Dad is firing up the grill and mom is filling up the coolers with ice and drinks, grandma is putting the finishing touches on the casserole while grandpa continues to yell at the TV, and the kids try to keep cool with swimming pools, sprinklers, and slip’n’slides. All around the country, American families are gearing up for one of the busiest and fun holidays on the calendar—the Fourth of July!
As we get ready to celebrate our independence from our British cousins nearly two and a half centuries ago, and before we crack open a cold one, we did what we normally like to do and took a look at booking pace for short-term vacation rentals leading up the big summer holiday.
As the graph above shows, we saw some dramatic increases in the number of last-minute bookings this last week compared to the previous two weeks. This could be due to last-minute decisions by some folks to spend the 4th away from their own backyards, a belief that it’s safer to travel now due to rising vaccination rates, or a combination of both.
Short-term vacation rental managers and owners should revisit their last-minute discount strategy, use their overrides to sell any available nights, and keep an eye on cancelations that could easily be picked back up due to current high demand.
It appears that this summer, a huge rush to launch last-minute fireworks weren’t only in the skies above, but also in the short-term vacation rental industry across the land. From everyone here at Beyond, we wish you and your family, friends, and loved ones a wonderful and safe Fourth of July!
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