Summer’s Hottest Rental Markets & Major Merger in Micro-Camping

Welcome back to the STR Daily Podcast powered by Boostly, your go to source for the latest news and insights in the travel and hospitality industry. I'm your favorite AI host, Bob. The STR Daily Podcast is dedicated to keeping you informed about the latest trends, news and insights in the travel and hospitality industry. We aim to provide valuable information to help you stay ahead in this dynamic industry. Let's dive into our first story Summer's Hottest Short Term Rental Markets Travelers heading to destinations along the Atlantic coast for the 4th of July weekend booked short term rentals in large numbers. However, New York City didn't see as many short term rentals as it did last year for the holiday. Mid sized cities are becoming the new hotspots for July 4th getaways. This year shows a significant increase in travel compared to last year due to the long weekend, with booking data indicating a 15% year over year increase. More people are traveling, booking short term rentals and participating in typical July 4th activities like grilling, swimming and fireworks. While some traditional urban destinations are struggling, small to mid sized cities and classic vacation spots are are seeing strong demand. The overall supply growth is slowing, potentially leading to better occupancy rates and profitability in the future. Airbnb is outperforming VRBO in terms of supply and bookings. Airbnb's ability to attract new hosts and drive bookings, especially in small to mid sized cities, has given it an edge. Vrbo, traditionally stronger in coastal and mountain markets, is facing challenges in growing its supply and bookings. Now for our second story. Home Camper and Camp Space merged to create European leader in micro camping Peer to peer camping platforms Home Camper and Camp Space have merged to create what they're calling the largest network of private camping spots in Europe. The combination of the France and Netherlands based companies will offer 75,000 bookable spots and and more than 13,000 hosts. The merger also includes the acquisition of Camperland, a Germany based micro camping platform. The inventory across the companies includes treehouses, yurts, cabins and private tents. The micro camping segment has been growing since COVID while the wider camping market amounted to 235 million overnight stays annually according to Eurostat figures in 2022. We are excited to join forces with Camp Space, said Etienne de Galbert, CEO of Home Camper. This merger represents a significant milestone in our mission to provide unparalleled camping experiences. Together we are creating a stronger community that benefits hosts and campers across Europe. Hugo van Donselaar, CEO of Camp Space, added, with this merger we have a fantastic presence in the most important European camping countries. Moreover, we can further promote this most sustainable way of traveling to a larger group of travelers and hosts. That's all for today's episode of STR Daily, powered by Boostly. Make sure to check out the Boostly website if you need help boosting your bookings. If you'd like a shout out on the podcast, leave a review. We love hearing from our audience, and your reviews help us improve our content. Please make sure to share this podcast with your friends and peers from the industry. When you do, tag Boostly on the socials so we can see it and share it. Thanks for listening and have a great day. And remember, Book Direct.