Check-In to the Trend: More Guests Seeking Regal Retreats

For the first time ever, Highclere Castle – the home of Downton Abbey – opened its doors to two guests for one night, and more travelers have been seeking ways to bring their fairytales to life by staying in castles on Airbnb. In fact, in the last year alone, Airbnb guests have searched for castle stays more than 21 million times1

Whether it’s a former presbytery in France – the country with the most castles on Airbnb2 – or a haveli in India, there are more than 4,900 castles for regal adventurers to discover on Airbnb3:

1,693

castles available in France, the most of any country2

290

castles from the 1700s, the most from any century4

2,199

"mini" castles available, with just one bedroom5

To see what has driven more than 130,000 guests to book royal abodes over the last year, I traveled to Warwickshire, England to visit Bob and Sarah’s historic Eastgate castle, dating back a millennium6. Travelers can explore their space along with this sampling of majestic stays around the world below:

Old Presbytery - 17th Century - Langoiran, France
Royal Heritage Residency - Jaisalmer, India
Holiday Cottage inside a Castle - Castellterçol, Spain
Cozy Storybook Castle - Ellington, CT
Bishops Palace Ballarat - Lake Wendouree, Australia
1/5

Stay tuned for next month’s Check-In to the Trend.

1Based on Airbnb internal data of guest searches of the castle listing type from September 2018 to September 2019.

2Based on Airbnb internal data of countries with the most castle listing types as of September 2019.

3Based on Airbnb internal data of total number of castle listings as of September 2019.

4Based on Airbnb internal data of keyword searches (18th century, XVIII, 1700s, etc.) of castle listing descriptions.

5Based on Airbnb internal data of number of bedrooms in castle listings. 

6Based on Airbnb internal data of number of guest arrivals to castle listing types from September 2018 to September 2019.