The Greater Orlando, FL vacation rental market perfectly highlights why it’s important to look at multiple levels of data to best understand performance.
Regional Level
Overall, the Greater Orlando market performed very similarly to last year.
2019 Adjusted Paid Occupancy (= guest nights / (total nights - owner stays - holds), nearly matched 2018. The market has peak occupancy rates in March and July.
The region’s Average Daily Rate (ADR) was also similar to last year. ADR peaks in April and July, and this April was $20 higher than last year. Unlike the occupancy rate, ADR is the highest in December, when rates are increased for the holiday season.
Adjusted Revenue per Available Room (= ADR x Adjusted Paid Occupancy) naturally follows a very similar trend to ADR and occupancy, with peaks in the spring and summer. Peak spring occupancy shifted from March to April this year because of a later Easter and spring break.
Neighborhood Level
The trends of the overall market do not reflect the differences between neighborhoods and resorts.
Overall, the Orlando region (orange) experienced only slight shifts in occupancy and ADR versus last year. The performance of the individual submarkets, from which we only included a sample looks much different. For example, Reunion’s occupancy fell by 12% while ADR increased by 21%.
Property Level
Even within a single neighborhood, similarly-sized properties can often perform very differently.
Average daily rates and adjusted paid occupancy rates varied dramatically for four-bedroom homes in Reunion. ADR ranged from $90 to $575 and occupancy ranged from 2% to 59%.
Six-bedroom homes in Championsgate were more tightly clustered for ADR but not for occupancy. Without including a very clear outlier, ADR ranged from $30 to $410 and occupancy from 5% to 81%.
Wrapping Up
So what does all of this tell us? Pricing and revenue management is complicated. It’s made even more complicated by the clear need to look at the performance of markets and portfolios at a region, submarket, and property level. In order to really understand what’s going on in your area, pay attention to the trends and KPIs at all three of these levels.