Salem, New Orleans and 10 Spooky Stays: Inside Halloween Travel Demand

In Salem, Massachusetts, October means witch-trial tours and a month-long festival. In New Orleans’ French Quarter, it means ghost walks and street celebrations. In both places, Halloween is the reason for the trip, and short-term rentals fill up.

Across most of the U.S., though, Halloween night is one of the quieter nights of the fall. Here’s what AirDNA data shows about where Halloween travel really happens, the spooky-themed stays that shine brightest in October, and how bookings for Halloween 2026 are tracking.

Is Halloween a Busy Night for Short-Term Rentals?

No. Halloween night is a slow night for U.S. short-term rentals. To see how slow, we compared U.S. short-term rental performance on Halloween with the same day of the week two weeks before and two weeks after Halloween week. From 2022 to 2025, Halloween fell on a Monday, a Tuesday, a Thursday and a Friday, and each year it lagged behind.

Fewer guests booked, and those who did paid less. Occupancy on Halloween night was about 4 to 12 percentage points lower than on the same day of the week in the surrounding weeks, and average nightly rates (ADR) were about 3% to 10% lower. As a result, revenue per available rental night (RevPAR), which reflects both how full rentals are and what they charge, ran 13% to 26% lower on Halloween night.

The likely reason is simple: Halloween is a stay-at-home holiday for a lot of people. Families take their kids trick-or-treating in their own neighborhoods rather than traveling.

The day of the week matters, too. Halloween’s performance gap was widest in 2025, when Halloween fell on a Friday. Fridays are normally one of the busiest travel nights of the week, so when people stay home for Halloween instead, the drop stands out more.

Where Do Vacation Rentals Get a Halloween Boost?

Salem, Massachusetts, and the French Quarter in New Orleans. In both places, Halloween night outperforms the same night in the surrounding weeks.

In these places, Halloween is the reason for the trip. Salem’s witch-trial history and the French Quarter’s ghost tours and street celebrations draw visitors for the holiday itself.

That shows up in how full rentals get. More than 80% of Salem’s available rentals were booked on Halloween night every year from 2022 to 2025, and more than 90% in three of those four years. In the French Quarter, 62% to 63% were booked when Halloween fell on a Monday or Tuesday, rising to about 76% on a Thursday (2024) and about 82% on a Friday (2025).

Weeknight Halloweens see the biggest boost, because those nights are usually quiet. In 2022 and 2023, when Halloween fell on a Monday and then a Tuesday, Salem’s RevPAR more than doubled compared with the same weeknight in the surrounding weeks. In the French Quarter, RevPAR on Halloween night was 88% higher than on a typical Monday in 2022 and 75% higher than on a typical Tuesday in 2023. And it isn’t just the French Quarter: across all of New Orleans, Halloween night earned roughly 40% to 60% more than a typical Monday or Tuesday in those years.

On a Friday or Saturday, the boost is much smaller. In 2025, when Halloween fell on a Friday, Salem’s Halloween night earned about 20% more than its other Fridays, and the French Quarter’s was about even. Weekend nights in these destinations are already busy, so there’s less room for Halloween to add.

Not every Halloween destination sees a performance boost from the spooky holiday. We also checked other places known for ghost tours or haunted history, including Savannah, St. Augustine, Gettysburg, Charleston, Williamsburg, Estes Park and the Sleepy Hollow area. None showed a Halloween boost year after year.

Do Halloween Towns See Strong Performance Outside of Halloween?

Yes. Year after year, both Salem and the French Quarter see strong demand throughout October, not just during Halloween week.

Salem’s busiest stretch comes in the first few weeks of October. Fall foliage and the town’s month-long Haunted Happenings festival draw visitors well before the 31st. Last year, booked nights rose every week from early September and reached a peak the week of October 6. While not as high as the peak, Halloween week drew about 1,800 booked nights. Halloween night itself was a standout, as it is every year, with about 93% of Salem’s available rentals booked, compared with about 66% across Halloween week as a whole.

French Quarter demand starts climbing in late September and holds strong all October, as fall festivities and cooler weather bring visitors to the lively neighborhood. October is one of the French Quarter’s busiest months of the year: in 2025, only February and March drew more booked nights. Last year, rentals there booked about 2,750 to 2,800 nights a week from the week of October 6 through Halloween week, with Halloween week edging out the other October weeks by about 1%. Halloween night stood out here too: about 82% of available rentals were booked that night, compared with about 60% across Halloween week as a whole.

Notably, French Quarter demand has been shrinking because supply has been shrinking, as New Orleans has introduced stricter permitting, zoning and tax rules for short-term rentals in recent years. Last fall (September to November), French Quarter available listing nights fell about 8% from the year before and demand fell about 12%. So far in 2026, available listing nights have been down about 15% while demand has been down about 4%.

Do Halloween-Themed Rentals Earn More in October?

Some do, and the best of them earn far more in October than in the rest of the year. To find Halloween-themed rentals with a standout October, we reviewed U.S. listings built around a spooky theme, from witch-themed apartments to houses the hosts say are haunted. We then looked for the ones that are open nearly year-round and compared each rental’s October performance with the rest of its year, picking out the rentals whose October stood out most.

Here are ten spooky stays that shine in October. In October 2025, seven of the ten at least doubled their RevPAR compared with the rest of the year, and one roughly quadrupled it. For nine of the ten, October was their best month of the year.

Most of the RevPAR gain came from occupancy. Six of the ten were more than 80% booked in October, and three were booked every night. Every one of the ten was at least 18 percentage points fuller in October than in its other months.

Average nightly rates for October were higher too among these rentals, but to a lesser degree than occupancy. Nine of the ten had higher nightly rates in October than the rest of the year, and half had October rates at least 15% higher. Two roughly doubled their usual rate.

Ten spooky stays that shine in October

1. “Halloween All Year” house, Erie, Pa.

Here it’s October 365 days a year, though the host promises the decor is “not too scary.” The two-bedroom house in Millcreek comes with arcade games, a fire pit and a gas grill, and it sits about a mile from the Lake Erie shore, a short drive from Presque Isle State Park and Waldameer amusement park. Pets are welcome, too.

2. The Creaky Cauldron, Salem, Mass.

Each of this apartment’s seven rooms is themed after one of the seven books in a famous boy-wizard series, from the Lion & Unicorn bedroom to the Potions & Poisons kitchen. The home was built after Salem’s great fire of 1914, it’s a 10-minute walk from downtown, and the name is honest: the hosts warn the old floors really do creak. Guests have left 448 reviews averaging 4.95 stars.

3. The Ghoul’s Attic, Salem, Mass.

Upstairs from The Creaky Cauldron, the same hosts run a third-floor apartment for “’90s witches and wannabes.” Guests sleep in the Eagle’s Nest or the Badger’s Burrow, cook in the Owlery and shower in the Serpent’s Chamber. It ranks in Airbnb’s top 5% of homes, and downtown Salem is about a 5-minute walk away.

4. Alchemist’s Cabin, Duxbury, Vt.

At the end of a private drive in the Vermont woods, this two-guest log cabin leans into dark romance: a carved ebony four-poster bed, a gothic candelabra chandelier, navy botanical wallpaper and a shelf of vintage apothecary bottles. A screened porch looks straight into the forest, and Sugarbush, Mad River Glen and Stowe are all within about 40 minutes.

5. Haunted Mansion-inspired house, Fullerton, Calif.

The host is a production designer for film, TV and theme parks, and it shows. Bedrooms are named for Master Gracey, Madame Leota and the Hatbox Ghost, and ghostly illusions, animatronics and sound effects run throughout the stay (they can be switched off on request). Disneyland is less than 7 miles away, and the backyard has a six-person hot tub and a putting green. It holds a 4.99 rating across 432 reviews.

6. Witchy Private Cottage, Beverly, Mass.

The host calls it “Bewitched in Beverly.” This seaside cottage stocks a record player and a deck of tarot cards, complete with a beginner’s guide, plus a patio fire pit for evenings after a day in Salem. Beaches are 1 to 3 miles away, and Boston is a train or ferry ride off. The host has been on Airbnb for less than a year and already ranks in the top 5% of homes.

7. Historic Downtown Home (“Haunted, Maybe?”), Gettysburg, Pa.

The listing title asks the question, and the host leaves the answer to you. The 126-year-old house keeps its original hardwood floors and exposed brick, and the host warns of “occasional creaks.” It’s a short walk to Lincoln Square and the David Wills House, where Abraham Lincoln slept the night before the Gettysburg Address. The home sleeps eight and has 222 reviews averaging 4.98 stars.

8. Roff Home, Watseka, Ill.

This 1868 Victorian villa is where the 1879 “Watseka Wonder” took place, a famous case of reported spirit possession later referenced in “The Exorcist.” It has since appeared on Ghost Brothers and Travel Channel’s “America’s Most Terrifying Places.” The award-winning restoration sits on five acres of old-growth oaks, and one of the hosts, a trained chef from Italy, can cook guests a four-course dinner.

9. Historic Morgue, Ozark, Mo.

The building has been a morgue, a funeral home, a church and a museum, and now guests can investigate it themselves with the spirit box, EMF detector and dowsing rods the host provides. Fair warning from the listing: “No refunds if you leave mid-stay.” Few guests seem to: it ranks in Airbnb’s top 1% of homes with a 4.98 rating.

10. Morticia & Gomez Addams Treehouse, Sevierville, Tenn.

This gothic treehouse for two sits on a 57-acre farm along the Little Pigeon River, with views of the Great Smoky Mountains. Inside, there’s a baroque king bed and plush robes, and the deck has a hot tub and a gas fire pit. Grab one of the tubes stored underneath to float the river, then drive 10 minutes to Dollywood. Its rating is a perfect 5.0 across 100 reviews.

How Are Halloween 2026 Bookings Pacing?

Both Halloween towns are pacing ahead of last year, but in different ways. As of October 12, 2026, Salem has about 22% more nights booked for Halloween week than at the same point last year, at rates about 25% higher. In the French Quarter, Halloween week bookings are about flat, but rates are up close to 30%.

Halloween week 2026 (Oct. 26 to Nov. 1) compared with Halloween week 2025 (Oct. 27 to Nov. 2), booked as of Oct. 12, 2026, and Oct. 13, 2025. Bookings are still coming in for both years.

For Salem, it’s not just Halloween week that’s trending upward. Across all of October, nights booked in Salem are currently up about 17% from the same point last year, while average rates are about 18% higher, so revenue on the books for the month is running nearly 40% ahead so far.

Halloween itself is pacing well ahead, too. Salem has about 19% more nights booked for October 31 than it did at the same point last year, with rates up about 20%. Line up the days of the week, and this year’s Halloween looks even stronger: bookings for Saturday, October 31 are up about 57% from the same Saturday last year. That’s partly because last year’s Saturday was unusually weak. In 2025, Salem’s Halloween weekend peaked on Thursday and Friday, and the Saturday after Halloween drew fewer bookings than any other Saturday from mid-September through early November. This year, Halloween night is booking like any other busy October Saturday. And the gains aren’t limited to the weekend: Monday and Tuesday of Halloween week, usually the quietest nights of the week, are each running more than 30% ahead of last year. So is Sunday, November 1, the day after Halloween, which is up nearly 40%.

The French Quarter is a rate story so far. Bookings for Halloween week are about where they were last year, but guests are paying close to 30% more per night. Flat bookings may be a reflection of fewer rentals: listing nights in the French Quarter were down about 8% in early October from a year earlier, and the rentals that remain were about as full as last year while charging about 14% more.

The same pattern holds for October as a whole: French Quarter bookings for the month are currently about 5% behind last year, but at average rates about 14% higher, so revenue on the books is up about 8%. On Halloween night itself, bookings are flat compared with last year while rates are up about 36%. Line up the days of the week, and this year’s Halloween looks a bit stronger: bookings for Saturday, October 31 are up about 10% from the same Saturday last year, at rates about 28% higher.

With Halloween on a Saturday this year, French Quarter demand is also clustering around the holiday weekend. Bookings for Sunday, November 1 are running about 28% ahead of last year’s Sunday after Halloween.

FAQs

Is Halloween a busy night for Airbnb and other short-term rentals?

No. Across the U.S., RevPAR on Halloween night ran 13% to 26% below the same weekday in the surrounding weeks every year from 2022 to 2025, as occupancy fell 4 to 12 percentage points and ADR fell 3% to 10%. Many people stay home to trick-or-treat instead of traveling.

Where do short-term rentals get a Halloween boost?

Salem, Massachusetts, and the French Quarter in New Orleans. More than 80% of Salem’s rentals were booked on Halloween night every year from 2022 to 2025, and the French Quarter reached about 82% in 2025. Other haunted destinations, such as Savannah, St. Augustine and Gettysburg, showed no consistent Halloween boost.

When is Salem busiest for short-term rentals in October?

The first few weeks of October. In 2025, Salem’s booked nights peaked the week of October 6, ahead of Halloween week, as fall foliage and the month-long Haunted Happenings festival drew visitors well before the 31st.

Where should you stay in Salem for Halloween?

Book early: more than 90% of Salem’s rentals were booked on Halloween night in three of the last four years. Themed stays such as The Creaky Cauldron and The Ghoul’s Attic in Salem, and the Witchy Private Cottage in nearby Beverly, were among the ten spooky rentals whose October 2025 stood out most.

How are Halloween 2026 bookings pacing in Salem and New Orleans?

As of October 12, 2026, Salem had about 22% more nights booked for Halloween week than at the same point last year, at rates about 26% higher. In the French Quarter, Halloween week bookings were about flat, at -2%, while rates were up about 29%.