MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — It might be hard to believe, but summer is just around the corner.
It's the time of year when vacation rental agencies, like Carr Realty of the Poconos near Tannersville, get really busy.
"Rentals are always strong in the Poconos, but ever since COVID hit, we are just, oh, my gosh, it's probably tripled. The Poconos is great because we are so centrally located," said Cindy Knecht, who runs the agency in Pocono Township.
With Memorial Day just around the corner, plenty of places in the Poconos are already getting rented out.
'We are a four seasons area with destinations. I mean we have skiing, hiking, golfing. It is a destination area, and we've always done really well with rentals," said Knecht.
Realtors tell Newswatch 16, one trend they are noticing is that renters are asking for their own amenities as they plan trips here to the Poconos.
"We had more requests for single-family homes with pools. People did not want to share community amenities. They wanted to be on their own, have their own space, privacy. I did notice that as a trend," said Knecht.
Chris Barrett, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau president and CEO, says this will be a banner year for the Poconos.
"All the indications we are seeing now is that we are projecting that the summer will be incredibly strong going into the fall. We continue to see strong growth and demand, and we have no reason to think that is going to change," said Barrett.
Vacation realtors tell Newswatch 16 there's still time to plan your summer getaway to the Poconos, but the sooner you book, the better.
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