The length of time from booking to stay has increased dramatically in the first three months of 2021 compared to the pandemic-hit 2020.

Data from private accommodations specialist Vacasa indicate a shift in the median booking window from 20-30 days in 2020 to 35-40 days in the first quarter of this year. This is also a jump of 10 days on the median range in 2019, Vacasa says.

The lengthening is a signal that travelers are becoming more comfortable with making longer-term plans as Covid-19 lockdown restrictions ease.

Vacasa’s 2021 Vacation Rental Search Report found that spending habits have changed, with 49% of its customers searching for properties in the $50-$249 per night range between April 2020 and March 2021 (compared to 57% in the previous 12-month period).

There was an increase of 6 percentage points to 39% for the $250-$499 price range. Searches for higher-end properties have remained flat between the two time frames.

The average length of stay is now 5% longer than in 2020, Vacasa says, with three nights the most popular option (24%), compared to 21% for two nights, 17% for four nights, 15% for seven nights and 3% for a single night.

Seven-night trips make up 15% of Vacasa’s bookings, up from 10% the previous year.

Properties with two bedrooms (families, small group of friends, etc.) are being searched for more than any other property type, ahead of 23% for three bedrooms and 15% for one bedroom.

Still, a trip with two adults is the most popular (38%), although stays with seven or more adults is the second most popular trip (20%), Vacasa’s data indicates.

Vacasa claims traffic levels to its main site have increased 116% year-over-year and searches on the site are up 235%.

Source: PhocusWire

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