Sub-$4 Gas and a Record July 4 Power the Biggest Travel-Demand Comeback on Record, Hostfully Index Finds

The Hostfully Hosting & Travel Index jumped 14.3 points to a Getaway Score of 63.5 in July, its largest single-month gain ever, as gas dropped below $4 for the first time since March and AAA projected a record 72.2 million Americans traveling for the July 4 holiday.

San Francisco, CA, July 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- U.S. travel demand just posted its strongest one-month rebound on record, according to Hostfully, a vacation rental property management software (PMS) provider. The July Hostfully Hosting & Travel Index, a monthly composite that scores the health of the American vacation rental and travel market, climbed to a Getaway Score of 63.5 out of 100, up 14.3 points from June. That is the biggest single-month jump since the index launched.

Three Forces Moved in the Same Direction at Once:

Gas fell to a national average of $3.86 per gallon, a 15% drop in six weeks and the first sub-$4 reading since late March.
Consumer sentiment rebounded 10.5%, the second-largest monthly gain on record, according to the University of Michigan.
AAA forecasted a record 72.2 million Americans would travel during the July 4 week, with 85% driving. That is roughly 61 million road trips in nine days.

“We just watched two of the heaviest weights come off in a single month,” said Margot Schmorak, Co-Founder and CEO at Hostfully. “Gas eased, sentiment rebounded, and a record July 4 forecast lined up behind both. The travelers came back faster than they left.”

By the Numbers: July 2026

Getaway Score: 63.5 out of 100 (“Partly Cloudy”), up 14.3 points month over month, the biggest jump on record
July 4 travelers: 72.2 million forecast (AAA), an all-time record, with 85% driving
National gas average: $3.86 per gallon, down from a $4.56 peak on May 21
Consumer sentiment: 49.5 (University of Michigan), up 10.5% off May’s record low
Lodging CPI: 4.2% year over year, the hottest reading since 2023
Hurricane activity: Atlantic ACE running 81% below normal year to date

Five of Seven Signals Improved

The index aggregates seven signals across the U.S. travel landscape: TSA throughput, Google search trends, gas prices, lodging CPI, consumer sentiment, weather, and Hostfully’s own booking data. In July, five improved (sentiment, gas, TSA, search trends, weather), one held flat (Hostfully platform data), and one moved against the trend (CPI).

Gas and sentiment did the heaviest lifting. Gas is a hard input that changes what travelers can afford. Sentiment is the soft input that changes what they are willing to spend. Both moved sharply in the same direction in the same month, which is why the score posted its biggest gain on record.

The One Signal Still Running Hot: Prices

Affordability is the holdout. Lodging CPI hit 4.2% year over year in May, the hottest reading since 2023. The travel-specific lines ran even hotter: airfares climbed 26.7% year over year and hotel prices rose 5.1%. The U.S. Travel Association’s Travel Price Index is up 9.8% year over year, its fourth straight accelerating month.

The takeaway for the summer travel season: travelers are more willing to book, but more careful about the total cost. With gas down 15% and airfares up nearly 27%, July is shaping up as a drive-don’t-fly summer, and the road trip is back at the center of it.

A Tale of Three Americas

Every U.S. region improved in July, but the gap between them is the widest the index has recorded. The Southeast (78.0) crossed into “Partly Sunny” territory for the first time this year, helped by a quiet hurricane season, cheap gas, and strong drive-market demand. The Midwest (48.0) remains the lowest-scoring region. The 30-point spread between the two is the largest since the index launched in April.

The sunniest markets in the country are all Southeast beach destinations, each rated “Sunny” for the first time this year: Destin, FL (82.5), Myrtle Beach, SC (82.0), Gulf Shores, AL (81.5), Outer Banks, NC (80.5), and Gatlinburg, TN (80.0). Jackson, MS (+13.5) and Lake Tahoe, CA (+12.0) posted the biggest monthly jumps. Houston (-3.5) and Galveston (-3.0) were the only notable decliners, both in the path of Tropical Storm Arthur.

What It Means for the People Who Host the Trips

For the property managers and vacation rental operators Hostfully serves, a record July 4 means a surge of bookings, guest messages, and turnovers landing all at once.

“The job in July is not to sit back and enjoy the bounce. It is to convert it,” Schmorak said. “Guests came back faster than they left. The operators who treat the next 60 days as their real summer, not a victory lap, will be the ones ending the year in a strong position.”

About Hostfully and the Hosting & Travel Index

Hostfully is a leading vacation rental property management software (PMS) provider, serving clients ranging from professional hosts to property managers in over 100 countries. The Hostfully Hosting & Travel Index is a monthly composite score that tracks the health of the U.S. vacation rental and travel market. It combines seven weighted signals into a single 0-to-100 Getaway Score: Hostfully platform data, TSA throughput, Google Trends, gas prices, lodging CPI, consumer sentiment, and weather. The index covers more than 50 U.S. metro areas with monthly city-level and regional scoring. Data sources include TSA.gov, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the University of Michigan, AAA, NOAA, Google Trends, AirROI, the U.S. Travel Association, and Hostfully’s proprietary booking data.

Press Inquiries

Jaimie Anzelone
jaimie@hostfully.com
https://www.hostfully.com

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