Hostfully Hosting & Travel Index

Hosting & Travel Index

May 2026 Edition

Updated May 6, 2026

We crunch seven real-time data signals (Hostfully booking data, TSA traffic, Google search trends, gas prices, lodging costs, consumer sentiment, and national weather) into one monthly score so you can spot what's coming before your competitors do. See how we calculate it ↓

Getaway Score

☁️ Cloudy

-4.2 MoM -6.3 YoY

📊 The Six Signals That Drive the Score

✈️ TSA Throughput

🔍 Search Trends

⛽ Gas Prices

💰 Lodging CPI

😊 Sentiment

🌤️ Weather

Strongest: TSA (78) Weakest: Sentiment (4) & Gas Prices (5)

📈 Getaway Score: 17-Month Trend

☀️ Top 3 Sunniest Markets

Myrtle Beach, SC

#1 Memorial Day STR destination

76.5 +8.7

Destin, FL

Beach season heating up

75.2 +4.2

Orlando, FL

Post-spring break dip but holding strong

74.8 -3.6

⛈️ Bottom 3 Stormiest Markets

Detroit, MI

Tourism still in deep winter mode

24.8 +2.7

Minneapolis, MN

Slow spring thaw

27.2 +2.7

Cleveland, OH

Lake-effect chill persists

28.5 +2.7

🗺️ Regional Ranking by Score

Southeast

66.8

West

46.2

Northeast

41.5

Mountain

38.2

Midwest

32.8

Data from Hostfully, TSA, Google Trends, EIA, FRED, NOAA · Powered by Hostfully

City Leaderboard

The City-Level Picture

Which markets are hot, which are not, and who moved the most this month.

☀️ Where the Sun Shines Brightest

The five highest-scoring cities this month

⛈️ Storm Watch

The five markets still weathering the chill

🚀 Movers and Shakers

The biggest monthly swings, up and down

Component Analysis

What's Driving the Forecast

Six data signals combine to produce the Getaway Score. Here's how each one is trending this month.

TSA Throughput

Temperature: Demand Heat

88/100

Record spring travel: 2.8M passengers/day, 4% above 2025. All-time spring break highs.

Google Trends

Sunshine: Search Optimism

68/100

Vacation rental search interest at seasonal highs, spring break peak driving demand.

Gas Prices

Wind Speed: Travel Friction

8/100

$3.64/gal average, up 25% MoM. Worst monthly gas spike since 2022. Major travel friction from Iran conflict.

CPI Lodging

Barometric Pressure: Pricing Power

74/100

Lodging CPI moderating, hotel prices -2.2% YoY. Good pricing environment for STRs.

Consumer Sentiment

Humidity: Spending Willingness

8/100

Crashed to 53.3. -5.8% MoM. Expectations -8.7%. Inflation fears surging to 3.8%.

Actual Weather

Actual Weather: Travel Conditions

55/100

Spring warmth in the South boosting travel. Mixed conditions in the North.

What Changed This Month

From April to May: The Score Slipped 4.2 Points

A signal-by-signal look at why the Getaway Score moved from 48.2 to 44.0.

😊 Consumer Sentiment -4 pts

Hit 49.8, the lowest reading on record per the University of Michigan. Below the previous June 2022 low of 50. Inflation expectations surged to 4.7%.

⛽ Gas Prices -3 pts

National average climbed from $3.98 to $4.30 by April 30. Brent crude touched $126/barrel as the Iran ceasefire collapsed.

✈️ TSA Throughput -10 pts

Spring break peak passed. Late-month weeks fell to 17.1M (Apr 13-19) and 17-17.5M (Apr 20-26). First YoY declines emerging.

🌤️ Weather -10 pts

257 confirmed tornadoes in April (vs 182 average). 5-day severe outbreak Apr 23-27 disrupted Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, and Missouri.

🔍 Search Trends -8 pts

Spring break search wave receded. Memorial Day demand starting to build. National parks searches up 35% YoY (Airbnb).

🏠 Hostfully Data -7 pts

STR demand still up 4.9% YoY (AirROI), but tougher comp vs April 2025's +10.1% surge. Booking windows compressed to 15 days.

💰 Lodging CPI -4 pts

Lodging held steady (+0.2% MoM) but energy prices surged +10.9% MoM, eating into discretionary travel budgets.

📊 The Bottom Line

Every signal moved against us this month. But Memorial Day is forecast to be a record (45M+ travelers per AAA). Drive-market and nature destinations are the winners.

Key Takeaways

This Month, In a Nutshell

The headline insights from this month's index, ready to share.

✈️

The Storm Deepens: Consumer sentiment hit 49.8 in April, the lowest reading on record per the University of Michigan. Gas tops $4.30 per gallon. Yet Americans keep traveling. The disconnect between economic mood and actual travel behavior is the story of spring 2026.

⛽

Memorial Day is shaping up to be a record. AAA forecasts 45 million-plus travelers, with 87% driving. Beach and mountain destinations are leading the search surge. Build your direct-booking pitch around drive-market guests.

📊

Sentiment broke a multi-year floor. Inflation expectations surged to 4.7% (from 3.8%) and the 5-year outlook hit 3.5%, the highest since late 2025. Guests are booking shorter, closer to arrival, and demanding more value per dollar.

🌴

National parks are the new hot category. Airbnb searches for stays near U.S. national parks are up 35% for 2026. Nature is now the top booked category. Smoky Mountains, Outer Banks, and Gulf Coast cabins are pacing way ahead.

Methodology

How We Build the Forecast

Transparent, reproducible, and built on real data you can trust.

Data Signal	What It Measures	Source
Hostfully Data	Booking volume, occupancy rates, and ADR trends across Hostfully-managed properties	Hostfully
TSA Throughput	Daily airport passengers (travel demand)	TSA
Google Trends	Search interest for vacation rentals, Airbnb, beach house	Google Trends
Gas Prices	Average U.S. gas price per gallon (travel friction)	EIA
CPI Lodging	Lodging price index (pricing power)	FRED
Consumer Sentiment	University of Michigan index (spending willingness)	FRED
Weather	National weather favorability for travel	NOAA

Conditions: 0-30 = Stormy ⛈️ | 30-50 = Cloudy ☁️ | 50-65 = Partly Cloudy ⛅ | 65-80 = Partly Sunny 🌤️ | 80-100 = Sunny ☀️

The Hostfully Hosting & Travel Index uses publicly available data plus proprietary Hostfully platform insights so you get the full picture.

Where the Sun Is Shining