Morro Bay, California Short-Term Rental Market
The Morro Bay area STR market earned $438 ADR at 60% occupancy in June 2026.
Quick Answer: Morro Bay, California is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the San Luis Obispo market area is 60%. average monthly revenue in the San Luis Obispo market area is $6,949. average daily rate in the San Luis Obispo market area is $438. the top operator in the San Luis Obispo market area is Seven Sisters Vacation Rentals with 141 listings. market score is 75/100 (grade B).
Market data reflects the San Luis Obispo regional market, which includes Morro Bay. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Morro Bay.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Morro Bay is a small Central California coastal town in San Luis Obispo County, anchored by the 576-foot Morro Rock and the Embarcadero waterfront district. Tourism is the city’s dominant economic driver: transient occupancy tax collections reached nearly $4 million annually before the pandemic, and the average overnight hotel or motel guest is estimated to spend about $225 per day beyond lodging on dining, shopping, and activities.
Short-term rental performance data in this data set is tracked at a submarket level shared with several nearby San Luis Obispo County towns, so the figures below describe the wider Morro Bay area STR market rather than city-limits-only precision. In June 2026, the most recent month with complete data, the area’s average daily rate across all listings was $437.62 at 60.12% occupancy, generating average monthly revenue of $6,948.75 per listing. Occupancy is up a modest 0.52% year over year, ADR is essentially flat (down 0.27%), and monthly revenue is up 4.90% year over year.
Bedroom mix, listing-type mix, channel mix, and market-score data in this data set are tracked at a shared regional level rather than measured uniquely for Morro Bay, so this profile omits those figures rather than present regional numbers as if they were city-specific. Booking data for the area shows an average lead time of 80.46 days and an average length of stay of 3.64 nights, consistent with planned California coastal vacations booked well in advance rather than last-minute regional trips.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 38% |
| Feb | 47% |
| Mar | 50% |
| Apr | 54% |
| May | 52% |
| Jun | 61% |
| Jul | 68% |
| Aug | 60% |
| Sep | 53% |
| Oct | 52% |
| Nov | 51% |
| Dec | 46% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Morro Bay are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in San Luis Obispo market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the San Luis Obispo market as a whole, which includes Morro Bay, so these counts are not Morro Bay-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seven Sisters Vacation Rentals | 141 | 8,870 | ★ 4.80 |
| 2 | Paso Robles Vacation Rentals | 132 | 16,273 | ★ 4.88 |
| 3 | Beach Bum Holiday Rentals | 114 | 4,011 | ★ 4.68 |
| 4 | Scenic Coast Property Management | 88 | 5,409 | ★ 4.78 |
| 5 | Coastal Vacation Rentals & Property Management | 86 | 4,839 | ★ 4.68 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Morro Bay?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Morro Bay 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 | 40.6% |
| vrbo | 7.7% |
| both | 51.7% |
Home Value Trends (Morro Bay)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Morro Bay 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 Morro Bay — 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
Morro Bay permits short-term rentals citywide, but regulates them tightly under Ordinance 640, adopted in 2020. Operators must obtain three things before renting: an STR permit, a city business license, and a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) account. Permits are renewed annually, with renewal applications due 60 days before expiration, and properties are inspected every four years.
Full-home rentals in residential zones are capped citywide at 175 units and subject to a 175-foot separation buffer between STRs, which has produced a waitlist of roughly 186 properties. Home-share rentals, where the owner is present, face no cap in residential zones, and full-home rentals in commercial or mixed-use zones are exempt from both the cap and the buffer.
Total permit-related costs start around $600.00, with an additional $181 per hour reinspection fee if a property fails inspection. The base Transient Occupancy Tax is 10.00%, but operators effectively collect about 14.5% once a 3% Tourism Business Improvement District assessment and a 1.5% countywide BID are added, and a minimum of $500 in TOT is owed regardless of income. There is no published cap on nights rented per year, and full-home, non-owner-occupied rentals are explicitly allowed, so no primary-residence or owner-occupancy requirement applies to full-home permits.
Enforcement is rated strict: illegal operators face cessation orders, liability for up to three years of unpaid TOT, and penalties of up to $5,000 per day. The city treated 2025 as an audit year requiring all existing permit holders to renew, approved no new full-home permits that year, and in January 2026 authorized staff to contact five waitlisted properties newly eligible for full-home permits. A new Master Fee Schedule took effect January 1, 2026.
Market Comparison
The Morro Bay area’s 60.12% occupancy in June 2026 runs above the roughly 55% median occupancy typically seen across the broader U.S. short-term rental market, and its $437.62 average daily rate is roughly double the roughly $220 national median ADR. This combination reflects the area’s position as a well-established Central Coast beach destination with strong drive-market demand from across California.
Top property manager data in this data set is tracked at a shared regional level across several San Luis Obispo County towns rather than uniquely for Morro Bay, so this profile does not present specific operator names, listing counts, or ratings as Morro Bay-specific. Investors should note that Morro Bay’s own STR permit cap (175 full-home units citywide, with a waitlist of about 186 properties) is a more meaningful local supply constraint than any regional operator ranking.
Frequently Asked Questions About Morro Bay, California
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Do I need a permit to operate a short-term rental in Morro Bay, CA?
Is there a waitlist for short-term rental permits in Morro Bay?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Morro Bay?
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