safety advantages of vacation homes and enjoy the feeling of being ‘ at home .’ And we ’ ve adjusted our messaging to reflect this change in awareness .”
The sustained demand was something of a surprise for several reasons , not least of which was the fact that the pandemic wasn ’ t really “ over .” The Delta variant would make this all too clear , infecting millions of Americans in the late summer and early fall of 2021 . Then came the Omicron variant . Through it all — after the endless highs and lows — the vacation home rental would emerge as the lodging option of choice for millions of travelers .
THE ROAD AHEAD
So what does the future look like for the vacation home rental space ? Does the recent surge in demand have staying power ?
“ Our thinking is that the pendulum will likely swing back somewhat ,” says McClendon . “ Not necessarily to pre-pandemic levels of demand , but back to something more in line with historical trends . With this in mind , we ’ re doing two things at
“ It ’ s been amazing to see the reaction from our homeowners to accommodate working remotely , they understand the benefits to them and our guests ...”
— Douglas Burns , COO / CFO of Natural Retreats
once : taking advantage of the current surge while preparing for a potential return to normalcy .”
Meanwhile , property managers and homeowners continue to adapt and innovate to meet the moment .
“ It ’ s been amazing to see the reaction from our homeowners to accommodate working remotely ,” says Douglas Burns , COO / CFO of Natural Retreats . “ They understand the benefits to them and our guests of investing in workspaces and reliable internet that allow people to have a dedicated , professional — yet comfortable — place to connect .”
Many see the pandemic as a gateway event that will continue to define travel habits long after the COVID-19 threat has subsided . One key change : They will continue to prefer vacation home rentals for everything they offer .
“ The pandemic introduced a lot of Americans to the vacation home rental concept ,” says Perkins . “ Did we do enough as a company and as an industry to keep them coming back ? Did we do enough to make them repeat guests ? I think we absolutely crushed it .”
RISE OF VACATION HOME RENTALS TRAVEL beachLIFE 21