We used information from the International Dark-Sky Association to collate a shortlist of Dark Sky Places for which the geographical coordinates are publicly available and shortlisted the top 17 most searched on HomeToGo.com for stays between June 21st, 2023 and September 22nd, 2023. In order to rank these Dark Sky Places, we researched 4 data points: the size and population of the Dark Sky Place, the average cloud cover of the area, the number of accommodation offers in the area and the median nightly price thereof. After obtaining the raw data, we assigned each data point a representative numerical value between 5 and 10, with 5 representing the lowest data point and 10 representing the highest data point. The hypothetical "perfect score" would be 40 out of 40. We used the following equation in order to calculate this for every factor:
Score(i) = 5 · (x(i) - xmin ) / (xmax - xmin ) + 5
Solitude: We used data from the International Dark-Sky Association to determine the size of each Dark Sky Place and population data from census.gov for the area or nearest town. The place with the lowest ratio of people per square mile was given a score of 10, and the remaining areas were awarded a score of 5 or higher.
Clear Skies: We used historical weather data from Visual Crossing Weather to analyze the last year (June 21st 2022 - September 22nd 2022) of data from the nearest weather station to each Dark Sky Place. The area with the fewest overcast or rainy days over the last summer was given a score of 10, and the remaining areas were awarded a score of 5 or higher.
Accommodation Availability: We used HomeToGo inventory data to find the number of accommodation offers in the vicinity of each Dark Sky Place. The area with the highest number of accommodation offers was awarded a maximum score of 10, and the remaining areas were awarded a score of 5 or higher. Data was collected in June 2023, availability is subject to change.
Accommodation Affordability: We used internal HomeToGo data to find the median price per night per person for a vacation rental in the area between June 21st 2023 - September 22nd 2023. The area with the lowest median nightly price per person for a vacation rental was awarded a maximum score of 10, and the remaining locations were awarded a score of 5 or higher. Data was collected in June 2023, prices are subject to change.