Holiday homes booked solid as short-stay rentals are snapped up

Short-stay rental owners are finally set to get the income they’ve been waiting all year for, with holiday homes booked solid across the Christmas break in many of Australia’s favourite destinations.

During COVID-19-related lockdowns, short-stay accommodation suffered a massive downturn as Australians were told to stay home and international and state borders were slammed closed.

From the Gold Coast to the Great Ocean Road, short-stay and holiday rentals sat empty, with some owners switching their properties over to the long-term rental market just to get some cash in the bank.

But since restrictions have eased, more recently there’s been a swell of holidaymakers desperate to book themselves a getaway over the summer – and that last-minute rush has left few affordable options for families wanting a Christmas break.

On the southern end of the Gold Coast, homes in areas like Coolangatta are completely booked solid for the remainder of December and January as people flock to be close to the beach.

There were similar booking levels for Tweed Heads and Kingscliff on NSW’s north coast.

“We’re booked solid and there are now just a few people filling in some of the gaps [in nearby suburbs],” Gold Coast Holiday Homes portfolio manager Courtney Hartley said. 

More expensive homes and apartments had been booked for a short stay over Christmas, as well as those offering more budget accommodation, she said.

“Everything is pretty much booked at either end of the scale,” Ms Hartley said. “We’ve had lots of inquiries from Victorians [since the borders opened] but most of our guests are coming from Brisbane or Queensland.”

The popularity of bookings can be seen on short-stay rental websites like Airbnb, where searches for properties along the Gold Coast are up by 140 per cent compared to average over the past six months. 

The only rentals now available are charging rates anywhere from $8000 up to $74,000 for an average-sized family wanting to stay for 10 days over Christmas.

While the Gold Coast has seen a boom in bookings, popular coastal areas closer to Sydney and Melbourne are also reporting having few, if any, short-stay rentals available.

Holidaymakers were mostly looking to take a break in their own state to be closer to home should another wave of COVID-19 hit, agents said.

Along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, the popular beachside suburbs including Torquay and Jan Juc have been extremely popular with holidaymakers from across the state.

Surf Coast Holiday Rentals accommodation consultant India Moran said there had been a number of bookings through December and January.

“We’re fully booked, which never usually happens at this time of year,” Ms Moran said. “We’ve mainly seen Victorians booking. There have been some interstate inquiries but they are more cautious [because of coronavirus].”

Airbnb reveals that searches for holiday homes in Torquay are up 250 per cent compared to average searches over the past six months, with the few available homes charging between $2000 and $14,000 for a 10-day break.

While holiday homes and apartments are being fully booked, those looking for the ultimate affordable holiday may want to try a caravan or holiday park rental, where there’s still some availability over Christmas. 

Caravan Industry Association of Australia communications manager Keelan Howard said the most popular places in recent weeks for those in an RV or caravan had also been along the north and south coasts of NSW, Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.

“Locations which are within four hours from major metropolitan cities have been extremely popular with this radiating out as occupancy fills,” Mr Howard said.

Like holiday homes, many on vacation were planning to stay in their own state, he said.

“As COVID lockdowns and borders ease, Australians are cautious in their holiday options, in many cases choosing to stay close to home or within their own state for fear of being stranded should the worst case happen,” Mr Howard said.

Those looking to really get away from it all could try some of the parks which are further away from cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane where accommodation was still available. That includes the Northern Territory and even Tasmania.

“While some businesses have seen record demand, others are still waiting for the recovery to extend across the country – particularly those destinations further from metro cities which are less easily accessible or which are out of their ideal visiting season,” he said.