What is the impact of coronavirus to short-term rental market and forecast for 2020?

With the outbreak of Covid-19 global pandemic, worldwide travel restrictions, border closures and lockdown orders have had a profound impact on short-term renal industry. Property management companies are acting quickly to develop new strategies to allow them to come out stronger as the industry returns to normal.

Guesty Inc. have carried out a survey of nearly 400 property management companies worldwide and the key findings are:

• a sharp drop in booking, with optimism for Q3
• According to majority of respondents reservation cancellations for April-August are up by at least 76% compared to 2019, however September-November is trending much better and shows early signs of recovery
• property management companies are adapting quickly
• Property management companies are adopting strategies to mitigate revenue loss - flexible cancellation policies, focusing on domestic clients and medium-term rentals
• the future is bright
• Majority of respondents remain optimistic about the future of travel and of the short-term rental industry in particular, the also believe short-term rentals will recover faster than the hotel industry

Almost all companies reported early signs of recovery for late 2020 and little or no change in cancellations for September-November 2020 vs 2019.

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