The U.S. Midwest, Ryokans and Brazilian Beaches: Airbnb’s 2018 Travel Trends

With 2017 drawing to a close, we’re looking ahead to what adventures await in the new year. Based on booking data for the first half of 2018, we’re forecasting the biggest year yet for Airbnb with more homes, Experiences and intriguing destinations to explore.
Our travel forecast includes more nature retreats, beach time and cozy live shows for Airbnb guests.
- Trending destinations include booming U.S. Midwestern cities (Indianapolis, IN), the Brazilian coastline (Matinhos, Brazil), mountain retreats (Fernie, BC) and bustling beach towns (Bournemouth, UK)
- Guests are booking more non-traditional homes, with nature lodges (700% growth), ryokans (600%) and yurts (155%) seeing the most growth
- Food Experiences are most popular, with 29% of bookings in the food and drink category, but music-related Experiences are expected to gain

Most Popular Cities*
Cities like Paris, New York and London are mainstays on the list of most-booked cities. And, smaller, popular vacation spots like Lisbon and Miami have also made their way onto the list of most-booked global cities for Airbnb travelers.
- Tokyo
- Paris
- Osaka
- New York City
- London
- Rome
- Orlando
- Miami
- Sydney
- Lisbon
*Booking data refers to market areas for each destination, not restricted to city limits
Trending Homes
Beyond the standard urban apartment, non-traditional homes are seeing the largest increases over last year. Nature lodges and ryokans, traditional Japanese inns, are surging the most in bookings, showing that travelers are increasingly drawn to homes that are rustic and unique, rather than simply comfortable.
- Nature lodge – 700%
- Ryokan – 600%
- Yurt – 155%
- RV/camper van – 133%
Trending Destination Highlights
Indicative of the excitement for the 2018 Winter Games, Gangneung, Korea tops the list of trending destinations based on booking increases over last year. By analyzing destinations that have doubled, tripled or more in bookings compared to 2017, we’ve noticed a few trends across our trending destinations:
Trending Destinations
- Gangneung, Korea – 2175%
- Bournemouth, UK – 353%
- Edmonton, Canada – 284%
- Indianapolis, IN – 256%
- Da Nang, Vietnam – 255%
- Columbus, OH – 254%
- Gazimagusa, Cyprus – 234%
- Bilbao, Spain – 234%
- Hanoi, Vietnam – 212%
- Matinhos, Brazil – 209%
- Cardiff, UK – 206%
- Guarapari, Brazil – 205%
- Minneapolis, MN – 193%
- Oita, Japan – 190%
- Dunedin, New Zealand – 185%
- Mar del Plata, Argentina – 181%
- Fernie, Canada – 179%
- Zagreb, Croatia – 175%
- Mykonos, Greece – 173%
- Mazatlan, Mexico – 169%
Most Popular Experiences
Food and drink remains our most popular Experiences category, accounting for 29% of total Experience bookings. Local culinary workshops, craft food and cocktail tastings, and home-cooked dinners are the biggest draw for Experience guests, but nature (9%) and music (9%) are driving some of the popular Experiences by bookings in 2018. We’re predicting that demand for both under the radar outdoor excursions and live concerts will grow into next year.
- Lisbon’s Best Flavors (Lisbon)
- Secret Concert in a Treehouse! (London)
- Raise a Glass to Prohibition (New York)
- Brixton Hidden Jazz Club (London)
- Hollywood Sign Walk to the Top (Los Angeles)