Pencil Bluff, Arkansas Short-Term Rental Market
The west-central Arkansas STR market near Pencil Bluff averaged $298 ADR at 59.2% occupancy in June 2026.
Quick Answer: Pencil Bluff, Arkansas is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Hot Springs market area is 59%. average monthly revenue in the Hot Springs market area is $4,841. average daily rate in the Hot Springs market area is $298.
Market data reflects the Hot Springs regional market, which includes Pencil Bluff. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Pencil Bluff.
Market Overview
Pencil Bluff is a tiny unincorporated community of about 79 people on the Ouachita River in Montgomery County, Arkansas, at the junction of US-270 and AR-88, deep in the Ouachita National Forest, the smallest area covered in this profile set. It draws outdoor-recreation visitors rather than conventional tourists: paddlers and anglers floating the roughly 45 miles of the Ouachita River, campers at free U.S. Forest Service float camps, and hikers and mountain bikers on the Womble Trail, plus rockhounds visiting the nearby Mount Ida area, marketed as the Quartz Crystal Capital of the World. StaySTRA tracks Pencil Bluff’s short-term rental performance data at the west-central Arkansas regional level, shared with nearby Bismarck, so the figures below describe that broader regional market rather than Pencil Bluff alone. That regional market averaged a $297.72 ADR and 59.2% occupancy in June 2026, the most recent month tracked, with $4,841 in average monthly revenue. Year over year, occupancy is up 2.6%, ADR is up 3.5%, and revenue is up 6.0%. Dimension mix and property manager data are not published for this area at all, and per-listing-type revenue and booking-timing figures are also not available, so this profile is limited to blended occupancy, rate, and revenue figures.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 26% |
| Feb | 38% |
| Mar | 57% |
| Apr | 42% |
| May | 47% |
| Jun | 61% |
| Jul | 66% |
| Aug | 44% |
| Sep | 40% |
| Oct | 48% |
| Nov | 43% |
| Dec | 34% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Pencil Bluff 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 Pencil Bluff — 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
Pencil Bluff is a tiny unincorporated community with no city government of its own. Arkansas has no statewide short-term rental licensing scheme, and no STR permit, license, owner-occupancy, primary-residence, or night-cap requirement could be found at either the county or (nonexistent) city level. In practice, STR operation is effectively unregulated locally, and enforcement is classified as minimal. Taxes are the main compliance obligation: Arkansas applies a 6.5% state sales tax, a 1% short-term rental tax, and a 2% state tourism tax to short-term rental receipts, a combined rate of roughly 9.5%, collected and remitted via the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, with Montgomery County’s local sales tax also applying on top. No Advertising and Promotion lodging tax was found for the Pencil Bluff or Mount Ida area. Investors should still verify current rules directly with Montgomery County offices, since much of the surrounding land is federal Ouachita National Forest and not privately rentable, and rural county policies can change without wide publication.
Market Comparison
Nationally, short-term rentals typically run around 55% occupancy and a $220 ADR. This shared west-central Arkansas market’s June 2026 figures, 59.2% occupancy and a $297.72 ADR, run above both national benchmarks, a notably strong rate for a rural forest market, reflecting limited private lodging supply against steady float-trip and forest-recreation demand. Property manager market share and per-listing-type performance data are not published for this area, so a direct comparison to competing operators or unit types is not possible here. The more distinctive feature of this market is the near-total absence of regulation: no permit, no license, and no local ordinance at any level, a stark contrast with the licensing regimes common in more developed tourist markets.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pencil Bluff, Arkansas
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