Fairhope, Alabama Short-Term Rental Market
Fairhope, AL STRs averaged $338/night at 57.6% occupancy in April 2026 with revenue up 7.2% year-over-year.
Quick Answer: Fairhope, Alabama is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 58%. average monthly revenue is $5,296. average daily rate is $338. the top operator is Vacasa with 1,878 listings. market score is 82/100 (grade B).
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Fairhope is a small Gulf Coast bay town on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay with a population of 27,463 that draws leisure travelers for its waterfront, boutique district, and art scene. The April 2026 STR market shows 57.6% occupancy against an average daily rate of $338, producing RevPAR of $194.73. Year-over-year, occupancy improved by 8.92 percentage points while ADR dipped 2.36%, netting a 7.17% gain in per-listing revenue.
The market is heavily oriented toward entire-place rentals: 19,825 of approximately 20,079 bookable slots tracked are entire-place listings, with 253 private rooms and just 1 shared room. Bedroom distribution skews toward 2- and 3-bedroom properties (6,773 and 6,650 respectively), followed by 1-bedroom (3,049), 4-bedroom (2,268), and 5-bedroom (1,323). Channel presence is broad: 13,519 listings appear on both Airbnb and VRBO, with an additional 2,995 on Airbnb only and 3,565 on VRBO only.
Market scores from the latest dimension snapshot are strong: a total score of 82.3, investability at 95.0, rental demand at 87.3, and revenue growth at 85.5. The seasonality score of 43.5 reflects meaningful seasonal swings (detailed in Seasonal Patterns). The regulation score of 59.9 reflects Fairhope’s zoning-based restrictions, which limit nightly rentals to higher-density and commercial zones.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39% | $198 | $1,986 |
| Feb | 64% | $208 | $2,590 |
| Mar | 69% | $293 | $4,492 |
| Apr | 49% | $297 | $4,090 |
| May | 64% | $326 | $5,193 |
| Jun | 80% | $384 | $7,967 |
| Jul | 79% | $362 | $7,704 |
| Aug | 54% | $296 | $4,605 |
| Sep | 52% | $261 | $3,702 |
| Oct | 53% | $248 | $3,502 |
| Nov | 34% | $225 | $2,193 |
| Dec | 30% | $220 | $1,898 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Fairhope
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vacasa | 1,878 | 81,402 | ★ 4.37 |
| 2 | Brett Robinson Vacation Rentals | 1,775 | 15,937 | ★ 4.53 |
| 3 | Liquid Life | 898 | 23,604 | ★ 4.59 |
| 4 | My Beach Getaways | 443 | 10,896 | ★ 4.58 |
| 5 | Beachball Properties | 420 | 13,232 | ★ 4.62 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Fairhope?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 3,049 |
| 2 bed | 6,773 |
| 3 bed | 6,650 |
| 4 bed | 2,268 |
| 5 bed | 1,323 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $341 |
| Luxury | $468 |
| Professionally Managed | $376 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $5,114 |
| Entire Place | $5,331 |
| House | $5,874 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 14.9% |
| vrbo | 17.8% |
| both | 67.3% |
Investment Analysis
At April 2026’s average daily rate of $338 and monthly revenue of $5,296, a Fairhope STR generates approximately $63,552 annualized at current average performance. With a typical home value of $465,524 (Zillow, April 2026), that implies a gross revenue yield of roughly 13.7% before expenses. Investors should note this is a market-wide average including all property types and sizes.
Tier differentiation is meaningful. Entire-home listings average $341/night versus $376 for professionally managed properties and $468 for luxury-tier listings. That $130 spread between standard and luxury ADR suggests upside for well-appointed, larger properties. Revenue by type in April: houses at $5,874 outperform entire-place at $5,331, and apartments at $5,114 trail both.
Year-over-year revenue grew 7.17% through April 2026, with occupancy driving the gain (up 8.92 percentage points) even as ADR softened 2.36%. The 2025 annual average ADR was $328 and revenue $5,321 per the historical series, consistent with the current trajectory.
Housing market context: median sale price was $468,750 in April 2026 against a median list price of $625,000, with 356 active listings and a sale-to-list ratio of 0.750, indicating sellers are accepting significant discounts. Median days to pending was 36. The gap between list and sale price suggests negotiating room on acquisition cost, which benefits yield calculations.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
The average booking lead time in Fairhope is 55.5 days, meaning guests typically book nearly 8 weeks in advance. This gives operators a meaningful window to adjust pricing dynamically before arrival. Properties that hold firm pricing through the 60-day mark and then discount selectively in the final 2 weeks can capture both early planners and last-minute bookers.
Average length of stay is 4.3 nights, which sits above nightly-focused urban markets and suggests guests are using Fairhope as a multi-day destination rather than a stopover. A 4-night average means operators see roughly 6 to 7 turnover events per month at average occupancy, which is manageable for cleaning and maintenance scheduling. Minimum-stay policies of 3 to 4 nights align with guest behavior and reduce the operational overhead of frequent single-night turnovers. During peak June and July, operators may benefit from 5 to 7 night minimums to capture full-week bookings and reduce mid-week vacancy.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Fairhope permits short-term rentals but restricts them by zoning district. The city defines an STR as any rental under 30 days. Nightly rentals are allowed only in higher-density and commercial zones: R-4, R-5, B-1, B-2, B-3a, and B-3b. In single-family residential districts (R-1, R-2, and R-3), the minimum rental period is 30 days, which effectively prohibits nightly STRs in most of the city’s residential neighborhoods.
Operators in permitted zones must hold a City of Fairhope business license, with fees starting at $100 per year inside city limits (half that in the police jurisdiction), renewed annually. There is no published owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement and no stated maximum nights per year.
STR stays are subject to a 6% city lodging tax on accommodations rented for fewer than 180 continuous days, on top of Alabama state lodgings tax and any Baldwin County lodgings tax, producing a combined lodging tax rate well above 10%. Operators should budget accordingly.
Enforcement is rated moderate. No major ordinance overhaul was identified in the past 24 months. The 2025-2026 restoration of the Fairhope Municipal Pier and waterfront reinforces the tourism draw but did not trigger regulatory change. Prospective operators should verify their parcel’s zoning with the Planning and Zoning Department before listing.
Market Comparison
At 57.6% occupancy and $338 ADR in April 2026, Fairhope sits above the US STR median occupancy of approximately 55% and significantly above the national median ADR of roughly $220. The market’s RevPAR of $194.73 reflects a premium coastal destination relative to inland markets of similar population size.
The total market score of 82.3 out of 100 places Fairhope in the upper tier of small-city STR markets. Investability scores highest at 95.0, reflecting the combination of strong ADR, revenue growth, and housing entry cost relative to rental yield potential.
Professional management is deeply embedded. Vacasa leads with 1,878 listings (the largest single operator), followed closely by Brett Robinson Vacation Rentals at 1,775 listings. Third is Liquid Life with 898 listings. Together, just these three operators account for roughly 4,551 of the market’s tracked listings, a substantial concentration that reflects the coastal vacation rental management ecosystem in the Mobile Bay and Gulf Coast region. Individual operators compete against professionally managed inventory with higher average ADRs ($376 for PM tier vs. $338 market-wide), so product quality and listing optimization matter.
Frequently Asked Questions About Fairhope, Alabama
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