World Cup and Spring Travel Boost STR Bookings Even Further
Events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled for June–July across U.S. host cities, are expected to drive strong short-term rental demand, according to AirDNA. Major international events create localized surges in bookings and the World Cup is further supported by a favorable exchange rate and tighter tourism controls in parts of Europe, making U.S. destinations more attractive.
Already, the U.S. short-term rental market is off to a solid start in 2026, despite rising supply putting pressure on occupancy. Economic tailwinds — including job growth, easing inflation, lower mortgage rates and fiscal measures such as tax benefits and infrastructure spending — are helping bolster bookings, AirDNA's report noted.
January is a key month for bookings, typically accounting for 9–10% of annual reservations. This year, bookings rose 5.5% year-over-year in January, the fastest growth since July and a second consecutive month of acceleration.
Nights stayed increased 2.5% year-over-year, though performance varied by location type. Small cities and rural destinations led demand growth, with nights stayed rising nearly 6%, and coastal markets followed at 4%. Mountain and lake destinations were largely flat, affected by record-low snowpack in western ski areas, where slopes were only partially open. Eastern ski resorts performed strongly, with New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine seeing more than 10% year-over-year growth.
After a decline following 2021 record highs, new listing growth recovered in mid-2025. In January, available listings rose 4.2% to 1.68 million, with new listings up 7.6% year-over-year. As supply edged ahead of demand, occupancy fell 1.5% year-over-year to 48.4%, continuing a trend that began in August 2025.
Low consumer confidence, persistent inflation and the prolonged government shutdown also weighed on demand, though January 2025 occupancy remained above both January 2024 and 2019 levels. Markets with the fastest supply growth, including Florida beach destinations, saw the largest occupancy declines, where listing growth of 5–15% year-over-year put pressure on short-term rentals filling up.
In January 2026, revenue per available rental (RevPAR) rose 2.1% year-over-year to $119.27, the average daily rate (ADR) climbed 3.6% to $246.62 and the Repeat Rent Index (RRI) increased 4.4%, signaling strong loyalty and repeat bookings.
Looking ahead, March bookings are up 7% year-over-year, with April up 12%, driven in part by spring break as Easter returns to early April. Coastal destinations, particularly Florida's western peninsula, lead in demand and occupancy. Cape Coral and Fort Myers, heavily affected by Hurricane Ian in 2022, now have roughly 3,500 more listings than in August 2022. Adventure destinations like Moab are also gaining traction.
That's on top of summer demand strengthening ahead of the World Cup, with June and July bookings up 22% year-over-year in host markets such as Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Kansas City, Seattle and Atlanta. Excluding host cities, June bookings are up 17% and July rose 20%, indicating broad-based growth across U.S. markets.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM