Market Overview

The Big Sky vacation rental market continued to show resilience in Q1 of 2025, despite broader economic uncertainty and shifting travel patterns. Visitor demand increased slightly over Q1 2024, buoyed by better snow and ski conditions and Big Sky’s ever-increasing presence as a world-class ski destination. However, supply has increased as well, contributing to a modest supply-and-demand imbalance that we’ve experienced for the past few years. With travelers continuing to prioritize high-quality, professionally managed homes—especially in desirable locations—Big Sky has fared better than other short-term rental markets.

Overall, Q1 saw a slight uptick in Occupancy over last year, with rates continuing to decrease to a small extent. With travelers becoming more discerning, modern luxury homes continue to be the best performers. Rates continue to be on a slight decline as the marketplace remains competitive, but companies like Natural Retreats that have dedicated revenue management and marketing teams have been able to remain strong and continue to drive revenue for their homeowners.

Q1 2025 Key Performance Indicators  

The Data

The data below was sourced from Key Data, a third-party short-term rental analytics provider sourcing authoritative data from 10 property managers and from privately managed rentals with +/- 1,300 properties—all located within the BSRAD boundary. Key Data refers to the BSRAD boundary, or Greater Big Sky, as Yellowstone Country, but the data presented below does not include the entire Yellowstone Country tourism region of Montana, just our local market.

Looking Ahead

Q2 is known to be a slower quarter for Big Sky, as this is when we are wrapping up the ski season and heading into our spring shoulder season. April 2025 is pacing slightly ahead of April 2024 in ADR and RevPAR, and is flat in Occupancy compared with 2024. May and June are currently pacing slightly behind 2024, but May bookings tend to be relatively last minute, and the summer booking window historically doesn’t pick up until May. It’s important to note that even a small amount of booking activity can easily sway May and early-June metrics given the relative performance of these months vs peak seasons.

Our local team will be taking advantage of this downtime to inspect all the homes in our portfolio, communicate any maintenance and inventory needs with our homeowners, and work with them to ensure all our homes are in top shape and well-positioned for a successful summer season.  We also have several new homes we are onboarding and working to ensure they are ready for their first guest stays this summer.

The Big Sky market remains resilient and valuable for vacation rental owners—especially those positioned with expert property management. As a trusted local operator, Natural Retreats helps homeowners optimize both Occupancy and revenue through dynamic pricing, luxury guest services, and hands-on home care.