the revision is more informative than either number alone.
US short-term rental occupancy is forecast to average 57.4% in 2026 — above the pre-pandemic average of 57.0%. (AirDNA, 2026 Midyear Outlook Jul 2026)
Demand and available listings are both projected to grow 2.7% in 2026. (AirDNA, 2026 Midyear Outlook Jul 2026)
RevPAR is forecast to rise 2.9% in 2026, driven by stronger nightly rates. (AirDNA, 2026 Midyear Outlook Jul 2026)
Rate growth accelerated from 0.7% year over year in January to about 3% by spring 2026. (AirDNA, 2026 Midyear Outlook Jul 2026)
AirDNA cut its 2026 supply-growth forecast from 4.6% to 2.7% between its December and July reports, after renewed inflation pushed mortgage rates back above 6% and delayed investment. (AirDNA, 2026 Midyear Outlook Jul 2026)
Even the higher December forecast of 4.6% listing growth sits well below the roughly 20% peak expansion of 2021–2022. (AirDNA, 2026 Outlook Report Dec 2025)
International short-term rental demand ran 12% below the prior spring, with Canada down 32% from 2024 levels. (AirDNA, 2026 Midyear Outlook Jul 2026)
The strongest 2026 RevPAR growth so far: San Francisco +12.1%, Anaheim +11.0%, Philadelphia +10.1% — each in a market where supply tightened. (AirDNA, 2026 Midyear Outlook Jul 2026)
The STR Premium — how short-term rental earnings stack up against investment costs — has climbed to its highest level since 2022. (AirDNA, 2026 Outlook Report Dec 2025)
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a measurable demand tailwind, with forecast RevPAR growth of +6.3% in Philadelphia, +5.6% in Jersey City/Newark and +5.5% in Dallas. (AirDNA, 2026 Outlook Report Dec 2025)
US average daily rates are forecast to strengthen 1.5% in 2026, with further acceleration expected in 2027. (AirDNA, 2026 Outlook Report Dec 2025)
ADR grew just 1.6% in 2025, from $343.49 to $348.95 — behind the 2.7% US inflation rate, meaning hosts took a real-terms cut. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Only 32.6% of hosts reported higher revenue in 2025, down from the prior year. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
ADR growth varied sharply by property type: camping and glamping +20.7%, B&Bs and inns +2.5%, apartments +1.3%, houses and villas −0.5%, hotels and resorts −3.2%. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Airbnb’s North America ADR rose 7% in Q1 2026, driven by both mix shift and price appreciation. (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
Airbnb ADR by region in Q1 2026: EMEA +15% (+4% excluding currency), Latin America +10% (+3%), Asia Pacific +6% (+2%). (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
Airbnb reported $160 million in Q1 2026 net income and $519 million in adjusted EBITDA, up 24% year over year. (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
One caveat worth stating plainly: Lodgify sells direct-booking website software, so its internal booking data comes from hosts who already run a direct booking site. Those channel-share figures describe that population, not the industry. The direct-versus-third-party comparisons are unaffected, because they measure the same hosts’ two channels against each other.
Direct bookings delivered 45.2% longer stays than third-party bookings in 2025. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Direct bookings came with 51.3% longer booking windows than third-party reservations. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Direct bookings also earned a higher average daily rate — $351.31 against $348.47 for third-party. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Among hosts using direct-booking software, 2025 bookings split 47.2% Airbnb, 31.6% direct booking sites, and 21.2% across all other channels. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Channels beyond Airbnb and direct grew from 17.7% of bookings in 2023 to 21.2% in 2025. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Average daily rate by channel: Vrbo $439.90 (+1.2% year over year) and Airbnb $352.60 (+2.0%). Expedia was the only source to see ADR decline. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
63% of Airbnb nights booked came through its app in Q1 2026, up from 58% a year earlier. (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
Expedia’s B2B gross bookings grew 22% to $10.7 billion, while consumer gross bookings grew 10% to $24.8 billion. (Expedia Group, Q1 2026 Earnings Call 2026)
One BuildUp Bookings client, VARE Vacation Rentals, moved from 22% to 44% direct bookings, cutting OTA share from 78% to 56%. (BuildUp Bookings, VARE Vacation Rentals case study)
Nearly 72% of 2025 bookings were one-to-three night trips, and 32% were made within seven days of check-in. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Lead times are shrinking and trips are getting shorter, while travelers increasingly choose larger homes offering more space and value for groups. (AirDNA, 2026 Midyear Outlook Jul 2026)
On Airbnb, growth in short-term stays and entire homes — particularly listings with four or more bedrooms — outpaced long-term stays and private rooms. (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
Airbnb’s first-time booker growth accelerated to 10%, its highest since early 2022. (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
Roughly 20% of Airbnb’s global gross booking value came through Reserve Now, Pay Later. (Airbnb, Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter 2026)
Guests have adopted AI roughly twice as fast as the hosts serving them. That gap is the single most consequential thing on this page.
56% of US travelers used AI for planning, booking or in-destination help on at least one trip in the past 12 months — up from 43% in the second half of 2025 and 33% in the first half of 2025. (Phocuswright, The AI Surge Mar 2026)
Meanwhile, only 28.2% of hosts used AI in 2025, with a further 6.3% unsure whether they had. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Among travelers who have used AI at all, 94% have used it for travel specifically. (Phocuswright, The AI Surge Mar 2026)
Half of travelers who encounter AI answers in search still click through to source websites — AI is becoming the front door, not the destination. (Phocuswright, The AI Surge Mar 2026)
Generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT reached 33% usage for trip research, quintupling since 2024, and are nearing parity with general search. (Phocuswright, The AI Surge Jul 2026)
74% of millennials used AI for at least one trip in the past year, followed by 72% of Gen Z. Every generation posted double-digit gains in six months. (Phocuswright, The AI Surge Jul 2026)
44% of travelers would book directly inside an AI platform, and 40% would let an AI assistant handle flight and hotel bookings for them. (Phocuswright, The AI Surge Jul 2026)
What drives action on an AI recommendation: price comparisons (44%), summarized reviews (33%) and recognized brands (32%). (Phocuswright, The AI Surge Jul 2026)
22.6% of ChatGPT travel answers carry citations, against 6.8% across all answers — travel is the most citation-heavy category in AI search. (Similarweb, 2026 Generative AI Landscape 2026)
54.1% of travel citations in AI answers come from reviews and user-generated content. (Similarweb, 2026 Generative AI Landscape 2026)
Key Data surveyed 244 short-term rental professionals representing more than 43,000 US properties.
73% of property managers name staffing and revenue pressures as their primary obstacle going into 2026. (Key Data, 2026 Vacation Rental Industry Outlook Jun 2026)
Nearly one in three property managers (32%) now review market data weekly to guide pricing and strategy. (Key Data, 2026 Vacation Rental Industry Outlook Jun 2026)
Operational efficiency ranks as the top strategic priority for 2026, ahead of marketing, guest experience and portfolio expansion. (Key Data, 2026 Vacation Rental Industry Outlook Jun 2026)
Most property managers anticipate stability or modest growth in ADR, demand, revenue and occupancy. (Key Data, 2026 Vacation Rental Industry Outlook Jun 2026)
26.7% of hosts cite choosing the right tools as a core operational challenge. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Most industry statistics describe how managers experience regulation. Granicus surveys the other side of the table — the governments writing and enforcing the rules.
42% of property managers expect local or state regulations to limit their ability to hit 2026 targets. (Key Data, 2026 Vacation Rental Industry Outlook Jun 2026)
47% of property managers operate under strict permitting or licensing requirements. (Key Data, 2026 Vacation Rental Industry Outlook Jun 2026)
More than three-quarters of government respondents reported some level of short-term rental growth in their jurisdiction. (Granicus, 2026 Trends in the Short-Term Rental Market 2026)
Growth by jurisdiction: 32.6% saw 0–4% annual growth, 23.9% saw 5–10%, 21.7% saw 11–20%, and 8.7% saw growth above 51%. (Granicus, 2026 Trends in the Short-Term Rental Market 2026)
54.5% of jurisdictions experience seasonal population expansion, and one-third report their population doubling at peak visitor season. (Granicus, 2026 Trends in the Short-Term Rental Market 2026)
60% of compliance staff in jurisdictions of 250,000 or more still rely on manual searches and spreadsheets to track short-term rentals. (Granicus, 2026 Trends in the Short-Term Rental Market 2026)
82.5% of jurisdictions collect short-term rental revenue through permitting or licensing fees, and 65% through occupancy or tourism taxes. (Granicus, 2026 Trends in the Short-Term Rental Market 2026)
Only 47.5% of governments believe short-term rental revenue sufficiently funds the programs it is meant to support. (Granicus, 2026 Trends in the Short-Term Rental Market 2026)
Jurisdictions’ top operational pain points are inadequate complaint processing and understaffing (21.4%) and paper-based permitting workflows (11.9%). (Granicus, 2026 Trends in the Short-Term Rental Market 2026)
The benchmarks below come from our own study of Google Search Console data across 223 vacation rental websites over the 12 months to 28 July 2026. They are aggregate figures — no individual site is identified or reported, and any benchmark drawn from fewer than 20 sites is suppressed. We are not aware of these benchmarks being published anywhere else for this vertical.
Vacation rental websites earn a 7.90% click-through rate from positions 1–3, 1.57% from positions 4–10, and 0.51% from positions 11–20. Top-three placement is worth roughly five times positions 4–10 and fifteen times positions 11–20. (BuildUp Bookings, Search Console study of 223 vacation rental websites, 2026)
Mobile drives 68.9% of organic clicks from just 48.3% of impressions. Desktop is the mirror image: 50.5% of impressions but only 29.2% of clicks. (BuildUp Bookings, Search Console study of 223 vacation rental websites, 2026)
Vacation rental search demand peaks in August and bottoms in October — a 2.3× swing across the year, with a secondary peak in January. Indexed to an average month of 100: August 150, September 106, October 65, November 74, December 91, January 113, February 98, March 91, April 97, May 105, June 110. (BuildUp Bookings, Search Console study of 223 vacation rental websites, 2026)
Method. Click-through rates are reported in position bands rather than by individual position: Search Console reports an average position per query across the window, so a query ranking first half the time and eighth the rest lands in a single bucket. Per-position buckets came out non-monotonic as a result, which is an artifact of that averaging rather than a finding. The seasonality index is same-store, using only the 192 sites reporting in every month, so growth in the number of tracked sites cannot be mistaken for seasonal demand.
No. US short-term rental occupancy is forecast to average 57.4% in 2026, above the pre-pandemic average of 57.0%, with demand and available listings each projected to grow 2.7% and RevPAR forecast to rise 2.9%. What has slowed is supply expansion, not demand — listing growth is running far below the roughly 20% peak of 2021–2022, which is what supports occupancy for established operators. (AirDNA, 2026 Midyear Outlook Jul 2026)
It depends heavily on the operator. Among hosts already using direct-booking software, direct sites account for 31.6% of bookings against Airbnb’s 47.2%. Across the wider industry the direct share is closer to 25%, with strong operators reaching 40–50% and many sitting nearer 10%. The more useful finding is that direct bookings outperform on quality: 45.2% longer stays, 51.3% longer booking windows, and a slightly higher average daily rate. (Lodgify, 2026 US State of the Industry Report Jan 2026)
Professional property managers on Airbnb typically pay a host service fee of about 15.5%, before payment processing costs of roughly 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. Older figures of 10–13% circulate widely but no longer reflect what most professional managers actually pay.
Increasingly, though mostly to research rather than to transact. 56% of US travelers used AI for planning, booking or in-destination help on at least one trip in the past year, up from 33% in early 2025. Half of travelers who see AI answers in search still click through to source websites, and 44% say they would be willing to book directly inside an AI platform. Only 28.2% of hosts used AI in 2025, so guest adoption is running roughly twice ahead of host adoption. (Phocuswright, The AI Surge Mar 2026)
August, by a wide margin. Our study of 223 vacation rental websites found search demand peaks in August at an index of 150 against an average month of 100, then falls to a low of 65 in October — a 2.3× swing. A secondary peak follows in January at 113 as travelers plan the year ahead.
Across 223 vacation rental websites over 12 months, positions 1–3 earned a 7.90% click-through rate, positions 4–10 earned 1.57%, and positions 11–20 earned 0.51%. In practical terms, moving from the middle of page one into the top three is worth roughly five times the clicks.
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