I’ve been doing some research on my own area (Maui in general, Wailea in particular) as far as occupancy, # of rental units, etc., along with comparisons to 2019 and 2021. This includes all vacation rental units, not just the ones listed on Airbnb.
My area actually had a decrease in number of vacation rentals available. I think this is because Airbnb cracked down and got rid of about 1800 illegal rentals.
In looking at the figures in my area, the problem seems to be a decrease in rental demand. In mulling it over, I think this is because of a couple of things:
1) Visitors discouraged not to come because of “overtourism”,
2) more expectations from visitors - full refund cancellation policies, low fees, lower prices, and sustainability features all seem to be at the top of their list of priorities. With the economy starting to stall (tech layoffs, higher interest rates, lower occupancy levels, etc.), it puts the guest more firmly in the driver’s seat as far as insisting on their list of demands. It’s currently a “guest market”, rather than a “host market”. This see-saws back and forth through time depending on the associated supply/demand conditions,
3) inflationary pressures and a depression in stock market values
4) recent articles by major publications like Fodor’s that put Maui on the “top places not to visit right now” because of 1) above.
I think my area might be an outlier as far as reasons for the decline in bookings, as issues like oversaturation and the Airbnb summer release seem to be weighing to a greater extent on hosts in many other areas around the world. Still, I thought I’d describe the possible reasons in my market. Not all of us are as affected by oversaturation and/or the summer release. There are a lot of conditions in play right now.
@Veronica1100 You look like Brittany Spears!