I remember being told stories from my grandparents, and even my great grandparents, about what it was like when they were growing up. You know, the stories of “I had to walk 10 miles up a hill both ways to get to school.” Oh yeah, you can bet I heard that one almost every time I would even THINK about complaining about anything.

 

What really stuck out were the stories of how they would play outside all night while their mom and dad would cook dinner. Or how they would run around town on the weekends unsupervised at the age of 8. Or my personal favorite were the stories of how they would be chatting with strangers around town when they were out and about because well, that’s just what you did.

 

If you could see my face back then, honestly, I had a lasting expression of boredom from those stories that occupied the air at every Sunday family dinner, and truly I was waiting “patiently” for them to finish so I could ask grandpa if he had any hard candies left in his button-up shirt pocket (which he always did).

 

But today I think back in utter shock of how the world has changed from their time growing up to mine.

 

My generation grew up with the belief from our parents and the media telling us that the world is a little scary. I write this as part of the millennial generation and I can say first hand it was ingrained in our brains to always be in eyesight of our parents when playing outside, or that in under zero circumstance, you talk to strangers.

 

Fast forward to my adult years and I feel like I am constantly having to unlearn many of the things I learned as a child.

 

The world is not as scary as the media makes it out to be, being the biggest lesson I have had to unlearn as a traveler.

 

See today, I use an app to call a stranger that then picks me up at my home and drives me wherever I like in their car, it’s very normal to go on a date with someone you’ve never met, and when I travel, I often show up to strangers homes and live in their house for a week.

 

WHAT…

 

Even though to many, the world is bigger and scarier than ever. Yet at the same time, we are dependent on strangers to do some pretty simple everyday life tasks.

 

The whole “staying in a strangers home for a week” is absolutely no exception.

 

AKA, the vacation rental industry, if you have yet to catch on.

 

I’ve noticed in the last few years that time seems to move ever quicker than I have ever noticed before, and industry trends are moving right along with it; flowing faster than robust coffee at 6 AM Monday morning in New York City.

 

It’s safe to say the vacation rental industry trends will continue to flow right along with our quickly ticking clock, becoming more and more popular as we move into the “new roaring 20s.”

 

With all that said, here are three of the biggest vacation rental trends we will see in 2020.

 

1: Millenials will be the main market

 

According to HomeAway, millennials are ditching their solo backpacker mindset and are beginning to travel in larger and larger groups of friends, as well as bringing their new young families on vacation with them.

 

Millennials and Generation Z alike are said to be 35% more likely to travel in large groups now as opposed to alone. It was also found the only 20% of both generations have NOT stayed in a vacation home or condo.

 

These generations are looking for a large space for a money-conscious price, so many bookings are now at vacation rentals.

 

2: Vacation rentals are on track to overtake hotels

 

Each year the vacation rental industry has doubled in size while hotels are only growing by a mear 1.1% each year.

 

This doubling in numbers is happening in the homes of everyday people in your own neighborhood, which means this outpaces the hotel openings by nearly ten times annually.

 

This trend is leading to a massive out number of vacation homes to hotels by the end of the 2020s.

 

Ideally with that in mind, now is an excellent time to break into the still young market and capitalize on the growth that is bound to take place over the next decade.

 

3: Third party services will be the way most vacation rental owners manage their vacation rental

 

With the help of platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway, the vacation rental industry is already a $100 billion industry and growing. The stakes for owners are growing daily with the vast popularity of the industry.

 

A growing industry means more competition within the market. Host competition is increasing and many are now investing in professional content marketing, SEO, Photography, and videography.

 

Some host have been an early mover and have hired a professional property management company to oversee all areas of their listing to maximize revenue, and this trend will only keep growing.

 

Conclusion:

 

Hospitality as we know it is going to look completely different next year, let alone ten years from now and the tradition of hotels will no longer be able to hold their stake as successfully in the travel industry.

 

In such a fast-moving industry, it’s so important to not only keep your eye out for new trends but if you’re looking to get IN the business of vacation rental investment, we recommend starting now which the industry is still new and on the rise.

 

If you want to learn more about vacation rental ownership or investment, or want to hop on the professional management train early, shoot us a message and we would love to open up the conversation.