Key Takeaways

  • Vacation rental occupancy in Buncombe County reached 67% in July, nearly matching hotels at 70%
  • September vacation rental revenue is pacing 54% ahead of last year, while October is running 67% higher
  • The numbers point to a stronger fall outlook for vacation rentals in this part of Western North Carolina as hotels continue an uneven recovery

Vacation rentals are gaining ground on hotels in one of Western North Carolina’s biggest tourism markets.

In Buncombe County, home to Asheville and the surrounding mountain communities, short-term rental occupancy reached 67 percent in July, while hotels came in only slightly higher at 70%.

The gap gets even more interesting looking ahead to fall.

September vacation rental revenue is pacing 54 percent ahead of last year, while October is running 67 percent higher, according to AirDNA data presented to the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority.

That is a big shift in a region still working through an uneven tourism recovery following Hurricane Helene in September 2024 that devastated many parts of the area.

Explore Asheville President and CEO Vic Isley told the tourism board that July hotel occupancy was down one percentage point from a year earlier and remained 11 points below 2019 levels, according to the local outlet Mountain Xpress.

Vacation rentals moved in the opposite direction.

July occupancy was up three points from a year ago and one point above 2019, while demand climbed 5%.

Hotel demand fell 2 percent over the same period.

Fall bookings are giving vacation rentals an edge

For short-term rental owners, the forward-looking numbers may be the most encouraging part.

September revenue is pacing more than 50 percent ahead of last year, and October is running even stronger.

A dense forest of golden larch trees below jagged grey mountain peaks
A dense forest of golden larch trees below jagged grey mountain peaks (Photo by Federica Galli via Unsplash)

Explore Asheville does not have comparable forward-looking hotel data, so the two lodging types cannot be compared directly for the fall months yet.

Tourism officials also said they do not yet know exactly what is driving the stronger vacation rental pace.

What they do know is that it does not appear to be coming from a sudden jump in new rental supply.

That matters because stronger revenue without a major increase in listings can point to healthier demand, higher rates or a combination of both.

Related: Fall weekend travel getaways are booming as Gen Z travelers look beyond big cities

The contrast becomes clearer when looking at the year as a whole.

Through July, hotel occupancy in Buncombe County averaged 62 percent, four points below last year and nine points below 2019. Hotel demand was down 5%.

Vacation rental occupancy averaged 55 percent through the same period, holding roughly flat with the previous two years and sitting slightly above 2019.

The recovery has not been even across the county either.

Tourism officials described stronger performance around downtown Asheville and the Biltmore area, while other parts of the county continue to lag.

That creates a familiar lesson for short-term rental operators: a strong regional headline does not necessarily mean every neighborhood is performing the same way.

Location still matters.

Vacation rentals, at least for now, appear to be heading into fall with more momentum.

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