With just weeks to go until Memorial Day, summer travel is starting to be on peoples? minds, particularly after this year?s interminable winter. As travelers are gearing up to get away, rental website Airbnb revealed its top ten summer destinations in the U.S., or the regions where it has seen the biggest jump in bookings for the peak season. At the top of that list: Country-music capital Nashville, where business spiked by 365 percent over last year.
In fact, almost every place that made the list saw a boom of 300% or more, according to Chip Conley, Airbnb?s Global Head of Hospitality and Strategy. The top five is fairly diverse; after Nashville, the biggest booking increases occurred in New Orleans; Palm Springs; Portland, Maine; and Santa Barbara.
Notably absent from the roster is New York City, where Airbnb is?coming under fire?from the New York Attorney General over whether hosts are engaging in illegal subletting. But rental rules won?t be a problem if you escape to upstate New York: The Adirondacks, another region on the list, is hugely popular with Airbnb users, with bookings up 316%. Those drawn to the great outdoors no doubt helped spur rise in rentals on other spots on the list: coastal Orange County, the Oregon coast, and two Colorado cities, Denver and Boulder.
Airbnb found the number of stays for the summer season (Memorial Day through Labor Day) booked between Labor Day of last year and this April, and compared that to bookings during the same period in 2013. Check out the full list below.
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- Palm Springs
- Portland, Maine
- Santa Barbara
- Oregon Coast
- The Adirondacks
- Denver
- Coastal Orange County
- Boulder
Source: Barbara Peterson (2014). Airbnb’s Most Popular Destinations This Summer, Conde Nast Traveler http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2014/05/airbnb-top-summer-destination-is-nashville-tennessee published May 01, 2014. Viewed May 02, 2014.