Yeah, I ended up getting lucky and finding a spot on Elephant Lake that had just become available on AirBnB. From the time I saw it to grabbing the wife to have a look, half the summer got booked. We locked in a week in July and the rest was booked within the hour. Total insanity.
The cancellation charges are nuts, too, with 48 hours to cancel, then being on the hook for 50% of the cost no matter what up to a week out, then 100%. The rate is nuts, but reasonable compared to the $1000/night for a subdivision house with a lake nearby that some were charging.
We had a fairly strict list (had to be rustic, private, no resorts, waterfront on a lake, have a rock frontage with good swimming, no stairs down to the water, a decent dock), so were striking out for places cheaper than crazy money. And this was in early February. When I spoke to one booking agent who represented about 100 cottages (all booked for July and August), she said they were 95% booked by October last year.
I'll remind the wife of this. Every time another part arrives, she just raises an eyebrow and purses her lips. Doesn't even grumble anymore...