• According to Airdna, there has been a rental demand of 65% during the past year for Nashville vacation houses.
• Currently, there are over 6,000 active vacation rentals in the area, with an average daily rate of $219. October 2019 had the highest rate at $256 a day, while January 2020 saw rates of $189.
• Meanwhile, the occupancy rate is likely to have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 71% in October 2019 and only 32% during April 2020.
• The median monthly revenue over the past year was $2836. Once again, the effect of COVID-19 is clearly seen, with $4,298 as the median revenue in October and $1,391 as the median revenue in April 2020.
• The most commonly used rental channels appear to be AirBNB (63%) and Vrbo (14%), with 23% of rentals using both platforms.
• According to Vrbo data, vacation rental activity has increased in the area during the past three years. However, a decrease has been seen during 2020, which is likely caused by the pandemic.
• By May 2020, it had been estimated that Nashville had lost hundreds of millions in tourism revenue, in great part due to the large number of conventions canceled. Many of those attending could have rented a vacation home during their stay.
• An article published in May 2020 reported there had been a spike in short-term rentals in Nashville due to local activity. According to this, overall short-term rentals would have increased by 21% across the country.
• In Nashville specifically, there was an increase of 162% between February and May when it comes to furnished seasonal rentals. This is very different from 2019, when there was a 28% decrease in demand for vacation rentals during the same months.
• This is a trend that had been previously reported in 2019 at a nationwide level. Local options were becoming more popular, with people choosing to vacation in their own cities. This could become even more popular in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Another upcoming trend, reported in June 2020, is the rental of cabins across the country. This is in line with a previously observed trend regarding the search for closer contact with nature.

Summary of Findings

• We used this initial hour of research to assess the availability of the information and provide initial findings. While we were able to provide quantitative information regarding the current market and possible COVID-19 impact in vacation rentals in Nashville, there were few sources providing this information. More sources were identified detailing this market prior to the pandemic or at a national level.
• We have identified trends in tourism and vacation rentals for both the city of Nashville and the entire country. Further information could be provided with additional research.
• In addition to this public search, we scanned our proprietary research database of over 1 million sources and were unable to find any specific research reports that address the goals.