2023 OTA trends across channels: Airbnb, TripAdvisor & Vrbo

You’re in the perfect place to learn the latest on parity across our main online travel agencies, and emerging 2023 online travel agency trends in the sector. We explore the OTA section of our animated short-term rental data story, which also comments on industry growth and current outlook for short-term rentals and hotels. 

Vacation rental inventory distribution across top OTAs

Just 33% of vacation rentals are listed across multiple top OTAs. The majority (57%) of current global vacation rental inventory is listed solely on Airbnb. Booking.com holds 3% of global listings exclusively, with 6% only listed on Vrbo.

Of the 33% of worldwide inventory listed on multiple platforms, 10% is listed on all 3 of the main OTAs while only 1% is listed on Booking.com and Vrbo. Cumulatively, this means that Airbnb lists 89% of global short-term rental properties on its platform, with Booking.com and Vrbo both at 27%.

Additionally, if you’re interested in tracking the evolution of vacation rental listing count per world region, monitor performance here with Lighthouse’s free global supply tracker. 

2023 OTA trends: Airbnb tackling their host churn

After 1 year of hosting, while 72% of hosts joining in 2018 were still active one year on in 2019, 79% of 2021 joiners were still hosting as of 2022 – a 10% improvement!

After 2 years of hosting, 62% of hosts are still active as of 2022. This is up on just 54% of 2018 joiners persisting into 2020.

3 years on, for 2022 churn stands at 52%. Roughly translated this means that half of Airbnb hosts remain active for 3 years. This longer retention has seen less improvement over the past 5 years than the shorter 1 and 2 year terms. Though, it’s worth remembering that other inevitable factors come into play such as relisting or change of ownership.

You may have noticed that this reduction in churn has been a consistent trend until 2023, where we see a drop in retention. A proportion of hosts who haven’t been active through Q1, will likely host at some stage through the remainder of 2023. As such, we expect retention to pick up through to Q4. The farthest reach of our data suggests that around 1/3 of hosts will now still be active after 5 years on Airbnb. 

In correlation with Airbnb’s reduction in host turn, Airbnb’s Q1 2023 financial report suggested they have attained all-time highs in nights & experiences booked, and net income. Using Airbnbs Shareholders Letter and earnings call, we compiled an article on Airbnb attaining all-time highs in performance in Q1 2023 if you so wish to read.

Which OTA sells the most expensive nights on average?

One night in a 2-bedroom vacation rental takes $324 on average on Vrbo, compared to $209 on Airbnb. Booking.com sits towards Airbnb at the lower end of the scale at $235.Booking.com short-term rental stays are shortest. On the other hand, Vrbo and Airbnb stays are more comparable in duration at 4.4 and 4.2 days respectively. Both exceed Booking.com which averages 3.8 days. Track the evolution of length of stay (LoS) per world region here.

Regarding booking lead time, Airbnb bookings have the shortest length. Alternatively, Airbnb bookings are more likely to be last minute (booked 41 days ahead on average) while Booking.com (66 days) and Vrbo (71 days) draw longer lead times.

Considering the distribution of this inventory, the majority of properties hosted on Airbnb lie in the United States. Conversely, Booking.com supply sits predominantly over the Atlantic in European countries.

Leverage the most comprehensive STR & hotel data for destinations, investors & stakeholders

Destinations, investors and other stakeholders benefit from staying on top of online travel agency trends. Evermore recently are OTAs adapting to include innovative ways to entice travelers through service offerings and unique categories. Seeking out granular metrics on 2023 OTA trends such as market capacities, supply trends, demand trends, revenues will drive your data analytics strategies forward. 

Why not explore short-term rental data solutions for OTAs, investors and more here.