AirDNA’s monthly review indicates that U.S. short-term rentals are now generating 40 percent more revenue than at the same time in 2019, with demand up 12.2 percent and 35.8 percent from 2020. The gap in rental demand between urban and rural areas keeps widening, thanks to an extended summer season.

In October 2021, demand was still 20 percent below 2019 levels in the 50 largest U.S. cities, while demand in destination/resort markets and smaller cities was 33.8 percent higher than 2019 levels. Bookings for Christmas are pacing at 36 percent more expensive than in 2019, while demand is up just 4 percent.

Southern U.S. cities where COVID restrictions were eased earlier in the year finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Strong demand growth is evident in San Antonio (+41 percent), Houston (+32 percent) and Phoenix (+24 percent). International travelers are expected to push the recovery in these megacities and have traditionally contributed about 15 percent of all U.S. short-term rental stays in the past.

“A combination of remote work, closed borders and people still avoiding large crowds had limited the demand recovery in large U.S. cities,” said Jamie Lane, vice president of research at AirDNA, though he remains optimistic for the future. “With cases falling and consumer confidence rising again, urban growth seems to be headed in the right direction once again.”