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It seems like US travelers are hankering for a balmy beach vacation more than anything else this year, and Florida's the place they most want to visit.
Airbnb just released its list of the most-booked destinations for this summer, as reported by Travel + Leisure, and the top four booked through the hosting company’s website were in Florida. Those four were Walton County, Cape San Blas, Mexico Beach and Fort Myers, in that order. Florida also garnered the sixth and ninth places, with Cape Coral and Four Corners.
The fifth most popular destination was Stonington, Connecticut, also a seaside destination but with colder water. The seventh was Forks, Washington, perhaps getting some play from its Twilight connection. It’s known as the rainiest town in the contiguous United States, so maybe these Airbnb searchers are anti-beach — and just as anti-sun as those fictional vampires.
Coming in the eighth position was Big Sur in California, with its dramatic, rugged coastline, and in the 10th spot was Hampton Bays, New York, a commercial fishing port with beaches and a bustling downtown.
Airbnb also discussed other trends in its report. Although half of the summer nights already booked are within three miles of a coast, inland bookings at least 62 miles from a coast have grown more than 40 percent since 2019. People are also tending to stay in smaller population density areas.
Travelers seem to be looking for unique experiences, such as staying in a barn or a treehouse; that area of bookings has grown 80 percent since before the pandemic. In order of appeal, those quirky stays are at tiny houses, barns, domes, and treehouses. The US has the most treehouse stays booked worldwide.
Finally, lobstah lovahs will be pleased to hear that in the worldwide vacation search, Maine was the top and only US destination (and #8 worldwide). Pass the buttah!