Buncombe County Hotels Rebound in 2025 While Vacation Rentals Dip

Marketing ExploreAsheville data presented to the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority show hotel demand increased about 5% in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, while vacation‑rental demand fell roughly 20% and the slide deck states nearly 1,000 short‑term rental units were removed following Tropical Storm Helene. The shift helped push hotels toward a modest rebound even as overall lodging metrics remain uneven across the county.

The longer-term picture remains mixed: WFAE tallied hotel demand up 5% from 2019 to 2024 while vacation‑rental demand grew 57% over that span, reflecting rapid STR expansion through 2024 before the storm and market corrections. Economic consultant Dan Gerlach told the Tourism Development Authority the county suffered roughly $910 million in economic losses from Tropical Storm Helene in the fourth quarter of 2024, a blow that Explore Asheville staff say accelerated declines in vacation‑rental inventory and pushed some units out of the market.

Explore Asheville spokesperson Ashley Greenstein summarized May comparisons at the June 25 Tourism Development Authority meeting, saying vacation‑rental occupancy was down 11% year over year in May, demand was down 26%, and inventory had dropped 16%. At the same meeting Explore Asheville slides flagged ADR and RevPAR declines across both hotels and vacation rentals; a GSA figure cited in BCTDA materials set estimated ADR at $120 for March and April, about $15 below the prior year.

Hotel operators describe a patchwork recovery. The Grand Bohemian in Biltmore Village reopened on May 9 after Helene; a Grand Bohemian general manager quoted in one outlet said his 80 available rooms were only about 50% occupied in June compared with a typical 75% during that month. Separately, a BCTDA board member associated with the Grand Bohemian described lower demand as producing "good news, sort of" for visitors because reduced demand has lowered prices, while warning it also cuts spending at local businesses. Note: two outlets used different first names for the Grand Bohemian manager tied to those comments; that discrepancy should be clarified with hotel or BCTDA staff.

BCTDA President and CEO Vic Isley warned about broader headwinds, saying, "Hotel demand growth undershot U.S. GDP growth, and historically those are very intrinsically tied," and adding that higher‑spending travelers are returning to larger cities. Explore Asheville staff also credited FEMA TSA vouchers and recovery workers with boosting Q1 hotel occupancy even as demand patterns shift.

Policy and labor pressures are in play: WFAE documented a new, 11‑member committee convened to draft short‑term rental regulations for the Buncombe County Commission, and county figures presented to the TDA show hospitality workers account for roughly 34% of unemployment insurance claims. Airport traffic provides an offsetting signal of demand recovery — passenger numbers at Asheville Regional Airport were up about 11% through the first half of 2024 — but May hotel revenues were down 19% year over year and room rates showed a 13% decline, underscoring the uneven rebound.

Explore Asheville and the TDA say they will monitor inventory and seasonality through year end; as Isley put it, "So that balance is something we're going to continue to keep an eye on through the end of this year," a line the authority used to frame expected regulatory and marketing work ahead of the July and October peak travel periods.