Short-term rentals (STRs) across Europe saw unprecedented demand in June and July, but August achieved a new record of 53.7m demand nights, the most nights stayed in one month on record, according to AirDNA.

Last year, supply reached its peak in July, but this year, riding the momentum of demand, hosts continued to add new listings in August. Available listings increased 12.9% year over year (y-o-y) in August, a sizable jump up from the 7.4% y-o-y listing growth seen in July.

For the first time this year in Europe, supply growth exceeded demand growth, with 7.7% more nights stayed than last August, pushing occupancy down 4.3% y-o-y — more or less on par with the US.

Occupancy dips led to less pricing power for hosts, and August average daily rate (ADR) (+14.7% y-o-y) and RevPAR (+9.8% y-o-y) growth was more modest than July ADR (+16.9% y-o-y) and RevPAR (+18.3% y-o-y) growth.

Despite the strong growth, available listings in August actually fell short of 2019 levels by 0.7%. The European continent may have set a historic record for demand, but there were 22,000 fewer available listings last month than in August 2019. New STR regulations that have come into play since 2019 could explain why supply has struggled to rebound even as demand skyrocketed this summer, according to the report.