Now is a great time to be in the vacation rental business. According to short-term rental data and analytics website AirDNA, travelers are spending big on luxury vacation rentals—the more unique, the better—recent occupancy rates for well-furnished homes increased from 49.1% to 55.9% between 2019 and 2023, with the overall STR market generating a groundbreaking $64 billion in revenue in 2023.
While long-term rental landlords might balk at those occupancy rates, it’s worth remembering that vacation rentals often double as medium-term rentals in the off-season, which might not register on vacation rental sites.
The East Coast Is Filled With Investment Hot Spots
Travel industry news site Skift crunched the numbers with AirDNA data to discover that the beaches on the East Coast, off the Atlantic Ocean, are poised to make a roaring trade during this summer season, with 1.63 million nights booked, up 7.7% over last year.
“New York, which used to be a top 10 market for July 4th, has dropped out and been replaced by the Delaware/Maryland Beaches. This shift continues the trend of growing popularity for Atlantic beaches, led by Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,” said a spokesperson for the short-term rental data provider.
With that in mind, for investors looking to maximize their profits throughout the summer months without spending over $500,000 on a vacation rental, these are the prime places all across the country to own an STR, based on AirDNA, short-term rental and hospitality site Avantstay, and expert real estate agent opinion, factoring in location…