Hostaway, the global vacation rental property management software, has released its annual 2024 STR Market Report, revealing a fundamental shift in priorities and concerns among property managers worldwide.
The data shows that property managers’ primary headache throughout 2024 was no longer technology or software – formerly the leading source of frustration – but rather the complexities of growth and scaling.
This operational struggle now tops the list of challenges for property managers, pushing technology down to sixth place. Cleaning and maintenance were cited as the second biggest challenge.
The findings also highlighted a surge in climate-related concerns. While extreme weather – hurricanes, heat, and rainfall – barely registered in the previous year, it now emerges as a major concern, mentioned 24 times more this year than last, representing 8% of managers surveyed.
This surge in climate anxiety reflects an industry recognizing that environmental shifts aren’t one-off disruptions, but enduring factors that affect everything from property upkeep to pricing strategies.
In contrast, economic volatility, which ranked fifth in last year’s report, failed to even crack the top eight this year – an indication that while macroeconomic factors still linger in the background, they have been overshadowed by more immediate and tangible threats to property managers’ day-to-day operations.
The report further revealed that adoption of artificial intelligence and dynamic pricing tools has soared alongside these evolving challenges.
More than half of surveyed operators now rely on AI for daily decision-making, and tactics like dynamic pricing and upselling have surged in popularity, growing nearly 45% over the previous year.
Marcus Rader, CEO and founder of Hostaway, said: “Our latest findings show that the conversation has moved far beyond the fundamental challenges of integrating technology. Property managers are now grappling with a set of priorities that feel more immediate, more interconnected, and more influenced by forces outside their control than ever before.
“Growth and scaling no longer mean simply adding more properties to a portfolio, they mean building businesses that can adapt to sudden shifts in climate and guest expectations.
“At the same time, we see economic worries fading into the background, suggesting that while broad market trends still matter, operators are more concerned with practical, on-the-ground realities than abstract fiscal forecasts,” he said.
“It is the dramatic rise in climate-related concerns that truly stands out. This isn’t a story of one-off disasters; it is a recognition that weather patterns are shifting in ways that affect maintenance schedules, insurance, pricing strategies, and even how managers communicate with guests.
“The industry is acknowledging that resilience to environmental change is not a nice-to-have, but a foundational pillar of sustainable growth.”
The 2024 Short Term Rental Report by Hostaway surveyed over 300 professional property managers across 51 countries.
