Airbnb Sees Major Increase in Travelers Looking for a Quiet, Nature-filled Labor Day Weekend

Vacationing at a social distance is still a priority as Airbnb travelers are heading to more remote locations, less than 300 miles away from home.

By

Alison Fox

Published on September 2, 2020

Travelers heading on a vacation this Labor Day weekend are opting for remote, secluded destinations while still remaining close to home, new data from Airbnb shows.

Reflective of how COVID-19 has changed travelers' priorities and preferences, 30 percent of users have booked rentals in remote areas, a stat that's nearly double what it was this time last year.

Popular locations this year include Hilton Head, S.C., Big Bear Lake, Calif., Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and Scranton, Pa.

But for Airbnb users it isn’t enough to just get away from a congested city or small living space, they want quiet accommodations as well.

The company found that interest in cabins more than doubled compared to Labor Day 2019 and unique homes have also seen an uptick with searches for barns up 60 percent. Searches for cottages also went up 30 percent.

However, while Airbnb users are gravitating toward quiet locales, the company found that cities are starting to rebound in popularity around the world.

Bookings in high-density cities (with a population of more than 2,000 people per square kilometer) made up about 20 percent of Labor Day Weekend trips this year. Down from 2019 when they made up 40 percent of bookings — due to how vacationers were looking for destinations made for social distancing — Airbnb said interest in big cities has begun to increase again.

In August, searches in big cities accounted for about a third of all bookings in Europe. That was up from May when they accounted for only a quarter of bookings.

No matter if travelers are looking for the beach, the country, or a city, one trend has remained constant this year: vacationers are sticking close to home, and often within 300 miles, according to Airbnb.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she’s not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.

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