Seeking Sunshine: Home Rentals Are Up for Spring Break—Here’s the Most Popular Destinations

As Winter Storm Fern is set to hit Southern and Eastern states this weekend, many people are dreaming of warmer weather and planning their spring break trips.

The Sunshine State leads the country with six of the 10 most popular U.S. spring break destinations based on highest occupancy in March 2026, according to AirDNA, a firm that compiles and analyzes Vrbo and Airbnb data.

"This upcoming spring break, the places that are filling up the fastest are on the west coast of the Florida peninsula," Bram Gallagher, director of economics at AirDNA, tells Realtor.com®.

AirDNA reports that March and April are showing significant gains compared with the same point last year, pointing to a strong spring break season—and in 2026, March is pacing as the busiest month so far.

To compile the data, AirDNA compared top markets by short-term rental demand pacing for the month of March—current year versus prior year, as of the end of December.

Check out the 10 U.S. destinations with the highest demand in March, according to AirDNA.

1. Orlando, FL

Orlando has surpassed 400,000 for booked nights.

Gallagher says Orlando's amusement parks are a huge draw for spring breakers. "Orlando is way out in front," he notes. "I went four times myself last year. We were excited about Universal Epic Universe, and my son also wanted to see Nintendo Land."

2. Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ

The Phoenix/Scottsdale area has nearly 260,000 booked nights to date, according to AirDNA.

"Spring breakers and snowbirds who are sick of winter want to go where it's always warm and toasty," says Gallagher. "Phoenix is a large market that's filling up with both high demand and high occupancy, so it's a double whammy."

3. Sarasota, FL

Sun Belt markets like Sarasota are booming thanks to strong U.S. demand, even as international visitation slows. It has over 200,000 booked nights so far.

"We were worried because Canadian travel to the U.S. has been low this last year," says Gallagher. "That boycott really hit hard, and it cut travel in half. I know that Canadian visitors love to go to the west coast of Florida. I was worried about these markets, but it looks like domestic travel is filling in the gaps."

4. St. Petersburg, FL

More than 173,000 nights have been booked in St. Petersburg during the spring break period.

St. Petersburg’s sandy beaches have made it a popular spring break spot, especially among families. "St. Pete is a pretty significant market right outside of Tampa," says Gallagher. "There's a lot of demand, and it's already more than halfway full when it comes to occupancy for March."

5. Cape Coral/Fort Myers, FL

While Florida’s Panhandle recorded some of the strongest year-over-year occupancy growth in 2025, according to AirDNA, markets along Florida’s west coast like Cape Coral/Fort Myers are more popular with spring breakers so far.

Cape Coral and Fort Myers areas are seeing over 172,000 booked nights.

6. Miami, FL

In recent years, Miami has enforced stricter rules for spring breakers including curfews, bag searches, early beach closures, and DUI checkpoints. Even so, "it's definitely one of the top visited markets during spring break," says Gallagher. "It's been getting plenty of attention hosting the college football national championship as well as the upcoming World Cup."

Gallagher says Miami’s March 2026 bookings are tracking 35,500 room nights higher than March 2025 at this point.

7. Los Angeles, CA

According to Gallagher, last year's wildfires did affect demand for short-term rentals in Los Angeles. "Last March, demand in L.A. actually fell 2.5% on a year-over-year basis," he says. "This year, on the other hand, the current demand pacing is 15.9% higher than this time last year, so the market appears to be on track for growth again."

Over 126,000 nights have been booked so far.

8. Maui, HI

Just like Los Angeles, Maui has more than 126,000 nights booked over spring break. "Maui is still recovering from the wildfires, so it's a great rebuilding story," says Gallagher. "Although they have restricted the number of new short-term rentals that can be built in Hawaii, which makes a lot of sense for a delicate island ecosystem, it's great to see that it's definitely a popular choice for spring break."

9. Coachella Valley, CA

Gallagher says music festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach have increased demand for Coachella Valley short-term rentals, especially in the spring.

It made the top 10 with 123,856 nights booked over the spring break period, according to AirDNA.

10. Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Fort Lauderdale is the iconic spring break spot and it's still going strong with over 110,000 nights booked.

"March is the highest demand month in Ft. Lauderdale, so I assume it is a mix of snowbirds and spring breakers," says Gallagher. CBS Miami reports that social media buzz has amplified the city’s spring break appeal for college students.