The 1,250 rentals available in Blue Ridge, Morganton and Mineral Bluff will be at nearly maximum capacity this Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.
As of November 21, the rentals listed in the Blue Ridge zip codes are at 93% capacity on Thanksgiving Day, while Morganton is 97% booked and Mineral Bluff is at 89% booked.
The data is compiled by a program called AirDNA Market Minder that complies short-term rental data from Airbnb, Vrbo and HomeAway. Fannin County Chamber of Commerce President Jan Hackett said it’s a very useful tool for the chamber because it shows capacity levels, seasonal patterns and the going rates for rentals among other bits of data.
Hackett says the data shows this area is primarily a weekend destination for about nine months out of the year, with about 12 full weeks out of the year being booked.
Most cabin rentals are also listed on one of those three rental sites, if not more, as a marketing and visibility tool, Hackett said.
AirDNA complies the data, removes the duplicates and aggregates the data into easy to read information.
On Chrismas Day, Blue Ridge is currently at 73% and the 28th, the Saturday before New Years, is at 83% capacity.
Morganton ranges from 80% to 83% capacity from Christmas to the 28th while Mineral Bluff ranges from 65% to 76%. However, that little town bumps up to 83% on Monday the 30th.
The data also shows that people booked their trips an average of 61 days in advance of Thanksgiving this year.