Summer Outlook

This summer, travelers are traveling differently. Booking patterns have shifted, planning timelines have changed, and the market looks meaningfully different from 2025. We are sharing the top trends this summer season to help you plan for what's ahead.

What's changed this year

Booking windows have compressed significantly. According to KeyData, U.S. booking windows are down nearly 30% year over year, with average length of stay down 23.3%. Roughly half of all reservations now come in less than 40 days before arrival, and Expedia data shows reservations made 7 to 14 days out are up 25% year over year. More and more, guests are booking in the month, for the month.

At the same time, the booking window is splitting in two. The 91-to-180-day planning window grew 35% quarter over quarter, with domestic trip planning in that window surging 60%. Early planners and last-minute bookers are both growing — in opposite directions.

The broader market is shifting too. The middle-market segment is under real pressure, and economy properties are struggling to secure bookings as discretionary income tightens. Guest expectations have risen sharply over the past two years: travelers expect hotel-quality stays, and homes that can't compete on quality end up competing on price.

Where we see opportunity

Memorial Day weekend kicked off summer on a stable note, with national bookings up 2% year over year. Our guidance is to stay patient — reservations are filling later in the cycle than we've historically seen, and early numbers don't tell the whole story.

Rising gas prices may actually work in our favor this summer, as travelers trade fly-to vacations for road trips closer to home. Drive-to destinations like ours are well positioned to benefit. With vacation rental supply up 4.2% year over year, more competition in a tight market means the details matter more than ever. Updated interiors, quality amenities, and flexible cancellation policies aren't just nice to have this summer — they're what separates the homes that book from the ones that don't.

AI-Driven Search & How We're Adapting

OTAs and search engines (Google, Bing, ChatGPT) are increasingly relying on natural-language search and content quality to surface listings. This is a meaningful shift from the legacy keyword-and-filter model, and homes that aren't optimized for it are quietly losing visibility.

Here's what we're doing across the portfolio to stay ahead of it:

• Rewriting listing copy with natural-language phrasing that matches how travelers actually search ("a quiet 4-bedroom near downtown Durango with a hot tub" vs. legacy keyword strings)
• Expanding amenity tagging to capture every relevant attribute the platforms are weighting (pet-friendly, EV chargers, ski-in/ski-out, hot tubs, fast WiFi, etc.)
• Strengthening structured data and content on bookvrc.com, so AI-driven search can correctly identify your home in destination queries
• Monitoring how your home shows up in search results and optimizing where needed

Beat the Heat — Does Your Home Have A/C?

As summer temperatures climb, air conditioning has become one of the most searched-for amenities for guests planning a getaway. Homes with A/C consistently outperform those without — higher occupancy and stronger booking demand right through peak season.

Percentage of vacation rental homes in each market that offer A/C, so you know how your home stacks up against the competition:

Percentage of properties in each market offering A/C. Tamarron Resort data not available.

Welcome the Whole Family — Go Pet-Friendly

Here's a number worth sitting with: only 22% of vacation rentals nationwide allow pets, while more than 66% of U.S. households own one. That gap is a real opportunity for owners willing to open their doors to four-legged guests.

Today's travelers — Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X — own nearly three-quarters of the country's pets, and they increasingly choose destinations where their animals can come along. Pet-friendly homes have seen 6–10% higher occupancy depending on the market, with stronger overall revenue than homes that don't allow pets.

Here's how VRC's portfolio breaks down by market. Every one of our markets already beats the 22% national average: