Covid-19 forces many investors to mull over pros and cons in the short-term rental industry

 

Julie Brinkman

CHICAGO, IL -- COVID-19 has crushed several industries and the short-term rental industry has not been immune to the pandemic, according to Julie Brinkman, CEO of Beyond– the world’s first revenue management platform for short-term rental owners and managers to maximize revenue.

Brinkman says: “While we expect the travel industry to have stops and starts in 2021, with different geographies and sectors of the industry reacting, adapting, and recovering at different paces, we see a steady, upward trend in travel and spending moving forward.

"In conclusion, we are overall optimistic about the future and growth of the travel industry in general and the short-term rental market in specific.”

Beyond recently released its new Short-Term Rental Industry Trends Report, analyzing what happened to the industry in 2020 and what’s expected to happen in 2021. 

Key findings include: 

--  Short-term rentals will see an increase in demand with remote work and distance learning continuing to prevail due to COVID-19. Not only do people want to take advantage of this flexibility while they still can, but they are also choosing rental properties over hotels to avoid staying in highly trafficked public areas.

--  Lead time for when a rental is booked to when it actually takes place has fallen in half from 2020, and signs indicate it will stay that way for most of the year. 

--   People continue to make bookings for short-term plans as usual with the caveat that the pace is still not on par with previous years.

--  Property managers and owners will need to settle on less profit during this year’s high season due to cancellations and discounts provided last year that need to be honored in 2021.

    -- Property owners need to brace themselves for a possible continuation of cancellations in 2021.

   --  Amid the uncertainty of COVID-19. Adjusting booking projections and canceling policies will be important as the year carries forward.

  -- Property managers will need to consider diversifying their offerings by providing more long-term stay options to help stabilize their portfolios and have some regulatory and tax benefits. This will bring less money to their pockets (in RevPAR) as people continue to book more through direct-site offerings versus OTAs.

 CONTACT:

Allie Baron
Publicist | Beyond
allie.baron@prhacker.com
682-551-7172 (m)