Bethel, Maine Short-Term Rental Market
Bethel, ME STRs averaged $362/night at 20% April occupancy, with February peaks hitting 61% across 1,166 active listings.
Quick Answer: Bethel, Maine is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 20%. average monthly revenue is $2,949. average daily rate is $362. the top operator is Maine Ski Lodging Co with 191 listings. market score is 76/100 (grade B).
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Bethel is a small mountain town in Oxford County, Maine, with a population of 2,617 that hosts a substantial short-term rental inventory relative to its size. The market counts 1,166 active listings as of the latest dimension snapshot. Entire-place rentals dominate at 1,158 properties, with just 8 private-room listings rounding out the mix. Bedroom distribution is relatively balanced: 249 one-bedroom units, 218 two-bedroom, 257 three-bedroom, 261 four-bedroom, and 181 properties with five or more bedrooms, indicating strong representation of larger ski houses suited to groups. On the channel side, 754 listings appear on both Airbnb and VRBO, 324 list exclusively on Airbnb, and 88 hold VRBO-only inventory. The April 2026 average daily rate stood at $362, with occupancy at 20.2%, reflecting the deep post-ski trough. RevPAR was $72.85 for the month. Year-over-year as of April 2026, ADR is up 4.9% and revenue is up 11.1%, while occupancy dipped slightly by 0.28 percentage points. Annual revenue averages have grown steadily from $2,171 per month in 2017 to $4,454 in 2025, representing roughly a 105% gain over eight years. The market score for Bethel shows strong investability (91.6 out of 100) and revenue growth (84.0), offset by moderate rental demand (52.2) and seasonality scores (62.2), which reflect the pronounced winter-summer swing inherent to ski resort towns.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50% | $389 | $5,166 |
| Feb | 61% | $407 | $5,951 |
| Mar | 46% | $360 | $4,694 |
| Apr | 23% | $279 | $2,126 |
| May | 30% | $293 | $2,159 |
| Jun | 43% | $317 | $2,820 |
| Jul | 54% | $315 | $4,118 |
| Aug | 52% | $305 | $4,479 |
| Sep | 33% | $284 | $2,633 |
| Oct | 36% | $292 | $2,783 |
| Nov | 31% | $293 | $2,377 |
| Dec | 52% | $382 | $4,080 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Bethel
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maine Ski Lodging Co | 191 | 6,795 | ★ 4.81 |
| 2 | Four Seasons Realty Maine | 74 | 1,857 | ★ 4.74 |
| 3 | Connecting Rentals of Bethel | 49 | 792 | ★ 4.75 |
| 4 | Peak Properties of Maine | 43 | 1,568 | ★ 4.94 |
| 5 | Vacasa | 38 | 842 | ★ 4.55 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Bethel?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 249 |
| 2 bed | 218 |
| 3 bed | 257 |
| 4 bed | 261 |
| 5 bed | 181 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $362 |
| Luxury | $606 |
| Professionally Managed | $361 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $1,971 |
| Entire Place | $2,963 |
| House | $3,326 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 27.8% |
| vrbo | 7.5% |
| both | 64.7% |
Investment Analysis
Bethel presents a ski-market investment profile with strong revenue growth but pronounced seasonality. The April 2026 average monthly revenue across all listing types was $2,949, with entire-place rentals earning $2,963 on average and houses reaching $3,326. Annual revenue for the average listing averaged $4,454 per month across 2025, implying annualized gross revenue of approximately $53,448. The typical home value in Bethel sits at $449,897 as of April 2026 housing data, with active listings showing a median list price of $552,167 and 47 properties currently for sale. The gross STR yield is approximately 7.9%, calculated from $2,949 average monthly revenue annualized against a $449,897 typical home value. Luxury-tier properties command an ADR of $606 versus the all-listing average of $362, a 68% premium that signals meaningful upside for well-appointed larger homes. Professionally managed properties show an ADR of $361, nearly identical to the all-listings average, suggesting the PM premium here is not in nightly rate but likely in occupancy consistency across the ski shoulder seasons. The market’s investability score of 91.6 and revenue growth score of 84.0 reflect the upward ADR trajectory, which has climbed from a 2017 annual average of $266 to a 2025 average of $389. Investors should underwrite occupancy carefully: the annual average across all years sits around 42 to 43%, not the peak-winter figures. A four-bedroom house generating $3,326/month at current averages produces approximately $39,912 annually before expenses.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
The April 2026 data shows an average booking lead time of 57.6 days and an average length of stay of 3.4 nights. A lead time of nearly two months is notably long compared to typical leisure markets, which often run 30 to 45 days. In a ski resort context this makes sense: skiers plan lift passes, travel, and group logistics well in advance, particularly for the February peak weeks. For operators, this means pricing decisions for ski season need to be in place 8 to 10 weeks before the target dates to capture full-price bookings rather than last-minute discounters. A 3.4-night average length of stay is consistent with long-weekend ski trips anchored to Friday-Monday or Saturday-Tuesday patterns. Operators should structure minimum-night requirements to optimize for full-weekend fills rather than single-night gaps. During summer months, which attract hikers and outdoor visitors with less fixed itineraries, lead times likely shorten and stay lengths may include more 2-night weekends. Adjusting minimum-night requirements seasonally, for example 3-night minimums in winter versus 2-night in summer, can reduce vacancy gaps during the softer spring and fall shoulder periods.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Bethel has no local short-term rental ordinance in force as of May 2026. A proposed local STR ordinance was reviewed by the Ordinance Review Committee in 2023 and voted down by the Bethel Select Board in May 2023 by a 4-to-1 margin. The town has continued drafting an updated version focused on registration, off-street parking, and guest caps tied to bedroom count and septic design, but no version has been adopted. The operative compliance layer is the Maine state vacation rental registration administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. Registration is required annually with a fee capped at $50. Maine’s statewide lodging tax rate is 9%, applied to all short-term stays. Airbnb collects and remits the state tax automatically for platform bookings. Operators taking direct bookings must register with Maine Revenue Services independently. There is no Bethel-imposed cap on rental nights per year, no owner-occupancy requirement, and no primary-residence requirement. Enforcement today is complaint-driven and focused on building code, septic capacity, and fire safety compliance rather than STR-specific operations. STRs are permitted across Bethel’s residential, mixed-use, commercial, and rural residential zoning categories, though condo and HOA rules at the development level may impose additional restrictions. Operators considering multi-unit or multi-property acquisitions should anticipate that a local registration regime may be adopted within the planning horizon of a typical investment hold. Neighboring Woodstock began considering its own STR ordinance in late 2024, signaling continued regional legislative pressure.
Market Comparison
Bethel’s STR metrics sit in a distinctive position relative to national norms. The US STR median occupancy across all markets is approximately 55%, and the national median ADR is around $220. Bethel’s April occupancy of 20.2% reflects a trough month rather than a representative figure; the February peak of 61.2% actually exceeds the national median. The annual average occupancy of approximately 42% is below the national median, which is expected for a single-anchor ski destination where half the calendar year is shoulder or off-season. The Bethel ADR of $362 in April, and a February average around $407, runs meaningfully above the national median of $220, consistent with ski resort markets that command premium nightly rates. On operator concentration: Maine Ski Lodging Co leads the Bethel market with 191 listings and a 4.81 average rating across 6,795 reviews. Four Seasons Realty Maine holds 74 listings at a 4.74 rating. Connecting Rentals of Bethel accounts for 49 listings at a 4.75 rating, and Peak Properties of Maine manages 43 listings with the highest PM rating in the market at 4.94. Vacasa rounds out the top five with 38 listings and a 4.55 rating. The top five operators collectively represent roughly 395 of the 1,166 active listings, meaning approximately 34% of the market is professionally managed, which is above average for a market of this size and consistent with ski resort towns where property management is a mature local industry.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bethel, Maine
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