HIPMUNK DATA CONFIRMS VACATION RENTAL EXPLOSION
Lists vacation rental savings for popular summer destinations
SAN FRANCISCO (July 30, 2015) — Hipmunk, the first travel website to show vacation rentals alongside hotel results, combed through its booking data to see whether the buzz around vacation rentals is real or hype. To make the call, Hipmunk’s data team looked at the increase in vacation rental bookings in the top 50 U.S. cities and the price of a vacation rental compared to a hotel in the 10 most-booked domestic destinations this summer.
Increase in Popularity
From summer 2014 to summer 2015, the share of overall vacation rental bookings on Hipmunk increased 78 percent. And in some cities bookings doubled, tripled, or more.
| U.S. Cities with Highest Increase in Vacation Rental Bookings | |
| Growth shown in terms of share of bookings on Hipmunk | |
| City | Growth |
| West Palm Beach, FL | 852% |
| New York, NY | 488% |
| Greenville, NC | 410% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 356% |
| Dallas, TX | 279% |
| Indianapolis, IN | 276% |
| Sacramento, CA | 260% |
| Louisville, KY | 253% |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 206% |
| San Antonio, TX | 202% |
What do most of these cities have in common? All but two of the highest-growth cities are outside the top 10 U.S. markets, hinting that vacation rental adoption has already taken hold in the largest markets and is now expanding to secondary markets across the country.
Price Comparison
In all but one of the most-booked cities, vacation rentals are less expensive than hotels on average. But there’s one catch: In order to take advantage of the savings, travelers have to be willing to forego the room service, maid service, and other hotel amenities they’ve become accustomed to.
| Popular U.S. Summer Destinations by Avg. Rental Savings | |||
| City | Avg. Nightly Rental Rate | Avg. Nightly Hotel Rate | Avg. Savings by Booking a Rental |
| Seattle, WA | $158 | $289 | $131 |
| Boston, MA | $186 | $301 | $115 |
| San Francisco, CA | $210 | $277 | $67 |
| Denver, CO | $112 | $178 | $66 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $174 | $197 | $23 |
| Miami, FL | $133 | $155 | $22 |
| New York, NY | $237 | $258 | $21 |
| Chicago, IL | $188 | $197 | $9 |
| Orlando, FL | $118 | $123 | $5 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $197 | $154 | -$43 |
To see vacation rental savings for the top 50 U.S. cities, visit the Hipmunk blog. To book your next trip, visit Hipmunk or download the mobile app for free from the App Store and Google Play.
Methodology
On behalf of Hipmunk, Priceonomics analyzed average vacation rental and hotel nightly rates and bookings from June 1, 2015 to August 31, 2015.
About Hipmunk
Hipmunk is the fastest, easiest way to plan travel. The site and mobile apps help save time and money by comparing top travel sites to show the perfect flight or hotel at the cheapest price. Hipmunk offers the most comprehensive travel search, from commercial flights, trains, and charter flights to hotels and vacation rentals through Airbnb and HomeAway. The unique display makes it easy to visually compare results to choose the best option.
Media Contact
Liz Santos
Hipmunk
liz@hipmunk.com
650-735-1579
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