In this week's episode, Jamie sits down with Paralee Walls, co-host at STR Data Lab and VP of Marketing for AirDNA. Before diving into the August data, Paralee unpacks her Oktoberfest experience in Munich, which Jamie reveals saw a 30% surge in demand and a 20% increase in ADRs compared to last year.

Although August sits squarely in the peak of summer travel, demand didn't sizzle as much as in July. We witnessed another month of declines: RevPAR dipped by 4%, and occupancy fell by 4.2%, reaching 60.4%. This marks the first time since July 2020 that we've dipped below past occupancy levels. However, Jamie notes that external factors, like the Maui fires and the hurricane in Florida, caused some travelers to adjust their plans, potentially skewing the data. Excluding those areas, we're still ahead of 2019 figures. Nevertheless, growth rates are showing signs of slowing—from 9.5% in July to 9% in August, when Maui and Florida are left out of the equation.

Despite these trends, Jamie points out that there is no significant decline in fall bookings. On the international front, demand remains strong, but inbound U.S. travel seems to be tapering off, likely influenced by the U.S. dollar and metro-area regulations. While New York has seen a 77% drop in short-term listings due to new regulations, the city has experienced a 58% uptick in long-term stays, indicating that properties aren't going off the market.