CHICAGO, IL, 21 October 2026 — New research from revenue management software provider PriceLabs reveals just how fluid the line between hotels and short-term rentals has become for travelers. Eight in 10 guests who stayed at a B&B, inn or small hotel would consider a short-term rental instead if the price was right.
PriceLabs surveyed over 1,000 travelers across the US, UK, France, Spain and Portugal for its new report, Who Do Independent Hotels Really Compete With?. The survey found that 82% of guests who booked a B&B, inn or small hotel in the past year would have considered a short-term rental at the same price or slightly lower. Almost half (48%) would switch at exactly the same price, while just 18% ruled out a short-term rental altogether.
Independent hotels feel the competition most
Independent hotels face short-term rental competition nearly twice as often as larger chains. Among travelers who booked a B&B, inn or small hotel, 30% also considered a short-term rental for the same trip, compared with 16% of guests who stayed at a large hotel.
The overlap is particularly pronounced for some of the trips independent hotels commonly cater to. Guests weighed both categories on 30% of blended work-and-leisure trips and 25% of stays lasting one to two weeks.
Comparison is set to grow
Booking platforms can also influence the decision. Guests searching on Booking.com, which lists hotels and short-term rentals side by side, compared the two categories 45% of the time, compared with 29% among guests booking directly with a property. With Airbnb now listing hotels alongside its short-term rental inventory, there’s a clear opportunity for hoteliers to take advantage of the increased visibility among an audience more open to switching between categories.
Hotel and short-term rental prices are already moving together
While guests say price is the biggest factor, PriceLabs data shows that rates are increasingly convergent across hotels and rentals. PriceLabs compared daily median rates for hotels and short-term rentals in Mallorca and Barcelona over a 12-month period, finding that the two categories move in near lockstep, with correlations of 94% and 84%, respectively. Rates rise and ease together through the year, and spike together around peak dates such as New Year.
That makes the competitive overlap particularly significant. Nearly half (48%) of guests said they would switch at a the same price, while the pricing analysis shows they are often choosing between accommodation types whose rates are already moving in the same direction.
Anurag Verma, Co-Founder of PriceLabs, said: “For a long time, hotels and short-term rentals were treated as separate markets serving different groups of guests. Our research shows that many travelers stopped making that distinction some time ago.
“For independent hoteliers, your competitive set extends far beyond the hotel down the street. Guests are pricing your stay against the short-term rental market too, whether you are tracking it or not.
“Travelers and OTAs alike are increasingly seeing these two accommodation types as substitutes for each other. As this phenomenon grows, it is essential for hoteliers and property hosts alike to have tools like PriceLabs that understand both markets and help operators make informed decisions.”
The full report is available here.
About PriceLabs
PriceLabs is a revenue management platform purpose-built for small and independent hotels, B&Bs, inns, and aparthotels. Its daily rate recommendations combine each property’s own performance with market data from both nearby hotels and short-term rentals, giving hoteliers a view of every competitor for their guests, not just the obvious ones. Every rate is explained, and hoteliers set the rules and guardrails that PriceLabs works within. Drawing on more than a decade of pricing experience across 150+ countries, PriceLabs now prices over 35,000 hotel rooms every day, supported by 24/7 help in eight languages. Learn more at hotels.pricelabs.co.
