Holiday booking trends for holiday rentals

Holiday booking trends

As the holiday rentals industry recovers from the effects of COVID, we're seeing a change in guest behaviour and booking trends.

We review all bookings taken through Bookster software and analyse these for trends and behaviour change. 

This data is essential to understand travel behaviour and consumer confidence in the short and medium-term, and how this impacts opportunities for growth for holiday rental managers.

Bookster property management software offers an all-in-one solution, including an integrated Channel Manager as well as template and custom Websites; providing a full view of booking trends of Bookster clients. 

We focus on three key aspects, helping you attract bookings to your holiday lets, manage bookings, and manage guests.

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Holiday booking trends of January 2022 

The bookings data for holiday rental properties from January 2022 is in, and the short summary is, it’s shaping up to be a great year. 

We’ve analysed all the bookings made through the Bookster system in January 2022, and there are strong new trends taking place. 

We’ve compared the data to bookings made in January 2019, 2020 and 2021 to see the full picture. 

Are you ready? 

1. Holiday rental bookings are rocketing.

Bookings made in January 2022 have increased year on year, with a 340% increase in bookings comparing to 2021, and 165% increase in bookings made in January 2020, before the pandemic hit the UK and Europe. 

This is an outstanding increase in guest bookings for 2022.

This increase may in part be reflective of guest demand for exclusive use properties, minimising the risk of COVID transmission from other guests, and may be reflective of a growing trend for self-catering holidays. 

Whatever the reason, this increase will be a positive boost for the holiday rentals industry in 2022. 

Key takeaway

Travellers are actively booking holiday rentals during 2022, in high numbers. 

Action: Be ready for bookings

• Put your business at the front of mind of potential guests. That means being where they are and building relationships with them - on their social media channels, in their email.
• Ensure your most loyal guests are talking about you with their friends and family, by being in touch with them. Tell them that you're business is open, that you've made improvements, that the surrounding area is looking great. 
• Put your most attractive images and descriptions on your channel listings to be visible to a global and local audience. You can use Bookster Channel Manager to help you.
• Review your website technical set-up so it is visible to web search engines. 
• Review your website; is it attractive, fast, and does it encourage guests to make online bookings and enquiries?

2. Travellers are living for the moment. 

Bookings are coming in thick and fast for Q1 (40% of bookings), in fact, 53% of bookings are for January to April 2022. 

There are bookings for the following year, but at a lower percentage than in previous years. 

Key takeaway

Travellers want to travel, and they want to travel now. 

Action: Take action to attract these guests. 

• Ensure your property is in bookable status 
• Check your rates are optimised for this trend, using SMART rates will help
• Optimise your listings to be visible on the channels
• Promote your availability on your social media channels and the social media channels that your potential guests use
• Communicate with your potential guests through your newsletter and emails using tools like Email Marketing.

3. Shorter bookings are back

During the height of COVID in 2020, the average length of bookings extended to an average of 7 nights (Mode and Median). 

Holidaymakers swapped short city breaks for longer holidays in rural destinations, which contributed to a higher average night stay and higher average rental income per stay. 

However in 2022, we can see that the Mean Average night stay has reduced to 5 nights, and the Mode Average night stay is 3 nights. 

This change fits with the timing of the bookings, as guests are making high volumes of Pre-Summer bookings.

Key takeaway

The re-introduction of shorter breaks is a good sign. It indicates consumer confidence to take shorter trips, weekend escapes, and city breaks.

Action: Review your business model

If you want to take pre-Summer bookings, take a look at your business rules and business model. If short breaks fit your business model and can provide a profitable revenue stream, then take the following steps: 

• Ensure your booking rules permit shorter stays, in particular during low season and shoulder seasons.
• Promote your short break options on your social media channels and social media channels that your potential guests use
• Get in touch with your contacts through your newsletter and emails.
• Review your cancellation policies to ensure they look attractive to bookers, whilst still protecting your business.

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Holiday bookings trends of 2021

Holiday booking trends have adjusted greatly during 2019-2020, and these changes continue to affect how property managers across the globe attract bookings and grow revenue. 

This article:

• Breaks down the UK booking trends from August 2021,
• Identifies what it means for property managers,
• Suggests actions that property managers with holiday rentals should consider.

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Holiday bookings for Christmas 2022 

Booking Analysis

At 1 September 2021, the level of UK Christmas holiday bookings for 2021 is around 80% of the level of 2020 Christmas bookings. This is particularly important, as we're only 60% through 2021.

What this means

This figure indicates that Christmas 2021 bookings are strongly ahead of previous years, suggesting that booking levels will equal, and perhaps overtake 2019 levels.

Actions for property managers with holiday rentals

• Check that your properties have rates for Christmas 2021. 
• Promote your property availability for the Christmas season. 
• Review your minimum night stay for the Christmas period.

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English October break 2021

Booking Analysis

Holiday bookings took a dip in 2020 down to 70% of 2019 booking levels. The latest figures indicate that bookings are up to 96% of 2019 levels.

What this means 

These figures indicate that the Engish October break of 2021 is filling up and will be a productive time for UK property managers. 

Actions for property managers with holiday rentals

• Check that your properties have rates for October 2021. 
• Promote your property availability for the October break period. 
• Review your minimum night stay for the October period.

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Average value/booking from bookings made in August 2021

Booking Analysis

The average value/booking has increased significantly to approximately 22-25% higher than 2019 figures. 

What this means

This change may be caused by a number of factors. During 2021 there have been fewer city weekend bookings, with bookers favouring longer rural holidays instead. This may increase the average value, and as the cities re-attract weekend break guests, we'll see this balance out.

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Guest sizes from bookings made in August 2021

Booking Analysis

During the pandemic guest sizes per booking have fluctuated. Initially, bookings for smaller groups grew, as those travelling needed to conform to restrictions on guest size. As restrictions lifted, we saw a surge in bookings for larger groups. 

Data from August 2021 indicates that this fluctuation has stabilised, with 35% bookings for 2 people, followed by 24% for 4 people, which is comparative to 2019 booking sizes.

Larger group bookings have reduced, with bookings with 7+ guests falling from 12% to 8%.

What this means

The significant drop in larger booking numbers will affect property managers with larger properties.

Actions for property managers with holiday rentals

• Property managers planning to grow their property portfolio should reflect that larger properties may be more difficult to fill in the short term. 
• Larger properties should review strategies to attract bookings.
  One option is to lower the daily rate of the property to appeal to smaller groups and adding on additional guests with Additional Fees.

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2022 and 2023 from bookings made in August 2021

Booking Analysis

In August 2021, almost 20% of bookings were for 2022 and a number of bookings for high-demand properties for 2023.

What this means

Guests are planning ahead, booking ahead, and don't want to miss out on high-demand properties. 

Actions for property managers with holiday rentals

• Property managers should check their cancellation policies to ensure that any bookings for 2022 and 2023 are made with the cancellation policies that suit their business strategies.
• Property managers who take instant bookings require 2022 and 2023 rates to take bookings.

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Would you like to work with a company that keeps watch over the industry trends, so that you don't have to? 

Get in touch to discuss what you need to help your business grow.