September 2024 Holiday Letting Pulse Report

This report dives into the numbers behind the UK holiday let market in September 2024, and what has changed since the school summer holidays came to an end.

Understanding the holiday let industry's performance can help you better understand the market, and offers insights on how current owners can get the most from their investment.

We have analysed key data trends including customer behaviours in September compared to previous months and years. We also cover the best performing locations and property sizes across the month.

For the latest data and insights into the industry, see the most recent Holiday Letting Pulse Report.

Key takeaways

Below are the key findings from our research into the performance of the UK holiday let market in September 2024:

• Customers have started searching more for next years' holidays, and less for last-minute breaks

• 50% of Sykes website searches were seeking holidays in the next 2 months, down from 58% in August

• The % of searches seeking holidays in key periods (such as Christmas, Easter and school holidays) more than trebled from August to September

• The average amount of time between booking date and holiday start was 30% longer than August

Customer Booking Behaviours in September 2024

As the school summer holidays came to an end, it's clear that UK holidaymakers have been inspired to look ahead to their next getaway.

While there are still signs that customers are booking shorter breaks at shorter notice compared to 2023, Sykes website search trends in September showed a slight shift away from last-minute holidays and more towards the key holiday periods in the next 12 months.

See below some stats on how customer trends moved towards looking more into the future:

21% of Sykes website searches performed in September 2024 were looking for a holiday in the same month. This was 9% lower than August

50% of searches were looking for a holiday within the next 2 months. This was 14% lower than August

The % of Sykes website searches looking in key holiday periods (Christmas, New Year, School Half Terms, Easter & Summer 2025) has more than trebled from August to September, and was 6% higher than September 2023

The average number of days between booking and holiday start date in September was 30% longer than August, but 6% shorter year-on-year

The average length of stay in September was 5.6 nights. This is 5% shorter than September 2023, but 6% longer than August 2024

Average owner revenue per arrival was +18% compared to September 2023

The slight drop in demand for last-minute holidays between August and September was to be expected, with the school summer holidays coming to an end and limiting holidaymakers' flexibility.

Instead, quality time away with friends and family has clearly inspired customers to look further ahead to the next big dates in the calendar. Searches for holidays around Christmas, New Year, October and February School Half Terms, Easter and Summer 2025 contributed to 33% of website searches in September, up from 10% in August and 31% in September 2023.

This shift in behaviour has caused a 30% increase in the amount of days between customers booking their holiday and arriving at the property compared to August. Despite this significant jump month-on-month, it was still 6% shorter than last year. This aligns to the vast increase in last-minute bookings that we have seen in the past 12 months.

The best performing regions for holiday lets in September

Cumbria & the Lake District remains in top spot, joined in the top 3 by the Scottish Highlands & Islands and the Cotswolds. The latter climbed the most places of any region mont-on-month, and was the highest earning location for holiday lets in 2023, according to our 2024 Holiday Letting Outlook Report.

The biggest fallers from August were Dorset (-11), East Anglia, North York Moors and Cornwall (-4).

The Cotswolds rose by 8 places, while the England-Scotland border and above also proved popular as Northumberland, Central Scotland and the Highlands and Islands jumped up by 4 places.

The best size for a holiday let in September

Properties with two bedrooms claimed top spot from three-bedroomed holiday lets in September, while the rest of the field stayed the same.

Interestingly, holiday homes with 5+ bedrooms earned more bookings per property than any other size, with 4 bedrooms earning the second-most. In August, 1 and 2-bedroomed properties earned the most bookings per property.

Previous Holiday Letting Pulse Reports

August 2024

Methodology

• The 'ranked' charts are calculated using Sykes' internal data. It takes into account; net occupancy rate (of the time a property is available to be booked, the percentage that is occupied by guests), total number of bookings, average bookings per property and average value per booking.

• 'Booking value' refers to the amount that a property is booked for, prior to any deductions/expenses etc.