On the initiative of the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), several island tourism partners have jointly purchased the Lighthouse tourism intelligence platform in conjunction. This online application actively monitors independent vacation rental (IVR; villas and apartments) volumes via AirBnB, VRBO and Booking.com.
In addition to SHTA, the alliance includes the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB) and the St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA), who jointly purchased the program to make this investment possible. Furthermore, data will be made available to SHTA member villa rental agencies, hotels, real estate companies and other interested parties.
The purchase marks the conclusion of an extensive comparison of alternative solutions to monitor the growing IVR industry. Lighthouse data will provide greater clarity on rental volumes, average daily rates, length of stay, and booking pace. It also enables performance comparisons with other Caribbean tourism destinations. The program is already used by multiple Caribbean destinations as well as France’s destination management organization (DMO), Atout France.
Combined with SHTA’s long-standing tradition of producing monthly occupancy reports with a uniquely high response rate, the new data will make it for the first time possible to chart, on a monthly basis, how much of the total room inventory on the Dutch side of the island is in use at any given time. In addition, the platform will help quantify the share of IVR tourism within total arrivals through Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA). Finally, it will provide insight into the economic value generated by this sector.
The project builds on several initiatives by SHTA over the past years. One key objective is to increase recognition that IVR tourism is not currently treated on an equal footing (“level playing field”) with the hotel industry, and that local IVR owners face disadvantages compared to foreign operators. Progress begins with an accurate inventory of the sector’s size and scope, for which Lighthouse is considered an essential tool.
Lighthouse data for 2024 showed an IVR occupancy rate of 35% (measured in “keys”) on the Dutch side of the island, which shows room for growth. Contrary to hotels small and large, villas and condos lack a marketing operation but for aforementioned online platforms and the 10% of the inventory represented by island real estate agencies. This makes non-represented villas and condos to a certain extent dependent on national tourism marketing efforts. The more as villa and condo properties are often foreign owned, it is SHTA’s conviction these properties should pay their fair share comparable to hotel rooms providing 2500 jobs in the process (12% of all private sector jobs) and be held to the same hygiene standards.
The program’s output also supports SHTA’s broader effort to develop the most accurate economic indicators possible, particularly in response to previously identified discrepancies in reported figures.
Lighthouse data samples showed that short-term rentals attracted approximately 85,000 occupants in 2024. In total, Lighthouse data shows independent rentals generated more than 156,000 room nights per month and hosted around 202,000 occupants annually.
SHTA’s sees its initiative in line with its core mission to increase quality of life on island by supporting a sustainable economy, good governance and protection of natural beauty.
Tourism Partners Collaborate to Improve Villa & Condo Data with “Lighthouse”
