“We made radical changes to overcome uncertainty, the need for flexibility, optionality and a clean, comfortable home to work and live in for long durations of time.”Īllison says prior to COVID-19, D.Alexander, which owns and operates destination homes in Florida, Tennessee and Arizona, would be entering peak rental season at more than 90% occupancy.īy mid-March, it was seeing an average of 27% extended stays, “which is high for industry standards,” and an increase in last-minute booking requests, which usually average around 115 days booking lead time.
In response, Allison says the team has been “iterating and innovating ever since,” and on April 10 it launched a new model that eliminates short-term stays and focuses exclusively on mid- to long-term stays. “They were seeking guidance and certainty in uncertain times,” Allison says, noting that it received an influx in inquiries after a major travel website it advertises on issued a new cancellation policy, “sending travelers into panic.” Strategy shiftsĪccording to Alex Allison, founder and CEO of short-term rental brand D.Alexander, he started hearing from its community in early March about the need for homes to live and work in safely to ride out the current crisis. Property owners and managers also need to fill inventory, and some have moved faster than others to capitalize on what travelers want now compared to planning for peak rental season. Travelers are searching for and booking stays for longer durations of time, typically within their own communities, as they seek safety or peace of mind. The home-share giant says it has seen an uptick in long-term stays since 2019 - when one in every seven nights booked was for a longer-term stay and the number of available long-tern stay listings grew 30% - but the COVID-19 crisis is contributing to the current surge. As accommodation bookings take a hit due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many providers in the short-term rental industry are pivoting their models to focus on longer-term stays.Īirbnb promoted its shift to extended stays earlier this month and last week announced that it will have more than one million listings that offer monthly stays.
0 kommentar(er)
