According to PriceLabs, a platform specialized in price management, vacation rentals managed by Host Wise in Porto had an occupancy rate of 83.78% this summer, representing an increase of 6.3 percentage points compared to the city’s total vacation rental market. These numbers also represent an increase compared to last year, when this rate was 75.93%.
Monthly occupancy data from Host Wise in Porto vs Mercado, according to PriceLabs
Host Wise monthly occupancy data in Porto in 2024 vs 2023
Based on the monthly analysis using reliable market data, there was a drop in occupancy in the city, with emphasis on June, with a difference of 1.68 percentage points less than last year. This drop in June is explained “by the concentration of international events that took place during this period, such as the UEFA European Football Championship and Copa América, as well as the active and aggressive promotion of destinations in Southern Europe and the Balkans, such as Albania and Montenegro, which attracted part of the public target city to other destinations,” explains Renato Chainho, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Host Wise.
Weekly occupancy data in Porto according to PriceLabs
“Despite an initial slowdown in June and July, this summer Host Wise achieved an occupancy rate higher than the previous year due to the strategy adopted to capture reservations in advance and promotion aimed at business travelers. We project a market slowdown as a result of international events, which is why we chose to define a more conservative and safer pricing strategy when compared to the period of 2023”, explains the company manager.
Foreign tourists dominate the total number of reservations in local accommodations managed by Host Wise, with the Portuguese market having a weight of 12.49%, placing national tourists as the third market with the most reservations made. The first place on the podium belongs to residents of France (23.98%), with Spain occupying the next place (16.88%). In evolutionary terms, the highlight is the growth in attracting North American tourists, with an increase of 27.43% compared to last year.
Price per night rises, average stay remains stable
Despite the city’s occupancy drop, the amount paid per night had the opposite trend. The average price per night went from €113.50 in 2023 to €124.75 this summer, which can be explained by the increase in operating costs associated with an increase in inflation reflected in the prices charged by vacation rental owners.
Porto market day price data in 2024 vs 2023, according to PriceLabs
In properties managed by Host Wise, Belgians pay the most per night (€168.79), followed by the Irish (€160.87) and Norwegians (€152.72).
The data also indicates no variation regarding the duration of the average tourist stay in the city, which stood at three nights, and the average booking period, which was 39 days.
Vision for the Autumn-Winter months
For the coming months, Host Wise predicts a strong month of October in terms of demand, with an occupancy rate of 74.59% in its rentals in Porto. A slowdown follows this in demand for the winter months (November – February). “Following the city’s historical trend and current data, we predict a difficult winter associated with lower demand in the city and with an average occupancy of no more than 50%, except for the New Year’s Eve period, where we predict an occupancy rate above 85%”, explains Diogo Cardoso, the company’s Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).
To counter this slowdown in demand, Diogo Cardosos says that Host Wise “has adopted a strategy of setting prices 5-10% below the market and capturing middle-term reservations from digital nomads and business travelers, which allows us to reduce the risk of non-occupancy. With the adoption of this strategy, we already have the winter months with occupancy above 50%, and we plan to finish the same above 75%”.
According to AirDNA, Host Wise is the vacation rental management company that manages most of Porto’s properties. It also has a strong presence in the Algarve and will reach an annual turnover of over 10 million euros by 2024.