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 in the Delaware/Maryland Beaches market area is 68%. average monthly revenue in the Delaware/Maryland Beaches market area is $6,346. average daily rate in the Delaware/Maryland Beaches market area is $409. the top operator in the Delaware/Maryland Beaches market area is Vacasa with 2,692 listings. market score is 49/100 (grade D).
Market data reflects the Delaware/Maryland Beaches regional market, which includes Bethany Beach. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Bethany Beach.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA 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 |
|---|---|
| Jan | 25% |
| Feb | 35% |
| Mar | 39% |
| Apr | 39% |
| May | 46% |
| Jun | 70% |
| Jul | 79% |
| Aug | 78% |
| Sep | 45% |
| Oct | 26% |
| Nov | 25% |
| Dec | 31% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Bethany Beach are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Delaware/Maryland Beaches market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Delaware/Maryland Beaches market as a whole, which includes Bethany Beach, so these counts are not Bethany Beach-only figures.
| # | 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 nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Bethany Beach 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 | 17.3% |
| vrbo | 27.3% |
| both | 55.4% |
Home Value Trends (Bethany Beach)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Bethany Beach 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 Bethany Beach — 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 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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