Bethany Beach, Delaware Short-Term Rental Market
Bethany Beach STRs averaged $269/night at 35.2% occupancy in April 2026, with peak summer months reaching 79%.
Quick Answer: Bethany Beach, Delaware is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 35%. average monthly revenue is $2,078. average daily rate is $269. the top operator is Vacasa with 2,692 listings. market score is 49/100 (grade D).
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
The Bethany Beach, Delaware short-term rental market is concentrated along one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most active beach corridors, drawing roughly 7 million annual visitors from the Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore metro areas. As of April 2026, the market reported an average daily rate of $269 and occupancy of 35.2%, typical for the spring shoulder season. The RevPAR for April stood at $94.51.
The market is dominated by entire-place listings, which account for 15,319 of approximately 15,472 total active listings. Private rooms represent a small 152-unit segment, and shared rooms are negligible at 1. By bedroom count, 2-bedroom (4,856) and 3-bedroom (4,479) units form the core inventory, followed by 1-bedroom (2,191), 4-bedroom (2,271), and 5-bedroom-plus (1,661) properties.
Channel distribution shows 8,571 listings active on both Airbnb and Vrbo, with 4,229 Vrbo-only and 2,672 Airbnb-only listings, reflecting the beach market’s strong Vrbo presence relative to many urban markets. Year-over-year through April 2026, occupancy was down 12.2% and revenue was down 9.0%, while ADR gained 9.0%, indicating a rate-driven market where pricing power held even as demand softened. The 2025 annual average revenue per listing was $3,827/month, up from $3,712 in 2024.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25% | $272 | $2,024 |
| Feb | 35% | $256 | $2,004 |
| Mar | 39% | $250 | $2,029 |
| Apr | 39% | $262 | $2,327 |
| May | 47% | $304 | $2,760 |
| Jun | 70% | $349 | $5,323 |
| Jul | 79% | $345 | $6,743 |
| Aug | 78% | $342 | $6,720 |
| Sep | 45% | $282 | $3,332 |
| Oct | 26% | $249 | $2,037 |
| Nov | 25% | $256 | $1,897 |
| Dec | 31% | $277 | $2,107 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Bethany Beach
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vacasa | 2,692 | 62,701 | ★ 4.37 |
| 2 | Coastal Resort Rentals | 357 | 1,649 | ★ 4.39 |
| 3 | Shoreline Properties | 349 | 1,835 | ★ 4.28 |
| 4 | Central Reservations | 328 | 4,812 | ★ 4.53 |
| 5 | VacayHome Connect | 314 | 594 | ★ 4.07 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Bethany Beach?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 2,191 |
| 2 bed | 4,856 |
| 3 bed | 4,479 |
| 4 bed | 2,271 |
| 5 bed | 1,661 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $271 |
| Luxury | $391 |
| Professionally Managed | $287 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $1,777 |
| Entire Place | $2,091 |
| House | $2,677 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 17.3% |
| vrbo | 27.3% |
| both | 55.4% |
Investment Analysis
Bethany Beach presents a high-entry-cost, high-rate seasonal investment profile. The Zillow typical home value as of April 2026 was $918,746, with a median list price of $1,016,500 and only 51 properties for sale, reflecting a constrained inventory market. Using the 2025 annual average monthly revenue of $3,827, the annualized gross revenue estimate is approximately $45,924, implying a gross rental yield of roughly 5.0% on a $918,746 asset before expenses, management fees, and taxes.
ADR tiering provides meaningful signal for property selection. Luxury-tier properties averaged $391 per night in April 2026 versus $269 for all listings, a 45% premium. Professionally managed properties averaged $287 per night, 7% above the overall average. Entire-home ADR was $271, nearly matching the all-listing figure given the market’s composition.
Revenue trend is directionally positive over the multi-year horizon: the 2017 average was $2,203/month; 2025 reached $3,827/month, a 74% increase over eight years. The 2024-to-2025 gain was 3.1%. The market’s revenue growth score of 91.3 out of 100 ranks among the stronger signals in the dimension data. The investability score is 69.6 and the regulation score is 67.1, both reflecting a relatively permissive, licensed-but-not-restricted operating environment.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
April 2026 booking lead time for Bethany Beach averaged 52.4 days, meaning guests typically book roughly seven and a half weeks before their stay. This is a meaningful planning window that supports dynamic pricing adjustments. Operators can apply higher initial rates for peak summer dates at the time of listing, then monitor pace and adjust for shoulder-season availability as the booking window approaches.
Average length of stay was 3.37 nights in April 2026. This is a moderate mid-week-to-weekend pattern, typical for beach markets where guests book extended weekend or partial-week stays rather than the longer one- to two-week vacations common in mountain or destination resort markets.
The combination of a 52-day lead time and a 3.4-night average stay implies relatively high turnover. Operators should factor cleaning costs, restocking, and check-in logistics into per-stay cost models, as a property averaging 3.4 nights will turn over roughly 8 to 9 times per month when near full occupancy. Operators targeting longer stays may consider minimum-night requirements during peak season to reduce operational friction while maintaining rate.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Short-term rentals are permitted in Bethany Beach and throughout the broader Delaware beach corridor. Each municipality maintains its own annual rental license program; no owner-occupancy or primary-residence restriction applies in any Delaware beach town, and there is no cap on nights rented per year.
Bethany Beach specifically requires an annual rental license (June 1 to May 31 cycle) at a cost of $100 per year, plus a 7% local rental tax. The market-level occupancy tax figure in the data is 11.5%, which includes the stacked state and local components.
As of January 1, 2025, Delaware enacted HB168, which added a 4.5% state lodging tax on all STRs (stays of 31 nights or fewer). This tax is collected by platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo) or directly by owners and stacks on top of local town taxes. For a Bethany Beach listing, operators should account for the 4.5% state tax plus the 7% local rental tax.
Nearby jurisdictions within the same market area have their own structures: Rehoboth Beach charges $150/year with a 7% local rental tax; Dewey Beach charges $188 for up to 2 bedrooms plus $15 per additional bedroom, with a 3% accommodations tax; Lewes charges $100/year with a 5.5% gross receipts rental tax (increased from 5% in May 2025). The enforcement severity is rated moderate across this corridor. No owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement applies in any of these Delaware beach towns.
Market Comparison
Bethany Beach’s April 2026 ADR of $269 is above the approximate U.S. STR median ADR of $220, consistent with its coastal premium. At 35.2% occupancy in April, the market sits below the U.S. annual median occupancy of roughly 55%, but April is a shoulder month; the market’s July occupancy of 78.8% substantially exceeds national norms for peak season.
The market’s total score of 48.7 out of 100 and rental demand score of 47.4 reflect the high seasonality penalty on annual averages. Revenue growth score of 91.3 is a standout, indicating that despite recent year-over-year softness, the longer-term revenue trajectory is among the stronger in the data set.
Property management is highly concentrated. Vacasa leads with 2,692 listings and 62,701 reviews (4.37 average rating), representing approximately 17.4% of the 15,472 total active listings in the market. The next largest operators are Coastal Resort Rentals (357 listings, 4.39 rating), Shoreline Properties (349 listings, 4.28 rating), Central Reservations (328 listings, 4.53 rating), and VacayHome Connect (314 listings, 4.07 rating). The top 5 managers collectively hold approximately 4,040 listings, or about 26% of the market.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bethany Beach, Delaware
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