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As I finish up my April (which is normally completely booked) I had more than 14 days open. By now I usually have most of spring/summer booked too but I only have about 30 days booked so far for the next 3 months. (I"m usually getting back-to-back bookings filling up my calendar by now.)
And not a single Canadian (spring guests) and no foreign guests either. I understand why but it’s starting to impact my bookings and was wondering if others are also seeing this slow down?
It’s a tricky question as pretty much every single one of us has a different accommodation, in a different place with different amenities at a different price point targeted to a certain audience.
That alone makes it difficult to compare.
From previous experience we also do have a lower booking rate than previous years (located in France - go figure).
But, as mentioned before, the reason for our situation can be many. For example, we see a LOT of new studios being dumped into the market. There are a lot more STR accommodations available compared to a few years ago. We don’t live in a particularly expensive area but still, some of the new places offer a 600 sq ft apartment, full kitchen, washing machine/dryer, private parking, newly renovated for $40 a night. I have no clue how these hosts are calculating their ROI. We’re doing everything ourselves (cleaning etc.) and we’re 50% more expensive, with less than half the living space and no washing machine 
So in our case it’s a total oversupply of STRs, no matter how bad their ratings are - they get the bookings first.
Maybe you need to specify your location (somewhat) to get feedback from fellow hosts who are in your area to get a more targeted response.
I mean, many other things like time of year, any big events etc. could also make a huge difference but that’s kind of related to the place where you’re located.
I saw on the news that there’s a travel advisory in Europe warning tourist not to come to the USA due to a recent event in which two German college students were denied entry to the USA because they did not have a hotel booked nor did they have an address for their stay. I’ve done this too in the past since I used to travel with my airline passes on standby. I would book a hotel once I arrived at my destination. The new administration has gone wild with these deportations that even now are including tourists. I’m sure everyone in the tourist business will suffer.
In all fairness, (being German, having lived in the US for 11 years), it’s a bit blue-eyed (does this exist in English?) to hop over to another continent without any plan on where to stay?
Every time I flew to the US (late 2000s) the immigration officers always wanted to know where I will be staying (being on a tourist visa). It’s a perfectly legit question and it should be asked by any country’s immigration reps (for many reasons). Not having any malicious intent, why would this be an issue anyway?
So, I’ve read these news of Germans being detained, imprisoned or deported right at the time of attempted entry into the US, it mostly was because the Germans didn’t educate themselves about the visa/immigration laws. Lying on your entry form was like the first big no-no but hey, you’re dealing with big brother… Play stupid games, you’ll win stupid prizes.
I have no sympathy for such “travellers” who think, “I’ll just hop on a plane and see where it takes me”. Times have changed, be more considerate of the place where you’re travelling to and educate yourself. It’ll be fine then.
Good for you that it was never an issue to tell immigration no address where you will be staying but I don’t think this is the norm anymore.
I did, I was asking folks in the USA if they are seeing a slow down.
Elections have consequences. Midterms we need to vote in people who are for US not for angry MAGA supporters whose brains are still in the 1950s…
Truth but with all the Voter suppression laws being passed (but challenged) it might not be as easy and I’m also concerned that Trump and Project 2025 has some additional shenanigans planned. (Insurrection act called during elections? )
Yes, it will be a hard battle.
The girls were 18 and 19 years old. They took the trip to celebrate their graduation from high school. I’d say it’s perfectly normal for travelers that age to “wing it”, letting things evolve spontaneously, instead of planning things out ahead of time. I certainly travelled like that when I was their age.
Also, they flew to Hawaii, which is a tourist destination, and had return tickets- it’s highly unlikely that if they had any intention of overstaying their visas and becoming “illegals” that they would have chosen Hawaii.
And after the devastating fire on Maui in August 2023, which destroyed 17,000 acres of land, they have suffered from a big drop in tourism and need all the tourists they can get.
And having all your paperwork in order does not guarantee that it will “all be fine then” when it comes to trying to enter the US now. Hassling people for no good reason is the new normal in the US.
Even before the current administration, the US has been racially profiling people for a long time. Several years ago 3 young Canadian women in their 20s had planned a weekend holiday in NYC. 2 were white, one was of Indian heritage. At the border, the 2 white girls were approved to cross, the Indian girl (born and lived all her life in Canada) was told she couldn’t.
And I had a Canadian guest a few years ago who told me her husband was Moroccan (legal Canadian resident, has a good job in a bank) and every time they fly to Morroco to visit his family, if they book flights that connect in the US, he gets pulled aside and heavily questioned.
Yes, definitely.
I have received requests for cancellation from European guests because they are concerned at whether they will be given entries since they have may have written things against the current President in social media.
American consumers are scared about the cost of replacement of appliances, electronics, car parts, or new cars. Many feel it’s better to save money rather than spend it on travel.
But we may get some pent up demand released when things become normal. I’ll jack up prices at that time similar to how I did after post covid vaccination travel demand surge.
Going to Greece once and there was a strike in France where we changed planes. We were able to stay in Paris a couple nights before going to Greece (normally they’d charge you more to do that). But, because it was kind of up in the air (haha) we didn’t have a booking in Paris so walked around trying to find a place to stay which we eventually did.
Normally, I have almost everything booked even if it’s a trip for more than a month because things fill up and you don’t get the best choices.
I really don’t blame Canadians, Europeans and others for not wanting to come here. If I lived outside I wouldn’t want to visit either.
Unfortunately, it is my understanding that the German girls were detained by authorities and put in a holding cell.
They were already in the US flying into Hawaii from the mainland.
Orange man is insane!
Since 9/11 travel requirements for non-US citizen have changed dramatically. I wouldn’t really call that “winging it” when they have to:
Within the EU and other countries this is not required (similar to how you can freely travel throughout the US). Hopping into a car and rolling down from Belgium to Greece requires no bureaucracy whatsoever and gives you full freedom.
Travelling to the US as a EU citizen however does require some preparations. Age is not an excuse - anyway the ones you mentioned were adults.
“Winging it”, as far as booking places to stay every night of a trip is not in the same category as making sure a one’s visa is in order and other official travel requirements.
I can’t even find anything on the US State Dept. websites that mentions tourists having to have addresses of where they are going to stay every night of their trip.
At the age of 18 or 19, while that is legally an adult, one tends to travel differently than when one is older, at least I and many others did. Rather than having the trip all planned out and not deviate from that, we were open to whatever might happen. You might plan to go to some area, then meet and make friends with some locals your age who invite you to come along with them on a surf trip to a different area. You might figure you’ll have to find a hostel or a cheap hotel, then some locals your age say they live on a big piece of land where you can set up your tent and stay for free. If you can’t find a place to shower for a couple of days, that might not be as big a deal for an 18 year old as for a 40 year old.
If there were official travel requirements written somewhere that these girls ignored, that’s one thing, but I wouldn’t just assume that was the case. And when it comes to international travel, it is sometimes luck of the draw as to whether one encounters border officials who just check over your papers quickly and say “Welcome, have a nice trip”, or the type who seem to enjoy detaining people and finding something to give them a hard time about, no matter how inconsequential.
From my experience the encounters with US immigration where rather unpleasant as they did interrogate me about the nature of my stay, financial independence and where I plan to stay. Obviously, a solo traveller may ring other bells than a family of five with an all inclusive holiday booked including return tickets of course.
I knew what I was in for and answered all questions to their liking - just saying that if some young adults who want to “wing it” assume that they can just breeze through US immigration, they could be in it for a big surprise now.
Definitely travelers should now be prepared for it not being smooth sailing trying to enter the US.
But as far as border officials go, I have always found it the case that there are decent people in those positions, who just do their jobs but are not unfriendly, and also those who like to try to intimidate or hassle people, just because they can, no matter what country you are entering.
Everywhere I went I had to give my address where I will be staying .
So true! We are having a very hard time since the fires,…at least at first, but then since the fires, the mayor of Maui proposed eliminating 7100 short-term rentals - making the claim that they will be transitioned into “affordable housing”. Unfortunately, there is nothing affordable about these short-term vacation rentals when it comes to maintenance fees, taxes (we’re being taxed excessively with threats of more to come), insurance (you can imagine after the fires, some insurance companies left Hawaii all together, making the ones that stayed very expensive) and special/additional assessments (termite remediation, pipe lining, spalling of the buildings, etc.). Beyond that, if his proposal passes the County Council, they would be taking away the property rights of those that own these units, and there will be lawsuits. Imagine, a lot of people who purchased these properties and were allowed legitimately to rent them short-term (and put down extra money at closing because they would be used as STVRs), purchased them as units to “snow bird”. If they are forced to make a choice between LTR or keeping them empty for most of the year, many have said that they would keep them empty.
This is causing issues with tourism to Maui as well - the narrative is that if you stay in one of these vacation rental units, you are basically taking away homes from residents/local people. And it’s all over social media for tourists to stay away, unless they stay at a resort.
So, not only our Airbnb is suffering, but also our other business which also caters to the tourists.
And now with the current administration and their shenanigans, I can’t see it getting better any time soon.
Yes! We are seeing a slow down. Usually when we’d have a cancellation, someone would book that slot within a day or two. Not so much any more. We currently have 8 advanced bookings until the end of the year, with an average of 5 nights booked. Not good.
Agree it depends on location and property type, etc. I have actually been busier this year than the previous 2 years so no slow down here.