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Unveiling short-term rental demand in key Southern Hemisphere Summer destinations

Occupancy rates can serve as windows into a city's tourism and accommodation dynamics, a key metric reflecting events, demand patterns, seasonal variations, policy impact and the overall trend in attractiveness of a destination.

Lighthouse arms DMOs with invaluable insights, giving Destination Marketing Organizations indicators for planning, shaping and tracking campaigns, and Destination Management Organizations data-led input for regulation and sustainability measures. In this article we focus on occupancy on-the-books in six distinctive Southern Hemisphere cities: Pretoria, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Wellington and Brasilia, so that DMOs navigating the Southern Hemisphere tourism scene can gain a profound understanding of short-term rental demand and growth in key Southern Hemisphere Summer destinations. 

December short-term rental demand growth in Southern Hemisphere markets

Lighthouse data is sourced from diverse and reliable channels, ensuring DMOs receive real-time and granular insight into management and marketing through local, regional and global tourism trends. We explore demand growth in December 2023 over December 2019 for entire-home short-term rental properties and the same booking lead time in November for six southern hemisphere key markets– Sydney, Australia;  Wellington, New Zealand; Brasilia, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; and Pretoria, South Africa.

As shown above, Pretoria occupancy on-the-books rates in the four years between 2019 and 2023 have escalated +50%. Santiago follows with a +15% growth, and Brasilia +5%. However, Sydney, Buenos Aires, and Wellington illustrate a different trend, with occupancy levels experiencing a -4%, -9% and -18% decline respectively. 

Weighing in inventory sizes, we can see the the markets showing the highest growth are medium sized cities– Pretoria, Santiago and Brasilia. You can gauge real-time supply in any market worldwide with the Lighthouse short-term rental Free Dashboard, along with ADR, occupancy and revenue.

Short-term rental occupancy on-the-books in December 2023 in Southern Hemisphere markets

In our investigation of six Southern Hemisphere markets, Wellington, despite experiencing a significant decline in December occupancy on-the-books growth over 2019, does hold the title for the highest occupancy on the books this coming Q1 amongst the markets. Sydney, with a -4% growth over 2019, holds the next highest with 44% occupancy on the books as of December.  You can discover more on Australia’s short-term rental trends in our What's up down under 2021 Australia report, plus you can track variation in global reservations over 2019 in key countries for free with our Global Data Tracker

Pivoting to Buenos Aires, Pretoria and Brasilia, all destinations currently sit around 28% occupancy on-the-books, while Santiago has racked up a more conservative 21%. 

Track short-term rental occupancy growth and stay ahead of market trends

More expensive markets, like Sydney and Wellington, are becoming more occupied in the month of December compared to relatively cheaper short-term rentals in Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Pretoria. Find average monthly revenues, annual revenues and ADRs by plugging in your (or any) market into the Lighthouse Freemium Dashboard.

As showcased above, strategic utilization of demand insights highlights an industry where success hinges on foresight and proactivity. Specific and granular short-term rental data is key to marketing and management strategy for DMOs in any market worldwide. 

The integration of data-driven insights through intelligence tools, like the Lighthouse Destination Insight dashboard, is powerful for DMOs navigating the dynamic landscape of market growth and decline. As illustrated by the real-life success stories of Lighthouse clients, our solution streamlines comprehensive datasets to destinations through a sophisticated platform equipped with graph visuals, maps, and meticulously organized data points. 

Illuminating demand profile evolution, revenue fluctuations, seasonal variations, and policy impacts allows you to maneuver the market with agility and foresight. To learn more on how our tools will specifically benefit you and your team, book a demo with our team here, or learn more about Destination Insight below.

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