For property managers, one of the most challenging dimensions to short-term rental pricing strategy is events. Events cause compression in vacation rental markets; a squeeze on the supply from a spike in demand. One-off events are especially difficult to handle, with property managers blind as to the levels of demand that can be expected without historic data, and how to build strategy optimally. Forward-looking data can demystify the picture, so, let’s explore the impact of the 2022 Champions League final on Paris short-term rentals: how are short-term rental rates in Paris being affected by the Champions League? What about hotels? And how much higher is occupancy than last year for example?
Why is the Champions League relevant?
For those who don’t know, the Champions League is one of football’s (soccer) most prestigious competitions, pitting the best teams from across European domestic leagues against eachother.
For context, Madrid 2019 was estimated to have brought 100,000 visitors to the city, triggering accommodation rates to triple, and occupancy rates to soar. In 2015, the estimated travel and tourism revenue brought to Berlin by the final was 21M€. So, what does the real-time data show us about the market impact?
Impact of the Champions League on occupancy of Paris short-term rentals
As of today, 27th April, we can see below the occupancy pacing for 28th May – the night of the final. Last year, the same night in Paris was 28% occupied at this stage. However, looking at this year, we can see that short-term rentals in Paris are already 88% occupied over one month out.
This exceeds even the total achieved occupancy last year – 64%. The marked difference in pacing puts supply on track to hit maximum occupancy ahead of the weekend this year.
We can see the huge impact to demand and occupancy as a result of the Champions League final match, but how have short-term rental property managers in Paris reacted?
Impact of the Champions League on pricing of Paris short-term rentals
With demand so high, and occupancy pacing towards maximum, property managers in Paris have boosted their rates around 75% for the Champions League final weekend.
With a peak the night before of 664€ for average nightly rate, pricing of Paris short-term rentals is well in excess of surrounding weekends. Rates have also climbed alongside pacing by over 100€ since last week (520€).
Paris hotel prices for Champions League final
Since our acquisition by OTA Insight, we are able to access their hotel pricing data to further inform our picture of hospitality markets as a whole. This is evermore relevant, and hotel and short-term rental sectors continue to converge.
This chart shows the Champions League final weekend in the orange circle. Average nightly rate for a hotel on 27th May is currently peaking at 251€. Meanwhile, the 28th May itself is sitting at 245€ – an increase of 4% week on week.
While the above rates for short-term rentals are much higher, they are of course varied in size and provision. Once we filter down those rates to one bedroom vacation rentals, we see a comparable ADR of 292€ for 28th. Understandably, we see more volatile pricing in the part local host/part professional manager short-term rental sector.
Impact of the 2022 Champions League final on Paris short-term rentals
Overall, the above data demonstrates the extent of the impact of one-off events of this kind of scale. Furthermore, it shows how reactive short-term rental property managers must be with their strategy, and the importance of awareness around the events calendar in your market.
With Paris occupancy currently around triple that of the same weekend last year, hosts have pushed their prices up 75% to capitilise on demand for last remaining availability. It pays to also understand how hotels in your competitive set are pitching their availability, as consumer choice is not simply limited to rentals.
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