KeyData reviewed STR performance for the June-through-August period across nine U.S. destinations, comparing summer 2024 with summer 2026 using occupancy, ADR and reservations per property.
Cape Cod recorded the strongest reservations-per-property growth, while Scottsdale and Palm Springs posted the largest declines. The findings arrive as “coolcationing” has become a more visible travel trend, where travelers leaving warm U.S. markets choose colder destinations during peak summer.
Cape Cod Drove the Cooler-Market Gain
The four cooler markets outperformed as a group, but Cape Cod accounted for most of the increase. It was already separating from other destinations in June, when KeyData’s early summer pacing showed Cape Cod RevPAR running 27% ahead of 2025.
Hot Markets Did Not Move Together
The warmer group concealed a wider split. Phoenix and Austin added reservations per property while lowering rates. Palm Springs and Scottsdale lost reservations per property even as ADR increased.
Palm Springs and Scottsdale posted the largest declines, but Phoenix recorded the second-largest gain in the study. Heat may be part of the pattern, but it does not explain the results on its own.
Coolcationing Abroad
Coolcationing is visible in broader travel data. Recent European demand data showed a similar split: Nordic countries grew through the summer, but Italy and France remained positive while Spain recovered later.
The data points to cooler destinations capturing more summer demand without a broad retreat from warmer markets. In KeyData’s U.S. sample, Cape Cod supports the coolcation narrative, but the other eight destinations are too mixed to establish a wider shift.
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