While many rental property owners felt a decline in average Airbnb occupancy rate due to the ongoing pandemic, the Florida real estate market continues to provide investors with a thriving Airbnb business. Airbnb demand in the Florida rental market has always been high, and the trend is expected to continue. With constant high demand state-wide, Florida investment properties on Airbnb have the potential to bring in substantial returns and constant Airbnb income if done correctly.
Airbnb Florida continues to have some of the more relaxed short-term rental laws, which makes it virtually impossible for any city to not allow Airbnb rental properties. However, just because Airbnb rentals are legal throughout the state it doesn’t mean that every location is worth investing in. Florida Airbnb occupancy rate is high in general, but it will differ from city to city.
To find the best places to invest in real estate in Florida Airbnb, new and old investors should consider a multitude of things, but most importantly, the Airbnb occupancy rate by the city. As will be discussed later in this article, going through Airbnb occupancy rate data is a key factor for investors in determining how the Airbnb real estate investment strategy will fare in a particular city.
Best Places to Invest in Florida: Airbnb Occupancy Rate by City
With 282 cities in Florida, searching for the Airbnb occupancy rate by the city can be done but is quite an unnecessarily tedious task. Using Mashvisor’s nationwide real estate market analysis, you can easily determine the Florida Airbnb occupancy rate by city in a matter of minutes and see which investment properties are truly worth it.
While there are many factors that affect Airbnb occupancy rates in each city and neighborhood, an occupancy rate of 50% and above is usually a good indicator that you will see positive returns from your investment. Based on our data, we have compiled the 50 best cities to have Florida Airbnb properties based on their Airbnb occupancy rate.
Here are the Airbnb occupancy rates by city investors can expect in the Florida housing market:
| City | Airbnb Occupancy Rate |
| Havana | 98% |
| Mascotte | 89% |
| Century | 79% |
| Keystone Heights | 78% |
| Wimauma | 77% |
| Crestview | 76% |
| Minneola | 75% |
| Cape Coral | 74% |
| Neptune Beach | 74% |
| Bonita Springs | 73% |
| Fort Myers Beach | 72% |
| Pinecrest | 72% |
| Deer Island | 72% |
| Sopchoppy | 72% |
| Land O Lakes | 72% |
| Sweetwater | 72% |
| Elkton | 71% |
| Defuniak Springs | 71% |
| Winter Garden | 71% |
| Holmes Beach | 71% |
| Inverness | 71% |
| Ave Maria | 70% |
| Palmetto Bay | 70% |
| Rockledge | 70% |
| Coconut Grove | 70% |
| Seffner | 70% |
| Floral City | 69% |
| Florida City | 69% |
| Port Saint John | 69% |
| Archer | 69% |
| Plant City | 68% |
| Valrico | 68% |
| Alligator Point | 68% |
| Callahan | 68% |
| Debary | 68% |
| Hilliard | 68% |
| St Petersburg | 68% |
| Largo | 68% |
| Middleburg | 68% |
| Bradenton Beach | 67% |
| Altamonte Springs | 67% |
| Maitland | 66% |
| Cantonment | 66% |
| Cortez | 66% |
| Plantation Key | 66% |
| Foley | 65% |
| St Johns | 65% |
| Malabar | 65% |
| Hobe Sound | 65% |
| Southwest Ranches | 65% |
Airbnb City Investment Property Analysis
While having the Airbnb occupancy rate by city is a good start to any real estate market analysis, when looking at property analysis for any investment, it is important to know that the data presented is accurate and up-to-date. The last thing anyone wants to do is make a decision based on misinformation. That is why the Florida Airbnb occupancy rate mentioned above was calculated by Mashvisor’s investment property calculator that uses data directly from Airbnb.
To accurately determine the Airbnb occupancy rate by city, the Mashvisor calculator takes into account 12 months’ worth of active Airbnb listings throughout each neighborhood and city in Florida. When calculating the Florida Airbnb occupancy rate, the number of days each listing was available to short-term renters, as well as the number of days it was unavailable for booking, are compared to accurately arrive at its occupancy rate.
In addition, Mashvisor is able to exclude days that the host intentionally made the property unavailable for any particular reason. It ensures that the occupancy rates mentioned in the list above truly represent the Florida rental market on Airbnb and are not inflated due to fabricated unavailability.
Furthermore, Mashvisor does not fully rely on technology for our comprehensive Airbnb data analysis as we are aware of its possible limitations. To ensure the accuracy of our data, our data team compares their calculated Airbnb data with those of actual Airbnb hosts in the area. By having our data and the Airbnb hosts data side by side, we are confident in the data comprising important metrics like Airbnb daily rate, Airbnb cash on cash return, Airbnb cap rate, Airbnb occupancy rate, etc.
Why Is Occupancy Rate Important When Looking at the Airbnb Florida Rental Market?
When it comes to any rental real estate investment, everyone knows that you will only see a return if someone is actually occupying the property. While Airbnb properties and short-term rentals can demand higher daily rates, they are also more likely to be vacant for certain periods of time as compared to traditional rental properties. When an Airbnb is vacant, the host is not earning any income while possibly acquiring property fees and maintenance costs. This is why looking at the occupancy rate is crucial.
Knowing that your investment property has at least an average 50% occupancy rate ensures that you will be able to draw in guests, cover expenses, and generate an income. Overall, having a higher occupancy rate indicates that you will see a positive return on investments whether you are looking for cash on cash return or cap rate.
While Airbnb rental property performances within the same city will still vary depending on amenities, size, and reviews, the general occupancy rate is a great way to see what the potential performance of the property may be in general. Having a property in a high rental demand area will always be more likely to generate returns on your investment as opposed to a city with a lower short-term rental occupancy rate.
As the saying goes, location is everything, and while Florida is one of the most popular and profitable states for short-term rentals, choosing the right city in the state will play a huge part in the success of your real estate investment strategy.
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Occupancy rate is a good indicator of the potential performance of an Airbnb rental property
Finding the Airbnb Occupancy Rate by City of the Florida Real Estate Market
Though location is one of the more important factors in real estate investing, it cannot be said that every house or property within one area will automatically be worth the same value especially in such a competitive area like the Florida real estate market. The value of your property can be affected by many things like the neighborhood, property type, listing website, rental price, reviews, and so much more.
To have a truly comprehensive Airbnb analysis, you will need to take all of these factors into account to estimate the value and possible returns of your investment. However, with the sheer volume of neighborhoods and property types alone, this is a daunting task for any novice real estate investor. Not to worry though, as many seasoned real estate investors know, using a real estate market calculator is the most convenient and oftentimes most accurate way to go. Factors such as without having to spend hours on manual computation and eliminating the possibility of human error should be considered when looking at any investment venture in the Airbnb rental market.
Using an Airbnb profitability calculator like Mashvisor can generate a property investment analysis of any city in Florida, as well as the rest of the United States. While there may be a high occupancy rate in a city, Airbnb property investors need to take their analysis further and narrow down their options to a neighborhood level. Mashvisors real estate investment software provides investors with a heatmap showcasing the best and busiest rental neighborhoods in each city, allowing investors to do just that. Using a color-coded system, the heatmap will mark neighborhoods with high Airbnb occupancy rates in the color green while placing those with a low occupancy rate in a red zone.
In addition to occupancy rates, if you are looking to purchase an Airbnb property with minimal capital and costs, you can customize your search on Mashvisor to show you areas with cheaper properties for sale, as well as potential Airbnb rental income and cash on cash returns. No matter how you plan to start investing and what your investment strategy is, Mashvisor’s real estate investment tools can help you make informed decisions and reap the benefits of Florida’s booming real estate market.
Boosting Your Airbnb Occupancy Rate
As mentioned earlier, location can play a big part in the success of your Airbnb property; however, this is not to say that you cannot actively do anything to boost its occupancy rate. Having a well-maintained property, being a friendly host, and offering good rates can easily boost your rating and earn 5-star reviews that will help get more guests into your property. Here are some things you can do to boost your Airbnb Occupancy rate:
1. Consider Professional Cleaning and Highlight Cleanliness
While this may not be the usual piece of advice, highlighting that you clean in between each guest and have professional cleaners disinfect the property may make your property more appealing to people. Though Airbnb has strict guidelines in relation to cleanliness and Covid-19, not everyone advertises it, which could lead to missed opportunities.
Knowing that proper measures were taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 could entice people who are particularly concerned about the virus to choose your property over another in the area. Including this in your property description may only take a few minutes but it can have a significant impact on your occupancy rate this year.
2. Adapt Your Airbnb Rental Price
Unlike traditional rentals that have a set monthly rent, you should actually change Airbnb prices depending on the day or season. Weekends usually yield a higher demand, meaning you can raise prices from your regular weekday price. You can also increase prices during summer as that is when Florida experiences the most tourists while lowering the prices during winter to hopefully draw more guests during the off-season.
If your area has a high volume of Airbnb rentals, it is also advisable that you lower your daily rate to a few dollars below the average asking price. While this may seem counterintuitive to the return on your investment, having a lower daily rate can help you boost occupancy rates and have guests staying on your property more frequently. Though you may be earning less per night, you will definitely see higher returns from being booked out a majority of the time.
3. Maintain a Good Reputation with Guests
The majority of guests look to the reviews section before booking an Airbnb to ensure that the property is a good place to stay. While you cannot please all of your guests, having the majority of your reviews to be positive can boost the chances of more people renting it out in the future. Having good reviews instills trust in future guests that your property is worth staying at as compared to other Airbnb’s. In addition to good reviews, becoming a super host is favorable to most guests and often generates a higher occupancy rate than non-super host properties.
Knowing the best cities in Florida to invest in by their Airbnb occupancy rate by city, you are now ready to start looking for properties for sale to start your real estate investment journey. Once you’ve decided on which city is right for you, sign up for a free trial of Mashvisor investment tools to gain access to all our real estate data and analysis!