2022-11-14 GC Agenda - Item 4 - Attachment 1 - Short Term Accommodation Monitoring Report 2022

3.4.2 Occupancy and revenue AirDnA data
AirDnA were commissioned to provide data for the proposed Destination Management Plan
on the tourist accommodation market. Whilst the AirDnA data is limited to properties listed on
AirBnB and Stayz, it is still considered a good representation of occupancy across all short
term accommodation properties.
It should be noted that changes (reduction) in supply and demand from listings on AirBnB and
Stayz over the last 2 years are due to Covid-19 and to a lesser extent in the last 6 months may
be a result of Council’s new Short Stay Letting and Home Hosted Accommodation Local Law
which requires a local management framework and so properties many now be listed with a
local property management agency instead of AirBnB.
The increase in dwellings being used for short term accommodation suggests this, as there
was an increase in properties identified for short term letting from April 2020 to September
2022 as discussed in section 3.4.1 above, however this doesn’t seem to be reflected in the
AirDnA data.
The data is summarised below.


Occupancy – Supply & Demand
Much of the occupancy data is reflected in supply and demand. Supply is the number of nights
available and demand is the number of nights booked on the AirBnB and Stayz booking
platforms.
Historical data extracted by AirDnA from AirBnB and Stayz listings dating back to January
2016 clearly shows the change in supply and use of dwellings for short term accommodation
in Noosa Shire and the emergence of the online booking platforms. In January 2016, there
was just 45 supply nights recorded, dramatically increasing to 21,155 by January 2017 to an
all time peak of 56,315 supply nights in December 2019, just before the onset of Covid-19.
Supply nights have historically varied with the highest recorded around Christmas and Easter
and lowest generally recorded in February and June of each year.
Interestingly, December 2021 saw peak supply nights similar to the pre Covid-19 highs.
Supply nights may also vary when owners use their property and block periods from the listing
page.
For example, in June 2020 there were 46,686 supply nights and in December the same year
there were 60,062 supply nights. The difference of 13,376 when divided by 31 days of
December = 431 listings extra per day. This is not unusual as additional properties are often
made available during the Christmas peak. Many permanent tenancies end prior to this period
and residents vacate their homes for short stay letting.
During the July 2020-July 2021 reporting year, occupancy was quite stagnant with the trendline
showing a very slight increase. The first half of the reporting period the average was 56.3%
across Noosa Shire, slowing in the second half with the average occupancy rate for the year
being 54.7%.
The first few months during the July 2021-July 2022 reporting year had a lower occupancy
rate, averaging 49.4% pre-January across Noosa Shire. After January the rate increased
measurably to 63.5% as southern COVID cases and travel concerns eased. The year ending
July 2022 average was 57.5% with a strong upward trend.
The gap between supply and demand was smallest across Noosa Shire in July 2022 at 74%
and September 2022 occupancy of 84%, both periods coincided with school holidays and
September additionally included the Queen’s memorial public holiday and October long
weekend. The lowest occupancy was during a lockdown period in August 2021 and travel
limitations imposed in QLD at 40%.


                                                                                       pg. 120
Noosa Council Monitoring Report 2022/23