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Eager fans securing their accommodation for the tournament in advance has caused an expected but dramatic increase in the booking lead time in Qatar (up from 12 to 78 days, a 550% increase) and occupancy rate (up from 34% to 62%).

Globally, the booking lead time has increased by almost two weeks to an average of 49 days, meaning consumers will want to be snapping up available stays for Christmas now.

Occupancy rates for professionally-managed vacation rentals for the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S. have increased by 8% since 2021, currently sitting at 63% on average.

“This time last year, property managers celebrated a return to ‘normal’ with record-setting rates and bookings,” says Marcus Räder, CEO & Co-Founder of Hostaway. There is still time to secure a great New Year’s break, as the lead time for this period is 43 days, up by 34% from 2021.

People are much more confident travelling in larger groups this year, with the group size increasing by around 25% for Christmas & New Year (from 3.3 to 4.2 people per booking).

Christmas & New Year
Occupancy rates across the US, Canada & Europe for Christmas have increased by 7% and for New Year by 6% compared to last year. Unlike Thanksgiving, the length of stay has also increased to an average of 5.2 days for Christmas and 4.4 days for New Year (up 33% and 26% from 2021).

Hostaway, the leading all-in-one vacation rental management platform, has released a preview of the upcoming holiday season – Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year in North America and Europe – in addition to insights on booking trends for the World Cup in Qatar.

Marcus Räder added: “We’re excited to see the knock-on effect of the World Cup in Qatar on the entire Middle Eastern market, which remains one to watch in the vacation rental industry for its growth potential.” This consumer confidence is mirrored in the expansion of group size this year, which has increased by 18% from 3.2 to 4 people on average.

This consumer demand is shown in the big jumps in lead time and group size for upcoming trips over the next couple of months. “We saw average holiday season rates increase by 23% between 2020 and 2021″. Despite this moderate increase, the daily prices of vacation rentals have soared much higher, up 38% to an average of USD$385.

Guests have been booking, on average, 47 days in advance for their Thanksgiving trips. Average daily rates have also skyrocketed by 48%, which is in line with the global rate increase during this period. This is an extra two weeks of lead time compared to last year, an increase of 42%.

World Cup
In 2022, Hostaway revealed that the Middle East is the fastest-growing worldwide vacation rental market. However, there has been a massive increase in the average daily rate on both continents, particularly for Christmas.

A tech-first solution to vacation rental management, Hostaway is trusted by property managers and hosts worldwide. However, the average stay has stayed around the same, from 3.7 to 4 nights per booking. Rates for the New Year have increased by 38% and 43%, respectively. The platform helps them grow their businesses through quality channel and partner integrations and solutions to automate marketing, sales, accounting, and more. Today, the complex and unpredictable economic landscape impacts prices, but the desire to travel keeps these high. In North America, the rate has gone up by 48.6% (to USD$532), and in Europe, by 55.9% (to EUR€488).