Hot summer 2022 season for short-term lets: unprecedented demand in Europe

The summer of 2022 in Europe brought record occupancy in short-term stay units, while the supply in the market was still down
KeyNest’s bespoke data showcases the highest occupancy growth in Italy and Portugal
2022 has recorded a general increase in the number of stays in most of the cities in the UK - with one city gaining especially strong popularity among weekend travellers
The summer of 2022 was filled with heat records, Ukraine war uncertainty, but also the comfort of the possibility to travel in Europe without restrictions and mask-free. All this, boosted by the USD growing in value over EUR, created a promising ground for international summer tourism - and a post-pandemic returning wave of American visitors in Europe.
In the short-term rentals market, most large players felt the long-awaited positivity - but how do numbers support this favorableness? Let’s dive deeper into some of the KeyNest data from summer 2022, accompanied by recently published reports and surveys.

Travel returning as a priority for customers

European travellers seemed truly “hungry” for a summer experience in the continent: in July, Europe reached 48.9 million nights stayed, 7.9% higher than July 2019, with record occupancy but still reduced supply. (source: Airdna)

On top of this, a 4,500-participant survey by Amadeus uncovered that 42% of consumers had put international travel at the top of their shopping list this year. The upcoming tough and expensive winter and inflated flight costs didn’t scare off the travellers, who claim that they would still spend as much on travel this year as they did in 2019.

What about the prices of daily rates set by property hosts? The average daily rate in July 2022 was 2.7% higher than in July of last year. However, this growth rate is starting to visibly slow down, as traveller preferences change: similar to pre-pandemic times, people shift towards picking smaller city-centre apartments rather than more expensive lockdown-popular villas outside of the city.

Summer 2022: how did it look like for short lets in Europe?

KeyNest’s data showcases this summer as a great return for both leisure and business travel. We have compiled the data showcasing check-ins in major European destinations, based on over 300,000 remote check-ins performed by KeyNest users.

While looking at data, it’s clearly visible how in 2022 certain countries (like the UK) recovered their tourism and business travel to the pre-pandemic level quickly. Other countries, like Italy, had a slower recovery and only showcased strong growth this summer.

July recorded a solid peak for short-term accommodation in all the countries, and remains the most revenue-driving month for all the companies surveyed. August brought a similar level of growth, and was still a solid time for short-term accommodation businesses across Europe.

Month-on-month growth% of check-ins in a short-term accommodation in Feb-Aug 2022:

2022 has recorded a general increase in the number of stays in most of the cities in the UK - however, there is one city which grew in popularity among weekend travellers.

Birmingham jumped on the second most popular position among the UK cities - visits to the always-popular Cadbury World, business trips and family staycations combined made Brum even more popular than in 2021. London, obviously, still holds the crown of the most popular UK city for short stays, especially after the borders of most countries opened this year and international tourists started to come back.

Germany and Spain saw no significant notable changes among the most popular cities for short stays. Frankfurt grew in popularity - majorly due to a more significant number of flights starting or connecting journeys from the local airport (compared with 2021).

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