U.S. short-term rental RevPAR rose 4.5% in June 2026

On July 17, 2026, AirDNA reported that short-term rental revenue per available rental in the United States rose 4.5% year over year in June 2026 to $200.19, driven primarily by strong pricing in cities hosting the World Cup. The gains occurred even as broader economic indicators showed a slowing labor market and persistent inflation.

The average daily rate for short-term rentals rose 4.6% compared to June 2025, reaching $310.64. Meanwhile, occupancy remained nearly flat, falling just 0.1% year over year to average 64.4% for the month.

What the data shows

According to the report published by AirDNA, the U.S. short-term rental market maintained a steady performance through the first half of 2026. Total available listings reached 1.79 million in June 2026, representing a 1.7% increase compared to June 2025. Realized demand nights grew by 1.9% year over year, which marked the fastest pace of demand growth since October 2025. Total nights booked during the month also rose 2.5% compared to the same period in 2025.

Pricing metrics showed significant strength. While the average daily rate climbed 4.6% to $310.64, the Repeat Rent Index, which measures pricing changes among existing operators by removing the effect of mix shift, rose even faster at 6.8% year over year. This difference highlighted the pricing power of established hosts compared to new market entrants.

Performance varied widely across different location types. Urban markets, despite hosting World Cup matches, were the only location category to record lower demand than the previous year, with a decline of 0.4% in June 2026. Conversely, small city and rural markets experienced the strongest demand growth, with demand nights increasing 6.7% and occupancy rising 0.9% year over year. Mountain and lake resorts posted a modest occupancy gain of 0.3% as available listings in those areas declined by 0.3%. In mid-sized cities, occupancy remained broadly unchanged.

Rate growth also showed distinct geographic patterns. Large City Urban locations recorded an 11.9% increase in average daily rates, while Suburban locations saw rates rise 5.4%. Mountain and lake destinations experienced a significant mix shift, recording an 11.0% increase in the Repeat Rent Index but only a 2.0% increase in overall average daily rates.

How it was measured

The performance metrics were compiled and analyzed by AirDNA, a short-term rental data and analytics provider. The report, authored by Bram Gallagher, the company's Director of Economics and Forecasting, was published on July 17, 2026. The data reflects short-term rental activity in the United States during the month of June 2026, comparing performance directly with June 2025 and earlier periods.

AirDNA tracks short-term rental performance by aggregating listing and booking data from major online travel agencies, including Airbnb and Vrbo. The Repeat Rent Index is a proprietary metric designed to eliminate the influence of mix shift—such as changes in the proportion of larger, more expensive properties versus smaller ones—by tracking pricing changes specifically among existing operators with an established history of reviews. The source did not publish further specific details of its proprietary calculation methods or the exact size of the listing sample beyond the 1.79 million available listings reported.

Factors influencing performance

Several macroeconomic and localized factors influenced U.S. short-term rental performance in June 2026. On a national level, the labor market showed signs of cooling. The United States added 57,000 jobs in June 2026, which was well below the revised total of 129,000 jobs added in May 2026. Although the national unemployment rate edged down from 4.3% to 4.2%, the labor force participation rate fell to 61.5%, its lowest level since the pandemic and, before that, 1976.

At the same time, inflation continued to accelerate. The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index rose 4.1% year over year in May 2026, up from 3.8% in April 2026. Excluding food and energy, core PCE increased 3.4% in May 2026, up from 3.3% in April 2026, remaining well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

Higher mortgage rates also played a significant role in limiting supply growth. After briefly dipping below 6% in February 2026, mortgage rates climbed in response to the shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. Although rates eased slightly in June 2026, they remained high at 6.43% as of July 2, 2026. This kept borrowing expensive and housing transactions subdued, causing available listing growth to slow to 1.7% in June 2026—the first time listing growth fell below 2% since the pandemic.

AirDNA identified a strong negative correlation between mortgage rates and new listing growth on a six-month lag. Across the period from January 2021 to June 2026, the correlation was -0.68, strengthening to -0.93 since June 2022. The slow listing growth in June 2026 was identified as a delayed response to the decline in mortgage rates from 6.82% in June 2025 to 6.05% in February 2026. Since February 2026, rates climbed back to 6.49%, which was expected to continue weighing on listing growth through the remainder of 2026.

On a local level, major events and calendar shifts heavily influenced demand and pricing. The World Cup matches held in various U.S. host cities drove significant pricing gains. Additionally, a calendar shift for the Labor Day holiday gave September 2026 pacing an early boost. In 2025, the holiday weekend fell between August 29 and August 31, but in 2026, the holiday shifted six days later, moving the entire weekend into September. Furthermore, the start of the college football season drove significant demand pacing in collegiate markets.

Market segments and participants affected

The trends in June 2026 affected various segments of the short-term rental ecosystem differently. Existing operators with established histories benefited significantly from their pricing power. This was demonstrated by the Repeat Rent Index rising 6.8% year over year, outperforming the overall average daily rate growth of 4.6%. New hosts, by contrast, entered the market at lower price points, which pulled the overall average daily rate down relative to established listings.

Hosts in World Cup host cities capitalized on the international tournament, enjoying substantial rate increases. The top nine markets for average daily rate growth in June 2026 were all host cities, and none of the host markets recorded declining rates during the month.

Conversely, hosts in certain seasonal destinations faced challenges. The largest declines in average daily rates occurred in Breckenridge and Big Bear, two ski destinations that were still recovering from a severe snow drought earlier in 2026.

In the collegiate market, hosts in college football towns saw massive spikes in demand pacing for early September 2026. For example, Alabama's home opener against East Carolina on September 5, 2026, drove more than seven times the demand seen over the previous year's Labor Day weekend in Tuscaloosa, resulting in a demand pacing increase of 638%. Other college towns also saw dramatic increases in demand pacing for the weekend of September 4-6, 2026, compared to August 29-31, 2025:

• Baton Rouge demand pacing rose 466% ahead of LSU's matchup against Clemson.
• Green Bay demand pacing rose 240% ahead of Wisconsin's game against Notre Dame.
• South Bend demand pacing rose 89%.
• State College demand pacing rose 47%.
• Eugene demand pacing rose 43%.
• Birmingham demand pacing rose 43%.
• Baltimore demand pacing rose 43%.
• El Paso demand pacing rose 42%.
• Bloomington demand pacing rose 39%.

What the metrics did not reveal

While the June 2026 performance metrics provided a detailed overview of the U.S. short-term rental market, several key details remained undisclosed. The report did not provide a platform-specific breakdown of performance, leaving it unclear how individual channels like Airbnb, Vrbo, or Booking.com performed relative to one another.

Additionally, the data did not reflect individual host profitability. While average daily rates and RevPAR rose, the report did not account for rising operational costs, local lodging taxes, platform service fees, or insurance premiums, which could offset revenue gains for hosts.

The metrics also did not specify the exact volume of listings that were deactivated or converted to long-term rentals during the month, showing only the net change in available listings.

Finally, the demand pacing figures for September 2026 represented forward-looking reservations at a specific point in time and did not guarantee realized stays, as these bookings remained subject to cancellations or changes before the travel dates occurred.

What to take from it

For short-term rental operators and investors, the June 2026 performance metrics highlight several critical practices for managing portfolio performance and setting realistic expectations:

• Compare your property's average daily rate growth against both the overall market ADR and the Repeat Rent Index to determine if your pricing power matches that of established local operators.
• Adjust your booking pacing comparisons for calendar anomalies, particularly holiday shifts like Labor Day, to avoid misinterpreting temporary timing differences as genuine demand shifts.
• Monitor local mortgage rates on a six-month lag to anticipate changes in supply growth within your market, as higher borrowing costs historically suppress new listing competition.
• Differentiate between temporary event-driven pricing spikes, such as those from the World Cup or college football games, and baseline market demand when forecasting annual revenues.