Heatwaves May Be cooling Demand for Peak Summer Rentals in Southern Europe
Demand for short-term rentals in Southern Europe’s peak summer season is showing signs of decline, and extreme heat may be a key factor behind the shift.
Countries such as Spain,Portugal,France,Italy,Malta,and Cyprus,have seen a steady decline in the share of annual demand concentrated in those peak months,according to new data from vacation rental analytics firm AirDNA,shared with Skift.
The trend, visible across both beach towns and urban centers, suggests that travelers could be adjusting their habits to avoid the worst of summer heatwaves.”We definitely see a movement of the share of demand from some of the peak months into the shoulder season months,” said Bram Gallagher, an economist at AirDNA. “It truly seems like heatwaves are going to be a recurring fixture in European travel.”
Summer Decline, Shoulder Seasons Gain
[Image of AirDNA figures showing a gradual slip in short-term rental demand in peak summer months.Source: airdna]
While overall demand for short-term rentals continues to grow in many of these countries, the pace is now faster in spring and autumn than in the height of summer.
in Spain, such as, there has been a sharp dip since 2018 in demand for short-term rentals in August but there have been slight increases in the period between February and May.
August demand has dropped in Italy with mild increases in May, June and February, with spring gaining ground as an alternative to peak summer.
The data show a similar trend in Greece, Cyprus and France, where February and May are growing.
The data doesn’t measure total travel volume, it shows when people are booking. In othre words, it tracks what share of annual bookings occur in each month, like August compared to April.
2023 showed the steepest drop in June to August demand share, a year that broke records as the hottest ever globally and in Europe.
“2023 was problably the most severe heat we’ve seen,” Gallagher said. “There are many factors, overcrowding, costs, but I think weather is certainly among the top reasons things are shifting.”
That summer brought wildfires, evacuations, and weeks of extreme temperatures, frequently enough exceeding 40°C, in regions across southern Europe and wider.
These weather events led to travel disruptions, including evacuations, flight delays, and booking cancellations, according to the European Travel Commission, which found a 10% drop across those destinations in 2023 when compared to