Saint Ignace, Michigan Short-Term Rental Market
Saint Ignace-area short-term rentals averaged $235 per night at 62.9% occupancy in June 2026 across 4,706 tracked listings.
Quick Answer: Saint Ignace, Michigan is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 63%. average monthly revenue is $3,572. average daily rate is $235. the top operator is Evolve with 99 listings. market score is 82/100 (grade B).
Market data reflects the Upper Peninsula regional market, which includes Saint Ignace. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Saint Ignace.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
The Saint Ignace-area short-term rental market includes 4,706 active listings tracked across Airbnb and Vrbo, spanning the city and surrounding eastern Upper Peninsula area (the tracked count is far larger than the city itself, population 2,306). In June 2026, the average daily rate was $235.11 with occupancy at 62.9%, producing average monthly revenue of $3,571.88 per listing. Occupancy is roughly flat year over year (up 0.32 points), ADR is down 3.23%, and average revenue per listing is up 1.87% year over year.
The market is dominated by entire-place rentals: 4,485 of the 4,706 total listings (95.3%) are entire-place, private rooms make up 220 (4.7%), and shared rooms are essentially nonexistent at 1 listing. Bedroom count centers on smaller units, with 2-bedroom the largest bucket at 1,555 listings, followed by 3-bedroom at 1,254, 1-bedroom at 1,174, 4-bedroom at 485, and 5-bedroom-plus the smallest segment at 234. By booking channel, 2,134 listings are Airbnb-only, 1,868 appear on both Airbnb and Vrbo, and 704 are Vrbo-only.
St. Ignace sits at the north end of the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula and functions as a primary gateway to Mackinac Island, with two ferry companies departing downtown docks daily from late April through October. The Mackinac Bridge alone sees roughly 2 million non-local crossings per year, though that figure reflects bridge traffic rather than a St. Ignace-specific visitor count. StaySTRA’s market scoring gives this area a near-perfect investability score of 99.83 and total score of 82.27.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43% | $186 | $2,164 |
| Feb | 50% | $192 | $2,307 |
| Mar | 31% | $161 | $1,587 |
| Apr | 36% | $146 | $1,388 |
| May | 47% | $172 | $1,689 |
| Jun | 64% | $205 | $3,049 |
| Jul | 77% | $208 | $4,303 |
| Aug | 73% | $206 | $4,163 |
| Sep | 55% | $189 | $2,863 |
| Oct | 50% | $180 | $2,479 |
| Nov | 31% | $152 | $1,509 |
| Dec | 45% | $173 | $1,678 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Saint Ignace
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 99 | 4,079 | ★ 4.65 |
| 2 | Freshwater Vacation Rentals | 75 | 5,328 | ★ 4.85 |
| 3 | Northwoods Resort | 49 | 6,917 | ★ 4.86 |
| 4 | Northern Properties | 49 | 228 | ★ 4.71 |
| 5 | Pictured Rocks Vacation Rentals & Property Management, LLC | 36 | 3,265 | ★ 4.74 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Saint Ignace?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 1,174 |
| 2 bed | 1,555 |
| 3 bed | 1,254 |
| 4 bed | 485 |
| 5 bed | 234 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $239 |
| Luxury | $380 |
| Professionally Managed | $282 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $2,723 |
| Entire Place | $3,679 |
| House | $3,864 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 45.3% |
| vrbo | 15% |
| both | 39.7% |
Investment Analysis
ADR varies by listing tier. All-listing average ADR is $235.11, entire-home listings average $239.12, and professionally managed listings command $282.34, a 20.1% premium over the all-listings average. The luxury tier tops out at $380.08 per night, about 1.6x the market average. Average revenue per listing is up 1.87% year over year despite a 3.23% ADR decline, a modest but positive trend.
No current Zillow-sourced housing snapshot (typical home value, median sale price, or list price) is available for St. Ignace in this data set, so a home-price-to-revenue yield comparison cannot be calculated here honestly; that figure should be sourced separately before underwriting an acquisition. On the regulatory side, St. Ignace caps total STR permits in its R1-R4 residential districts at 50, with a chronological waiting list once that cap is reached, and no single owner may hold more than three permits at once. Category 1 (owner-occupied) permits are cheapest at $250.00 per year, while off-site ownership (Categories 3 and 4) generally requires a zoning variance in residential districts, so confirming permit category eligibility and current waiting-list status with the city should be an early step in underwriting any St. Ignace acquisition.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Average booking lead time in this market is 81.54 days, nearly three months ahead of the stay date, reflecting a planned Mackinac-region vacation booked well before the ferry season opens in late April. Average length of stay is 3.96 nights. This long lead time gives operators significant runway to set advance-purchase pricing for the July-August peak, and given the roughly 46-point occupancy swing between summer and the November trough, operators should lock in peak-season bookings early while planning for minimal demand outside the late-April-to-October ferry window.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
St. Ignace regulates short-term rentals under Ordinance No. 38-364, adopted March 31, 2021. Any dwelling rented for less than 30 consecutive days is an STR and requires a city-issued Short-Term Rental Permit; each property must pass a building inspection against the city’s STR checklist. Permits are tiered by owner proximity: Category 1 (owner-occupied) costs $250.00 per year and Category 2 (owner resides elsewhere on the same parcel) costs $350 per year plus a one-time $60 neighbor-notification fee in residential zones. Categories 3 and 4 (owner off-site) require a zoning variance in most residential districts. Permits renew annually on a June 1 to May 31 cycle.
In residential districts (R1-R4) the city caps total STR permits at 50, after which a chronological waiting list applies, and no single owner may hold more than three permits at once. There is no explicit citywide maximum-nights-per-year limit and no blanket primary-residence requirement, though owner-occupied Category 1 is the cheapest and easiest path to a permit. Enforcement is handled by the City Manager, ordinance/building/fire officials, and police; violations are municipal civil infractions with each day treated as a separate offense, and three separate incidents on three separate days within a permit year can trigger revocation followed by a 12-month bar on re-application. Operators must collect Michigan’s 6.00% state use tax on transient accommodations under 30 days; no additional Mackinac County hotel/accommodations excise tax was confirmed. Enforcement is characterized as moderate, and registration is now administered through an online portal for the 2026-2027 permit period.
Market Comparison
This market’s 62.9% occupancy is above commonly cited US STR benchmarks (roughly 55% occupancy nationally), while its $235.11 ADR runs slightly above the roughly $220 national median, reflecting steady demand tied to Mackinac Island gateway tourism.
Property management is led by Evolve with 99 listings (4,079 reviews, 4.65 average rating), about 2.1% of the 4,706 tracked listings. Freshwater Vacation Rentals ranks second with 75 listings (5,328 reviews, 4.85 rating), followed by Northwoods Resort with 49 listings (the highest rating in the top five at 4.86), Northern Properties also with 49 listings (4.71 rating), and Pictured Rocks Vacation Rentals & Property Management with 36 listings. The top 5 PMs combined control about 6.5% of listings, leaving the large majority of inventory to individual hosts across the broader region.
Frequently Asked Questions About Saint Ignace, Michigan
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