We can say that there are two sources of insight in the vacation rental industry: the numbers (quantitative data) and the voices (qualitative data). The latter is you, and often, you provide takeaways that the stats alone couldn’t deliver.

To complement the release of our data-backed 2023 Outlook Report, we conducted a survey with vacation rental managers, hosts, and investors to hear about your business behaviors and expectations in 2023. Along the way, you told us your biggest concerns for the year ahead, how to combat economic uncertainty, and the most important tools to succeed.

We compiled your feedback into this report, which you can use as a benchmark for your vacation rental strategy. Perhaps you’ve been focusing on operations while others are doubling down on marketing. Maybe you’ve been preparing for a recession storm while the majority of hosts feel optimistic.

Here’s what you and your peers had to say. 

To get a representative look at the industry, we spoke to over 60 leading vacation rental managers with a range of portfolio sizes, annual revenue, and employee count based in different locations.

The largest portion of vacation rental managers that participated in the survey had between 11 and 49 listings (38% of respondents). The second-largest group had more than 50 listings (33%). The smallest segment was property managers with fewer than 10 listings (32%). 

In terms of location, most respondents reported having listings in coastal and urban destinations. Mountain, suburban, and resort/destination areas also featured heavily, while 15% of managers had listings in rural areas. This distribution is to be expected as the vacation rental market recovers from the COVID pandemic, in which properties in remote locations were disproportionately affected. 

When it comes to property type, midscale accommodation was the most popular, followed by upscale and then luxury. 33% of vacation rental managers said they operated economy properties, while 10% had budget ones – the smallest portion of property types in the survey. 

What are vacation rental managers’ priorities in 2023?

What do vacation rental managers care about? What tasks, tools, and tactics are most important to your success in 2023? Let’s take a look.

Dynamic pricing and revenue management are your top priorities in 2023. While these tend to always be top of mind for vacation rental managers, current and upcoming market conditions mean managers have to be extra innovative with their revenue generation and analysis. 

Our Outlook Report forecasts that economic pressures and inflation-hit consumers will lead to small ADR gains of only 1.7% in 2023 – and these gains won’t be sufficient to offset occupancy losses. Meanwhile, RevPAR is set to experience a small decrease of 1.6%. In response, industry leaders are choosing to diversify their data sets and rely more heavily on analytics tools that cover property revenue management at a wider, more granular scope.

Unsurprisingly, property management systems and channel managers are the second-highest priority for vacation rental managers. We can safely say that operations software will continue to be the backbone of the vacation rental industry in 2023.  

How it Works: AirDNA Dashboard for Property Managers

"While much of the industry is (understandably) focusing on revenue management, few property managers are using accurate benchmarking data to set prices and manage occupancy. This presents a huge opportunity to boost profits for VRMs."

- Dillon DuBois, Director of Enterprise Marketing at AirDNA

Where are vacation rental managers spending their time?


You told us that you spend most of your time managing operations. In fact, more than 28% of respondents said they dedicate over 20 hours a week to organizing cleaners, partners, maintenance, and contractors.

Elsewhere, more than a third of property managers spend above five hours per week talking to homeowners and managing expectations. One-quarter of respondents spend more than 10 hours doing so. 

Although speaking to homeowners is valuable, property managers can condense conversations by using data solutions like the Property Performance Dashboard. Real data on the competition and comparable properties gives homeowners the perspective and context they need to maintain trust in your capability as a manager. Plus, you save time managing expectations with homeowners that you can allocate to other pressing tasks. 

You also shared in the survey that 59% of you spend at least three to five hours per week finding new listings and markets for expansion. We know that growth is a core goal for property managers in 2023, but the search for a new niche doesn’t have to be completely manual. 

Again, the Property Performance Dashboard helps here to easily sort markets by those with the highest revenue potential, daily rates, length of stay, listing count, and more. Plus, you can drill down your analysis by location type, submarket, neighborhood, and zip code.

The same applies for competitor research. More than 61% of property managers spend at least three to five hours per week tracking comparable properties. Supply is predicted to increase by 9% year over year in 2023, and so managers have to stay ahead of competitors – but it doesn’t have to be so time-consuming. 

The Property Performance Dashboard shows the performance of any property manager in the world. You can also use it to see how your portfolio compares to those of top vacation rental managers in terms of listing count, occupancy, revenues, reviewing, ratings, and more. The dashboard doesn’t give averages either; it reveals the actual performance of actual listings in a quick and digestible format.

Learn More: How we Help Vacation Rental Managers

What are vacation rental managers’ biggest concerns in 2023?



We asked you to rate your level of concern for solving key vacation rental issues (1 being a low level of concern and 5 being a high level). ‘Generating revenue during a recession’ was your biggest concern, and ‘dealing with increased competition from other property managers and hosts’ was second.

‘Not offering a quality experience for guests’ ranked third as a concern, and ‘increased homeowner inquiries, needs, and concerns’ fourth. Combined with insights from other questions, the latter issue suggests that property managers are spending more time and resources on homeowners than guests. Using tech like the Property Performance Dashboard means you can streamline homeowner tasks and communication and double down on what matters most – giving guests a five-star experience.

How does vacation rental data help property managers?



We wanted to know why and how you use vacation rental data in your business, and so we asked you to rank a set number of reasons. The top reason was ‘to identify profitable properties for acquisition’, which makes sense, as turbulent markets mean growing businesses have to expand their portfolios in extra smart, informed steps. Property managers that aren’t harnessing data insights in this way could therefore risk falling behind competitors or potentially moving into the wrong markets.

Another interesting takeaway from this question was that ‘providing insights to homeowners’ was the lowest-ranked reason property managers use vacation rental data. 

This presents significant space for managers to distinguish themselves from competitors. Top vacation rental managers are using data to send monthly check-in reports, offer advice as to which amenities would generate the most revenue, and more. Homeowners who receive this additional context are often much happier and churn less frequently.

How much do vacation rental managers spend on vacation rental data? And what do they use it for?


Here, we asked you how much you currently spend on vacation rental data, how many properties and bookings you expect in 2023, and how you plan to set your rates. The responses revealed that managers who spend more on vacation rental data are more focused on growth, acquiring more listings, and pinpointing the best markets to scale into. 

In contrast, businesses that spend less on vacation rental data are more interested in property optimization, quality, and guest experiences. Yet, during the unfolding mini-recession, property managers that invest in vacation rental data are going to capture a huge chunk of market share. Fast forward 12 or 24 months, and we’ll likely see a large shift in short-term rental market share favoring properties acquired by managers who went all-in on acquisition. 

Vacation rental data is, therefore, a small, accessible investment for large, long-term returns.

You shared many pearls of wisdom in this survey. We learned that dynamic pricing and revenue management matter to you, that you spend most of your time managing operations, that generating revenue in a recession is your main concern in 2023, and that you want vacation rental data to identify profitable properties for acquisition.

You also brought to light new areas where vacation rental data can support you in 2023. You told us that you spend substantial chunks of time per week finding new listings and markets for expansion, tracking comparable properties, and talking with homeowners. With data tools like the Property Performance Dashboard, you can streamline these tasks, making data-informed decisions that keep homeowners happy and revenue streams healthy.

You equally showed us that, at the moment, you don’t prioritize using vacation rental data to provide insights to homeowners. Yet, as markets become more competitive in 2023, doing so can strengthen relationships with homeowners and fuel future success.

Last but not least, you communicated that vacation rental managers who spend more on vacation rental data are more focused on growth in their business. Tying back to your number one priority in 2023 (dynamic pricing and revenue management), vacation rental data can assist you in not just weathering the present economic storm but actually expanding in it.

See for yourself – request a demo of the Property Performance Dashboard

2023 Industry Perspective: Where Pro VRMs are Focusing Time and Money | AirDNA

To complement the release of our data-backed 2023 Outlook Report, we conducted a survey with vacation rental managers, hosts, and investors to hear about your business behaviors and expectations in 2023. We've compiled you told us your biggest concerns for the year ahead, how to combat economic uncertainty, and the most important tools to succeed.

Where are vacation rental managers spending their time?

What are vacation rental managers’ biggest concerns in 2023?

How does vacation rental data help property managers?

How much do vacation rental managers spend on vacation rental data? And what do they use it for?

2023 Industry Perspective: Where Pro VRMs are Focusing Time and Money | AirDNA

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