Heatwaves and inflation have failed to deter travelers across Europe this summer, with guests returning to short-term rentals in droves. July in Europe saw 48.9 million guest nights, up 7.9% on July 2019. According to AirDNA, bookings for this summer month set a record at 66.6%, with supply 4% below 2019 levels, despite seeing some growth compared to last year. The strength in demand has allowed hosts to charge an average of 2.7% more than last July, although the pace of growth is slowing compared to previous months, particularly as the majority of guests are opting for more affordable short-term rentals. Europe’s top 50 markets accounted for 12.9% of total supply in July, although the number of available properties is 29.5% below 2019 levels. Bookings were up 17.2% year-on-year, with the biggest increases in Lisbon, Budapest, and Porto, where international travelers are returning. The larger cities felt the strongest positive impact, with Dublin recording over 800% more international bookings in Q2 2022 than a year earlier, while domestic bookings fell by over 60%. The same effect was observed in Florence (international +540%, domestic -8%) and Rome (international +488%, domestic -30%). The number of nights booked in Europe for the rest of the year is +35.9% higher than at the same time last year and 2.2% higher than in 2019. Meanwhile, in August, Germany leads the way in terms of bookings compared to 2019, up +24.8%, followed by Belgium (+19.3%), Greece (+18.7%) and Austria (+17%). In Q2 2022, international travelers made 342.1%, 116.5% and 80.4% more Airbnb bookings in Hungary, Greece, and Croatia respectively compared to the previous year, while bookings by domestic travelers decreased in all countries over the same comparison period. The big question now is: will demand remain strong after the summer? Or will inflationary pressures finally catch up with STR demand? In the year to 7 August, bookings in Europe were on average 35.9% ahead of 2021 and 2.2% ahead of 2019. While bookings received for August were only -0.3% below the same period in 2019, demand for September showed a strong increase compared to 2019, with 10.1% more nights booked in the comparison period. Of the top 20 countries, Germany had the highest number of nights booked in August, 24.8% more than in 2019, followed by Belgium (19.3%), Greece (18.7%) and Austria (17%). In contrast, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ireland showed a downward trend in demand, with -33.4%, -29.4% and -24.9% respectively compared to 2019.
