Spirit Lake, Iowa Short-Term Rental Market
Spirit Lake short-term rentals averaged $200 per night at 61.1% occupancy in June 2026 across 6,198 listings.
Quick Answer: Spirit Lake, Iowa is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 61%. average monthly revenue is $3,283. average daily rate is $200. the top operator is Evolve with 93 listings. market score is 76/100 (grade B).
Market data reflects the Iowa Area regional market, which includes Spirit Lake. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Spirit Lake.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Spirit Lake’s short-term rental market includes 6,198 active listings tracked across Airbnb and Vrbo. In June 2026, the average daily rate was $199.68 with occupancy at 61.1%, producing average monthly revenue of $3,283.14 per listing. Occupancy is up 3.57 percentage points year over year while ADR fell 3.36%, and average revenue per listing still rose 7.11% year over year, suggesting more nights booked more than offset the rate softening.
The market is dominated by entire-place rentals: 5,618 of the 6,198 total listings (90.6%) are entire-place, private rooms make up 578 (9.3%), and shared rooms are rare at just 2 listings. Bedroom count skews smaller, with 1-bedroom units the largest bucket at 1,959 listings, followed by 2-bedroom at 1,702, 3-bedroom at 1,428, 4-bedroom at 705, and 5-bedroom-plus the smallest segment at 398. By booking channel, 3,642 listings are Airbnb-only, 2,084 appear on both Airbnb and Vrbo, and 472 are Vrbo-only.
Spirit Lake is the northern anchor of the Iowa Great Lakes / Okoboji region, Iowa’s premier lake-vacation destination, with a city population of 5,548. The broader region draws more than 1 million visitors annually, though that figure reflects the Iowa Great Lakes region as a whole rather than the city of Spirit Lake alone. Big Spirit Lake, Iowa’s largest natural lake, anchors fishing, boating, and beach tourism here. StaySTRA’s market scoring gives this area a strong investability score of 84.36 and rental demand of 78.36.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41% | $112 | $1,337 |
| Feb | 45% | $109 | $1,306 |
| Mar | 50% | $110 | $1,495 |
| Apr | 50% | $116 | $1,527 |
| May | 54% | $138 | $1,862 |
| Jun | 61% | $175 | $2,804 |
| Jul | 64% | $180 | $3,161 |
| Aug | 57% | $169 | $2,721 |
| Sep | 50% | $143 | $1,946 |
| Oct | 50% | $133 | $1,893 |
| Nov | 48% | $123 | $1,630 |
| Dec | 46% | $120 | $1,578 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Spirit Lake
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 93 | 2,738 | ★ 4.63 |
| 2 | Okoboji Vacation Co. | 59 | 971 | ★ 4.69 |
| 3 | 228 Spaces | 36 | 1,021 | ★ 4.75 |
| 4 | CR Short Stays | 30 | 2,424 | ★ 4.85 |
| 5 | Iowa Cabin Rentals | 21 | 368 | ★ 4.19 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Spirit Lake?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 1,959 |
| 2 bed | 1,702 |
| 3 bed | 1,428 |
| 4 bed | 705 |
| 5 bed | 398 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $210 |
| Luxury | $384 |
| Professionally Managed | $246 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $2,604 |
| Entire Place | $3,454 |
| House | $3,734 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 58.8% |
| vrbo | 7.6% |
| both | 33.6% |
Investment Analysis
ADR varies notably by listing tier. All-listing average ADR is $199.68, entire-home listings average $210.30, and professionally managed listings command $246.39, a 23.4% premium over the all-listings average. The luxury tier tops out at $384.03 per night, about 1.9x the market average. Average revenue per listing is up 7.11% year over year even as ADR fell 3.36%, driven by the 3.57-point occupancy gain, indicating operators captured more booked nights even at a somewhat lower average rate.
On the acquisition side, Zillow-sourced housing data puts the typical home value at $332,438.61 against a higher median list price of $480,000.00, with only 34 homes currently for sale, a tight for-sale inventory for a lake market. Annualizing the average listing’s $3,283.14 monthly revenue to $39,397.71 against the $332,438.61 typical home value works out to a gross revenue yield of roughly 11.9%, before cleaning, management, mortgage, insurance, and lodging tax costs. That is a gross topline figure, not a net cash-on-cash return. Iowa’s statewide STR-preemption law (House File 2641, 2020) removes local permit and zoning-ban risk, a meaningful underwriting advantage, though the region’s strong summer seasonality (detailed below) should be modeled explicitly rather than assumed as a flat monthly average.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Average booking lead time in Spirit Lake is 67.26 days, one of the longer windows in this data set, reflecting a planned-vacation lake market where guests reserve well ahead of a summer trip. Average length of stay is 4.01 nights, longer than a typical weekend getaway and consistent with multi-day lake vacations. The combination of a roughly two-month booking window and a strong single summer peak (June through August) means operators can set advance-purchase discounts for early bookers well before the season while holding firmer rates as peak summer dates approach and inventory tightens.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Short-term rentals are legal and lightly regulated in Spirit Lake. Iowa’s statewide STR-preemption law, House File 2641 (enacted 2020), bars cities and counties from prohibiting STRs, requiring an STR-specific license or permit, or charging any STR-specific fee. STRs must be classified as a residential land use for zoning purposes, so an owner cannot be zoned out of renting short-term. Local governments retain only limited authority to enforce general health, fire, building-safety, nuisance, noise, and parking rules, and only if those rules apply the same way to comparable non-rental residential properties.
As a result, Spirit Lake has no dedicated STR permit program (permit not required), no owner-occupancy requirement, no primary-residence requirement, and no cap on rental nights per year. The main compliance obligation is lodging tax: Iowa’s statewide lodging excise tax is 5%, and Spirit Lake adds a 5% local hotel/motel tax for a combined 10.00% collected on stays. Neighboring Iowa Great Lakes communities such as Arnolds Park, Milford, and West Okoboji levy 7% locally for a 12% combined total, so rates can differ by a few miles. Enforcement is characterized as minimal. Operators should confirm current building and fire-safety rules directly with the Spirit Lake Building Department, since city code is periodically amended.
Market Comparison
Spirit Lake’s 61.1% occupancy is above commonly cited US STR benchmarks (roughly 55% occupancy nationally), while its $199.68 ADR runs below the roughly $220 national median, consistent with a smaller Midwest lake market rather than a major metro or coastal destination.
Property management here is fragmented. Evolve leads with 93 listings (2,738 reviews, 4.63 average rating), about 1.5% of the 6,198 tracked listings. Okoboji Vacation Co. ranks second with 59 listings (971 reviews, 4.69 rating, 1.0% share), followed by 228 Spaces with 36 listings (4.75 rating), CR Short Stays with 30 listings (the highest-rated of the top five at 4.85), and Iowa Cabin Rentals with 21 listings. The top 5 PMs combined control under 4% of listings, meaning this market is overwhelmingly self-managed or served by very small local operators, leaving room for a regional property manager to build share.
Frequently Asked Questions About Spirit Lake, Iowa
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