The vacation rental industry looks set to continue capitalizing on trends established during the pandemic, most importantly perhaps to be part of the consideration from the get-go alongside hotels.

There have been speculations on social media that Expedia Group will announce the discontinuation of vacation rental bookings on Expedia.com during its fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday. However, this will not occur as it would be detrimental to the company's success.

Finding their special recipe for success is one of the major challenges facing real estate investors around the nation. Often, the choice is between the quick cash of a fix-and-flip and the investor's willingness to assume a landlord-type position for long-term rents. However, as the sector becomes more educated, investors gain knowledge about diverse real estate investing niches and pathways to success. Short-term vacation rental investing is one of those options. This kind of property has a lot of possibilities to expand your portfolio and really make the asset perform for you. Everyone loves the phrase "vacation," and it is a great time of year, especially for families.

At the beginning of the summer, the smaller U.S. businesses in the short-term rental sector—those that prioritize growth over profits—are seeing some challenges. According to Melanie Brown, director of analytics at Key Data Dashboard, which tracks vacation rental data, occupancy rates in the U.S. for the third quarter are currently at 39 percent, down from 45 percent during the same period in a standout 2021. Fuel prices caused are you kidding me moments at the gas pump. Despite a sharp decline in third quarter occupancy compared to last year, it is still four percent higher than in pre-pandemic 2019, according to the spokesperson.

The new rules for short-term rentals take effect on Friday, July 29, following several months of heated discussion, anxiety, and controversy in the Aspen community. The Aspen City Council unanimously approved Ordinance 9 last month, which offers operators of short-term rental units more teeth in terms of enforcement. Prior to Dec. 8, when council put a moratorium on issuing new ones until Oct. 1, all active short-term permits were subject to additional regulations that, if broken, may result in revocation.

The vacation rental business was already flourishing before the outbreak, but interest has exploded in the last year. According to Grand View Research, the global vacation rental market is estimated to reach $113.9 billion by 2027. Vrbo's president, Jeff Hurst, told CNN Business in March that the company, which was launched in 1995 as Vacation Rentals By Owner, was experiencing the most successful start to a year in the US in 25 years.

People may now split their time more easily thanks to low interest rates, pandemic-era savings, and the hybrid-work revolution.

Expedia Group's adjusted profits in the third quarter approached pre-Covid 2019 levels, thanks to its Vrbo unit's "excellent performance" and the strength of domestic travel.

The summer of 2021 was possibly the most profitable in the history of many vacation rental owners and managers in the United States. Despite the fact that summer 2020's performance varied widely by destination—luxury, drive-to leisure markets thrived while metropolitan regions struggled—summer 2021 saw growth in almost every US destination.

Now is the time to reassess the state of the residential rental market and discuss current and future trends influenced by the epidemic. All actors in the rental market, from property managers and investors to landlords and real estate agents, would benefit from these insights.

According to STR statistics, short-term rental costs have climbed by 25% across the state since March 2020, outpacing Florida, Arizona, and California. In Denver, a one-bedroom apartment rents for roughly $1,100 per month, while a three-bedroom single-family home rents for well over $2,000 per month.

Housing prices have also risen dramatically, making it more difficult for first-time investors to enter the market than in prior years. Even with high house costs, there are still methods to make a high ROI by working with a discount real estate broker and taking advantage of the current ultra-low loan rates.

The treatment of rental property expenses is determined by whether or not the taxpayer utilized the property as a primary residence during the year. According to the IRS, a vacation rental property is deemed a taxpayer's home if they utilized it as a home for personal reasons for more than 14 days throughout the year OR 10% of the total number of days it was rented at fair value. Allowing relatives and friends to utilize it and/or donating the use of the home for charity reasons both count as personal use. Personal use does not include days spent largely on repairs and maintenance.

If you do your research and buy in a region that is likely to attract a constant stream of guests, vacation rentals can be a lucrative source of income.