Key Takeaways:
- AirDNA is a popular STR data platform, but alternatives like Key Data provide verified, first-party insights that deliver more reliable decisions.
- Choosing the right platform depends on factors like data source, update frequency, KPIs, use cases, customization, and PMS integrations.
- Key Data tracks 40+ KPIs across 700k+ properties worldwide, with daily updates and deep filtering features.
- Beyond historicals, advanced tools like DemandIQ® deliver predictive traveler demand data, helping you forecast and plan proactively.
- Portfolio growth, inaccurate owner reports, forecasting gaps, market expansion, and strategy justification challenges are signs that you may need to upgrade.
Reliable data platforms are essential for decision-making in the short-term rental industry. AirDNA is one of the most widely known options among investors, property managers, and tourism boards. But to make smarter decisions, it pays to look beyond the familiar.
Different users have different priorities:
- Investors need forecasting and underwriting metrics.
- Property managers want performance benchmarking and owner reporting.
- SMOs and tourism boards seek destination-level trends and booking patterns.
To find the right fit, evaluate tools based on:
- Data quality (scraped vs direct reservation data)
- Usability and interface clarity
- Transparency around methodology
- Scalability to grow with your needs
According to the research, the U.S. short-term vacation rental sector is projected to reach $72 billion by the end of 2025, with an expected growth rate of 7.4% annually through 2030. With this growth, choosing a platform backed by accurate, transparent data becomes essential for making informed decisions.
In this article, we’ll review a range of reliable AirDNA alternatives—from platforms offering deeper insights to those built for different roles—so you can choose the tool that best aligns with your goals.
What to Consider When Choosing a Short-term Rental Data Platform
When you’re evaluating STR platforms, don’t just compare; instead, look for and evaluate the tools that can meet your needs. Here are some critical evaluation criteria:
- Data Source: Scraped OTA listings offer convenience—but direct reservation data provides clarity. Key Data provides both, combining reach with accuracy, depending on what you’re looking for.
- Update Frequency: Platforms offering daily data reflect real-time shifts. Monthly or such infrequent updates may leave you reacting instead of strategizing.
- Depth of KPIs: Beyond occupancy and ADR, top tools track metrics like RevPAR, pacing, and booking window for better insights.
- Use Cases: What is your role? Investor, operator, DMO? Choose the platforms that are purpose-built for your role and are not generic across all audiences.
- Customization and Filtering: Need to drill by bedroom count, property type, channel, or location? Flexible filters and customization options can help you turn your data into actionable information.
- Integrations: Manual uploads always slow down the workflows. Platforms with direct PMS integrations can help you save time and reduce errors.
These elements can help you determine which platform aligns best with your strategy and long-term goals.
Key Data – A First-Party, Scalable Alternative to AirDNA
With U.S. domestic leisure travel generating $876 billion in spending in 2024, you need timely, trustworthy data to capture demand and defend strategy. We have designed Key Data to deliver actionable, trustworthy insights—without relying on speculation or assumptions. Here are some features that set us apart:
- First-Party Reservation Data
- Our platform sources its data directly from 65+ property management systems rather than scraping public listings, allowing the numbers to reflect actual bookings and helping you avoid inflated ADRs, miscounted nights, or revenue overstatements.
- Coverage of 700k+ Properties Worldwide
- With data drawn from a massive and diverse inventory, Key Data benchmarks are grounded in the reality of global markets.
- Whether you’re analyzing a single coastal destination or comparing multiple regions, the scope ensures your insights are accurate and reliable.
- Daily-Updated Dashboards
- Every dashboard is refreshed daily, keeping pace with rapid shifts in demand and performance.
- Track over 40 key metrics—including occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, pacing, and booking windows—providing both historical performance and forward-looking insights
- Deep Filtering Capabilities
- Key Data makes it easy for you to sort and filter out the essential criteria.
- You can filter results by property size, market, booking channel, or length of stay to see targeted trends and benchmark against the most relevant peer groups.
- Traveler Demand Insights
- Beyond historical data, our proprietary DemandIQ® feature adds a predictive layer.
- It reveals traveler intent before reservations are made, showing where guests are coming from, how far in advance they book, and what stay lengths they prefer—helping you plan with confidence.
- Tailored Products
- Our platform is built to fit different segments of the STR industry.
- ProData empowers property managers with performance benchmarking, owner reporting, and trend analysis.
- DestinationData equips DMOs and tourism boards with destination-level supply, demand, and impact studies.
- EnterpriseData provides custom integrations, white-label dashboards, and API access for advanced modelling, making it the ideal solution for investors and larger organizations needing deeper, more scalable insights.
With Key Data, you won’t just be looking at numbers; you’ll gain strategic clarity, built on reliable, first-party data, allowing you to make smarter decisions.
Other AirDNA Alternatives to Consider
If you’re exploring different tools beyond Key Data, here are several other platforms that may fit your specific needs:
- Transparent: Offers vacation rental insights grounded in data transparency and PMS integrations—ideal if you seek clarity in how metrics are derived.
- Mashvisor: An AI-powered analytics platform tailored for real estate investors. It covers both short-term and long-term rental data, delivering indicators like ADR, occupancy, cash flow, and cap rate in a ready-to-use format.
- AllTheRooms Analytics: Provides global STR data with tools that forecast bookings up to 365 days ahead. This is useful for rental market trend analysis and forward-looking insights.
- TrackRevenue (formerly Rented): Focuses on real-time market analysis and dynamic pricing, designed to help you optimize margins while adapting quickly to market shifts.
When Is It Time to Upgrade Your Short-term Rental Data Platform?
As your STR business scales, basic scraped-data tools may no longer provide the clarity you need. Upgrading becomes necessary when you need to gain deeper insights—such as booking sources, revenue breakdowns, and real-time property performance comparisons.
Here are some signs indicating that you need to consider an upgrade:
- Managing Multiple Properties
- Scaling beyond a handful of units makes benchmarking essential.
- Without clean reservation-level data, it’s impossible to compare properties fairly.
- Inaccurate Owner Reports
- If the owner stays or maintenance nights are counted as “booked”, your reporting is inaccurate.
- Upgrading ensures that owners can see accurate comps and unrecognized revenue clearly.
- Forecasting Gaps
- Relying only on historical data leaves you reactive and not proactive.
- Advanced platforms offer pacing data and booking intent for a progressive strategy.
- Expanding to New Markets
- New destinations require localized supply, demand, and feeder market data.
- Clean insights can help you avoid costly assumptions when entering unfamiliar regions.
- Struggling to Justify Strategy
- You've outgrown your current tool if you can’t confidently defend your pricing or marketing decisions with data.
- Reliable metrics give you defensible evidence for stakeholders and investors.
Benefits of Upgrading
Key Data transforms these pain points into strength:
- Feeder market tracking shows exactly where bookings are coming from.
- Revenue breakdowns separate paid stays from owner-occupied or maintenance nights.
- Real-time benchmarking and forecasting provide clarity for scaling decisions.
The Right Short-term Rental Data Tool Depends on the Data You Trust
Choosing the right STR data platform ultimately comes down to trust and reliability. AirDNA is a common starting point, but as your business grows, the need for greater accuracy, richer filtering, and deeper insights becomes crucial.
Key Data offers verified first-party reservation data, daily-updated dashboards, and predictive traveler demand insights that can help you stay one step ahead.
Whether you manage five properties or five thousand, the right data can make or break your next move. Contact us and explore how Key Data helps you go beyond estimates—and into real performance.