TORONTO — CanadaStays, Canada’s largest vacation-rental marketplace, has released its 2018 Canadian Vacation Rental Year in Review, highlighting the year’s booking trends and continuing growth in demand for vacation rentals across the country.
The number of trips taken on the platform increased 52 per cent last year, equating to more than $40 million in bookings and more than 25,000 families checking into vacation rentals in 2018.
Major cities and ski areas dominated the most-booked list in terms of booking volume, but 2018’s most-booked destinations also included a few newcomers: Wasaga Beach, Ont. and Halifax, N.S.
Most-booked destinations for 2018 include:
- Whistler, B.C.
- Toronto
- Vancouver
- Montreal
- Victoria
- Blue Mountain, Ont.
- Calgary
- Kelowna, B.C.
- Canmore, Alta.
- Mont Tremblant, Que.
- Gravenhurst, Ont.
- Niagara Falls, Ont.
- Wasaga Beach, Ont.
- Prince Edward County, Ont.
- Halifax, N.S.
In terms of value, 2018 trends showed May and September, the typical summer shoulder months, offered the best nightly rates. In comparison, average nightly rates in December were almost 50-per-cent higher than average, followed by the winter months, with rates reflecting high demand in popular ski destinations across the country. Summer months accounted for 54 per cent of all bookings, with August being the peak month, making up 22 per cent of bookings.
While the majority of demand on CanadaStays came from Canada and the U.S., 2018 website trends also showed growing international visits, with increased demand from Germany, Mexico, India and France.
