Whether you’re a vacation rental host, property manager, real estate investor, tourism executive, or simply curious about the evolving short-term rental market, a bird’s eye view of the accommodation industry always holds some surprises. Granular, property-level analytics are certainly useful, but sometimes it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. Taking a macro-level approach and sizing up the competition is often a great way to gain perspective on the performance of individual listings.
With a goal to provide the most up-to-date vacation rental intelligence, AllTheRooms Analytics scoured the data to officially rank American states by Airbnb occupancy rate, ADR, and RevPAR. Here’s how the states stack up against one another:
One of the most telling indicators of a rental market’s health and profitability is its average occupancy rate. While some markets are highly seasonal and thrive despite relatively few nights booked per year, a consistently high Airbnb occupancy rate is often what separates the best Airbnb hosts and property managers from the rest.
When analyzing AllTheRooms Analytics’ Airbnb occupancy rate data, it’s important to have an eye for subtlety. In fact, there is only a 28-point difference between the best-performing state (65%) and the worst-performing state (37%). A 5 or 10-point variation in occupancy rates could mean the difference between breaking even and running a smooth, cash-positive short-term rental operation. Here are the 15 states with the highest occupancy rates:
- Hawaii — 65.4%
- Tennessee — 56.4%
- Florida — 55.3%
- California — 52.9%
- Illinois — 51.8
- Washington — 51.7%
- Alabama — 51%
- Oregon — 50.8%
- Louisiana — 50.5%
- South Carolina — 49.9%
- New York — 49.3%
- Arizona — 49.3%
- North Carolina — 49.1%
- Ohio — 48.3%
- Nevada — 48%
The most glaringly apparent takeaway from this ranking based on occupancy rates is the performance of traditional getaways or beach destinations. Hawaii is leagues ahead of the pack with a 9-point lead over second-place Tennessee, and Florida and California are also comfortably in the top five. Meanwhile, oft-overlooked states like Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina all have coastlines with bustling vacation rental communities and so also feature in the top 10.
Another major consideration in the occupancy rate rankings is the implementation and efficacy of vacation rental regulations. Based on a study by the Pew Research Center , many states are struggling to enforce regulations. As seen in the graphic above, 12 of the 15 states on our list still have no state-wide legislation on short-term rentals. Of course, city standouts like San Francisco and New Orleans have led the charge on fair housing legislation, but those have yet to diminish state-wide occupancy rates.
Elsewhere, Tennessee, Illinois, Oregon, Ohio, and Nevada are all equally interesting data points. Property managers and real estate investors are quickly realizing the benefits of focusing on smaller-name destinations. Little-known Gatlinburg, Tennessee is one of the best-performing destinations in the entire country, due in no small part to its proximity to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (which is one of the 8 Best Performing National Park Airbnb Markets ). Illinois, Oregon, Ohio, and Nevada each have a lineup of their own tourist landmarks that make them worthy vacation rental markets.
- Mississippi — 37.2%
- South Dakota — 37.3%
- Vermont — 37.5%
- Maine — 37.8%
- Wyoming — 37.9%
- Alaska — 38.6%
- New Hampshire — 38.6%
- Wisconsin — 39%
- Delaware — 39.1%
- Rhode Island — 39.3%
- Kentucky — 39.9%
- Nebraska — 40.2%
- West Virginia — 40.5%
- Michigan — 41.4%
- Arkansas — 41.6%
Average daily rate, or ADR, is the next most important metric when analyzing Airbnb markets. While not entirely telling of a market’s profitability, analyzing the price points at which listings are booked is a good way to gauge potential revenues. As seen from the rankings below, high ADRs often correlate with locations that are highly dependent upon seasonality. Here are the top 15 states ranked by average daily rate:
- Wyoming — $263.7
- Colorado — $263.5
- Hawaii — $259.2
- Utah — $239.2
- South Carolina — $234.4
- Alabama — $215.9
- Vermont — $215.6
- Rhode Island — $215.4
- Delaware — $206.8
- Tennessee — $205.1
- California — $198.6
- Montana — $195.9
- New Hampshire — $195.7
- Florida — $191.6
- Maine — $190
With world-famous ski resorts, national parks, and idyllic frontier towns, Wyoming manages to reel in more money per night booked than any other state in America. Other notable insights include the prominence of wintry ski destinations in the top 15: Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Vermont, Montana, New Hampshire, and Maine. That being said, these locations perform equally as well during the summer as thousands of tourists take advantage of the year’s warmest months.
- North Dakota — $82.4
- Kansas — $94.4
- Nebraska — $108.1
- Iowa — $113.1
- Ohio — $123.4
- Missouri — $126.9
- Illinois — $128.6
- Oklahoma — $130.9
- Minnesota — $137.5
- Alaska — $137.8
- Arkansas — $142.5
- Washington — $146.7
- Pennsylvania — $146.8
- Connecticut — $147.6
- Arizona — $150
As a product of both occupancy rate and average daily rate, RevPAR, or revenue per available room, is ultimately the most comprehensive indicator of a market’s strength. States with high RevPARs strike the balance between optimized pricing strategies and maximized occupancy rates. In theory, a market with an extremely low occupancy rate and high ADRs (one with high seasonality) could produce as much revenue as a market with consistent occupancy rates and relatively low ADRs. With those two metrics in mind, here are the states ranked by revenue earned per available room:
- Hawaii — $175.7
- Colorado — $131.3
- South Carolina — $127.1
- Alabama — $120.4
- Tennesee — $118.5
- Florida — $112.3
- Utah — $111
- California — $110.2
- Wyoming — $109.7
- Massachusetts — $97.2
- Delaware — $97
- Rhode Island — $96.9
- New York — $92.8
- Nevada — $89.2
- Louisiana — $88.2
When taking into account both occupancy rate and booking rate, the states listed above truly stand out from the pack. These states are either year-round vacation-worthy destinations, or they boast towering urban metropolises that beckon business travelers from around the world (or both). Taking into account regulatory policies, weather conditions, big-ticket events, and tourist attractions, these are the states that perform best overall.
On a granular level, there are a few states that serve as telling case studies. Delaware and Rhode Island — states with sub-40% occupancy rates — still make it to the top 15 due to their high ADRs. Wyoming is in a similar ballpark: expensive ADRs are able to outshine its abysmal occupancy rate and solidify a spot in the top 10 in terms of RevPAR. Other than that, most states strike a balance between relatively high ADRs and consistent occupancy rates averaging at least 50%.
For detailed data analytics reporting on your specific market of interest, contact our team of industry experts. AllTheRooms Analytics works hand-in-hand to provide comprehensive data solutions that allow you to understand and navigate any short-term rental market on the planet.
