From Blackheath to Holgate: Popular Airbnb rentals in NSW
From a curious spiral-shaped home to a jaw-dropping ‘treehouse’, these are the weird and wonderful NSW properties travellers are dreaming of escaping to.
NSW
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Exclusive: Sydneysiders are dreaming of an escape to the country as the school holidays draw near.
With international travel off the menu and restrictions around some domestic borders, travellers are looking to explore their own backyards.
Airbnb has exclusively revealed to News Corp the incredible homes they are hopeful of escaping to — and they include everything from a jaw-dropping ‘treehouse’ to stunning rural retreats.
A two-bedroom guesthouse nestled among trees with awe-inspiring vistas of the Royal National Park was Airbnb’s most ‘wish-listed’ home in NSW for the period June to August.
Named “The Treehouse”, the property is just 40 minutes from Sydney’s CBD.
Those after an escape were also looking at a seriously impressive hobby farm out in Blackheath near the Blue Mountains.
With apple orchards and farm animals on site, it also features spectacular views of the ranges and looks down onto the Kanimbla Valley.
Third on the NSW ‘wish list’ was a curious home in Robertson, a village in the Southern Highlands.
Described as the perfect luxury retreat for couples, guests can relax in a bath on the deck of “Spiral House” while enjoying the sound of birdsong and views of the trees.
Travellers were also hoping to head to a cute cottage with a souped-up modern interior.
The “Cuckoo’s Nest”, based in Katoomba, is a private retreat situated on two acres. And while the hosts have had to close the restaurant normally available to guests during COVID-19, visitors can still enjoy meals delivered to their door.
Rounding out the top five was “The Stables” in Holgate, just a 10 minute drive to Terrigal Beach.
If guests aren’t down on the sand, they can kick back in a hammock on the deck which looks across a valley.
Nationally, popular listing types included farm stays, cottages and villas, according to Airbnb.
Pet-friendly accommodation was the most searched for amenity, followed by pool, kitchen, wireless internet and jacuzzi.
And in the last two weeks of August, the accommodation giant also recorded a 23 per cent increase in Australian home searches with at least one child in tow.
“It’s been really heartening to see Australians display such incredible enthusiasm for exploring their own backyard. We’re seeing a lot of demand for nearby stays in regional areas and towns, often places that are driving distance from capital cities. There’s certainly a trend towards longer term stays, as the notion of working from home becomes working from any home on Airbnb,” Country Manager for Airbnb Australia and New Zealand, Susan Wheeldon said.
Dr David Beirman, a tourism expert at the University of Technology Sydney, said the silver lining of the coronavirus pandemic was that travellers were now exploring their own backyards and finding Australia had some “fantastic destinations”.
Dr Beirman said even once interstate and international travel resumed, domestic tourism was still likely to benefit in the long run.
He believed travel bargains to some South East Asian destinations – Australian favourites like Bali and Thailand – would not be as cheap as what they were pre-COVID, with people instead looking to holiday across Australia or in there home state.
“I think there will be some apprehension around international travel generally, and airlines won’t be able to fit as many people on a flight if they’re adhering to social distancing rules,” Dr Beirman said.
“If flights aren’t running at full capacity and hotels don’t have as many quests, it’s likely they’ll look to increase prices.”
He said when holidaying in regional or rural Australia, tourists should make sure they are spending money at local stores and paying for experiences to help local economies.