SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — One recent study by AllTheRooms shows Sevierville is the hardest hit city in the country by a recent revenue collapse among Airbnb vacation rentals.
"It's all over the place right now, but some vacation rentals have seen some softening this year," said Leon Downey, the executive director at the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism.
The study showed that revenue in Sevierville dropped by around 47.6%. Cities like Phoenix, Austin and Myrtle Beach saw similar drops in revenue, according to the study.
Downey said that hotels in the area didn't see the same hit in revenue.
"We're only through April, but every month through January, hotel revenue has been up," said Downey.
Sevier County is known for its tourism, with vacation rentals playing a huge part in its generated income. The county has around ten times more Airbnb rentals than homes for sale, according to another AllTheRooms study.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Airbnb market spiked as more people were willing to pay more to have the luxury of their own space. A local realtor said the county is in a period where the market is readjusting.
"All signs point upward in the short-term rental market and the housing market more broadly, so I don't have that fear of full-scale collapse — but there will be a correction, which is things reverting back to what's normal," said Hancen Sale, the Government Affairs Director at East Tennessee Realtors.
The growth that East Tennessee continues to see is a light of hope for vacation rentals.
"The fundamentals are there to see things stay elevated, East Tennessee is growing in tourism and migration. All things are pointed up in the short-term rental market," said Sale.