New research released today from Booking.com, one of the world’s leading digital travel companies identifies key trends on what holiday seekers are looking for in home rentals ahead of the summer travel period and how holiday homeowners can better attract and satisfy guest needs.
The Booking.com Holiday Home Outlook Report* surveying 11,000 home owners and holiday seekers (including over 1,500 in Australia) between July and August 2023, reveals the evolving trends in the short term rental sector from seven countries across Asia-Pacific including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, India, Vietnam, Japan and China.
Holiday Home Traveller Trends for Summer 2023
Booking.com’s Holiday Home Outlook Report identifies key trends and reasons for booking homes this summer. In 2023, no hidden costs or additional service fees (51%), a simplified booking process (46%) and confidence that once their booking is made it is guaranteed (39%) ranked as the most important factors for holiday seekers across all Asia-Pacific respondents when booking a home rental.
The majority of Asia-Pacific holiday homeowners (75%) agree that listing their property on more than one platform would generate more bookings, yet only 27% say they use at least one online travel agency to help manage their properties.
What Makes a Holiday Home Uniquely Australian?
Two in five (40%) Aussies said that a home with beach access was the #1 factor in what makes a holiday home Australian. The top 5 factors for Australians ranked were:
- Beach access (40%)
- Has a BBQ (21%)
- Close to the bush (15%)
- Has a pool (11%)
- Has a sprawling backyard (8%)
The top type of property Australian holiday seekers are looking for this summer is the traditional Aussie beach house (55%) with country cottages and cosy cabins tying as the second most-desired property (35%). Many holiday seekers are also looking for more unique travel experiences off the beaten track in 2023, such as farm stays (21%), camping or glamping (17%), houseboats (16%), tiny homes (15%) and chalet/snow stays (14%).
Australian Homeowners Prioritising Security and Reliability
Ahead of the summer holiday season, almost all of Australian holiday home owners (90%) say they have or would use an online travel platform to manage their property. One of the most common reasons holiday homeowners decide or prefer to use an online travel platform like Booking.com to manage their bookings, is that it provides reliability in confirmed bookings (38%).
A majority (78%) of Australian holiday homeowners agreed that listing their property on more than one, or multiple platforms, was beneficial and would attract more bookings – with almost a third (31%) strongly agreeing with this sentiment. Despite this, it is much less common for homeowners to list their property on multiple online travel platforms, with less than one in ten (7%) doing so.
With a busy season coming up, the top three challenges Aussie homeowners experience when listing their holiday home all ranked closely:
- Maintaining demand during off peak seasons (40%)
- Understanding the various government regulations and policies required to rent out and list their property (39%)
- Managing bookings to ensure they achieve maximum occupancy rates (39%)
Shared Values For The Little Things
Responding to the changing needs of holiday seekers, homeowners have a close alignment between what they value and believe are key decision factors for when booking a home.
| Holiday Seekers
Home features that increase the likelihood of booking: |
Holiday Homeowners
Home features that increase the likelihood of booking: |
| 1. Reasonable/fair price for the accommodation (63%) | 1. Clean and tidy accommodation (61%) |
| 2. Location (58%) | 2. Location (61%) |
| 3. Clean and tidy accommodation (56%) | 3. Reasonable/fair price for the accommodation (58%) |
| 4. Nice interiors and décor (34%) | 4. Nice interiors and décor (46%) |
| 5. Modern kitchen facilities (33%) | 5. Modern kitchen facilities (40%) |
“The Booking.com Holiday Home Outlook Report is representative of our desire to understand and respond to this sector’s evolving needs both from a home owner and holiday seekers point of view. Booking.com’s overarching aim to provide customers with the widest choice and diversity of great stays all in one place. Of the 28 million total reported listings on Booking.com, more than 7 million properties are homes, apartments and other unique places to stay such as the beach houses, baches, cosy cabins and cottages identified in this report.
Booking.com’s top priority is to assist Australian holiday homeowners in attracting more bookings by simplifying the process and providing confidence when listing their properties, whilst offering travellers the opportunity to easily explore and book their perfect home stays.” said Todd Lacey, Regional Manager Oceania, at Booking.com.
