Mobile, Alabama Short-Term Rental Market
Mobile short-term rentals averaged $495 a night at 82.4% occupancy in June 2026.
Quick Answer: Mobile, Alabama is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Gulf Shores/Mobile market area is 82%. average monthly revenue in the Gulf Shores/Mobile market area is $11,156. average daily rate in the Gulf Shores/Mobile market area is $495. the top operator in the Gulf Shores/Mobile market area is Vacasa with 2,094 listings. market score is 82/100 (grade B).
Market data reflects the Gulf Shores/Mobile regional market, which includes Mobile. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Mobile.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Mobile, Alabama, the Gulf Coast port city and home to the oldest Mardi Gras celebration in the United States, sits within a wider Gulf Coast short-term rental market that tracks 20,265 listings as of June 2026; the listing-mix figures below reflect that shared regional data set rather than Mobile in isolation. Mobile’s own STR performance averaged $495.08 a night (ADR) at 82.4% occupancy, the highest occupancy rate in this batch of markets, generating an average of $11,156 in monthly revenue per listing. Occupancy is up 2.1% year over year and revenue is up 1.9%, while ADR is down 8.7%, suggesting rates came down even as bookings picked up.
The listing mix across this regional market is almost entirely entire places: 20,012 of the 20,265 listings (98.8%) are whole units, with 252 (1.2%) private rooms and 1 shared room. Of the 20,253 listings with bedroom data on file, 2-bedroom units are the largest group at 6,832 (33.7%), closely followed by 3-bedroom units at 6,743 (33.3%) and 1-bedroom units at 3,069 (15.2%). Larger 4-bedroom and 5-bedroom properties account for 2,264 (11.2%) and 1,345 (6.6%) of the market.
Channel distribution across the region favors dual listing: 13,551 properties (66.9%) are marketed on both Airbnb and Vrbo, 3,701 (18.3%) are Vrbo only, and 3,013 (14.9%) are Airbnb only.
Revenue varies by property type in Mobile itself: apartment-style units average $10,705 a month, entire-place units average $11,247, and standalone houses average $12,564, the highest of the three.
The city of Mobile itself has a population of about 203,416, though the ADR levels and property-manager names in this tracked regional market, several of which specialize in Gulf-front vacation rentals, suggest the data spans the wider Gulf Coast market rather than downtown Mobile alone. Mobile County draws an estimated 3.5 million visitors a year.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 39% |
| Feb | 64% |
| Mar | 69% |
| Apr | 49% |
| May | 63% |
| Jun | 80% |
| Jul | 79% |
| Aug | 54% |
| Sep | 52% |
| Oct | 53% |
| Nov | 34% |
| Dec | 30% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Mobile are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Gulf Shores/Mobile market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Gulf Shores/Mobile market as a whole, which includes Mobile, so these counts are not Mobile-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vacasa | 2,094 | 83,995 | ★ 4.38 |
| 2 | Brett Robinson Vacation Rentals | 1,773 | 15,753 | ★ 4.53 |
| 3 | Liquid Life | 909 | 23,703 | ★ 4.60 |
| 4 | My Beach Getaways | 447 | 10,942 | ★ 4.59 |
| 5 | Beachball Properties | 422 | 13,341 | ★ 4.61 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Mobile?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Mobile are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 14.9% |
| vrbo | 18.3% |
| both | 66.9% |
Home Value Trends (Mobile)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Mobile are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Booking Insights
Booking-window and length-of-stay analysis for Mobile — how far ahead guests book and how to price around it — is available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Short-term rentals are permitted citywide in Mobile under a Short-Term Rental Ordinance effective January 1, 2021. Each STR location must obtain a City of Mobile business license, with an application fee on file of $150.00, renewed annually, and the license number must appear on every listing or advertisement.
Only entire homes or apartments may be rented; renting individual rooms within an occupied dwelling is prohibited. Operators must carry at least $1,000,000 in liability insurance, either a homeowner’s policy rider covering STR use or a commercial policy, and post a 24/7 local responsible party’s name and phone number inside each unit.
There is no owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement and no stated annual cap on rental nights. Operators must collect and remit lodging taxes on stays under 180 days; the combined city, county, and Alabama state lodging tax now runs about 16.0%, after Mobile raised its city lodging tax from 8% to 10% effective June 1, 2025.
Enforcement is rated moderate and runs through the city’s business-license and revenue process. Overall, Mobile’s regime is comparatively permissive: no ownership restriction, no annual night cap, and no zoning-based prohibition, making the licensing, insurance, and entire-unit requirements the main compliance items for buyers to plan around.
Market Comparison
Mobile’s 82.4% occupancy is far above the national short-term rental median of roughly 55%, about 27.4 percentage points higher and the highest occupancy rate in this batch, while its $495.08 ADR is roughly 125.0% above a national median ADR of about $220. This combination of very high occupancy and a very high rate reflects strong, sustained Gulf Coast demand in this tracked regional market.
Across the wider Gulf Coast market that includes Mobile, large national and regional property managers dominate. Vacasa holds the top spot with 2,094 listings (10.3% of the region’s 20,265 tracked listings) and 83,995 reviews at a 4.38 average rating. Brett Robinson Vacation Rentals is second with 1,773 listings (8.7% share) and 15,753 reviews at 4.53. Liquid Life ranks third with 909 listings (4.5% share) and 23,703 reviews at 4.60. Together, the top three managers control about 23.6% of tracked listings across this regional market, a meaningfully higher concentration than in most other markets in this batch, indicating large-scale professional management dominates the Gulf Coast rather than individual hosts.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mobile, Alabama
What is the average Airbnb occupancy rate in Mobile, Alabama?
What is the average nightly rate for a Mobile vacation rental?
Does the Mobile short-term rental data reflect the whole city?
How much revenue does the average Mobile short-term rental generate per month?
When is peak season for Mobile vacation rentals?
Who are the top property managers operating in the Mobile / Gulf Coast area?
What lodging tax applies to short-term rentals in Mobile?
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