Ellicottville, New York Short-Term Rental Market
Ellicottville, NY STRs averaged $161/night at 43.2% occupancy in April 2026, anchored by Holiday Valley ski resort demand.
Quick Answer: Ellicottville, New York is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 43%. average monthly revenue is $1,771. average daily rate is $161. the top operator is Evolve with 209 listings. market score is 70/100 (grade C).
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Ellicottville is a four-season resort village in Cattaraugus County in Western New York, built around Holiday Valley — the largest ski resort in the region with 60 slopes and 13 lifts. The village has a permanent population of approximately 1,305 but draws an estimated 500,000 visitors annually through ski season, summer outdoor recreation, fall foliage, and a dense festival calendar. The core visitor base is the Buffalo and Western New York drive market, supplemented by significant cross-border Canadian traffic (approximately 3.5 hours from Toronto).
In April 2026 (the latest data month), the market averaged 43.2% occupancy and a $160.60 average daily rate, yielding $69.41 in revenue per available rental day. Average monthly revenue per listing came in at $1,771. April is a shoulder month between ski season and summer, so this figure understates peak-season performance: July averages $3,778 in monthly revenue and February $2,527.
Year over year, occupancy declined 3.4 percentage points while ADR rose 4.3% and revenue fell 2.9%. The market is cycling down from its 2021 peak of 54.6% occupancy and $2,827 average monthly revenue, which was itself elevated by pandemic-era demand.
Entire-place listings dominate at 8,784 units versus 855 private rooms and just 6 shared rooms. The bedroom distribution is balanced across mid-size units: 1-bedroom (3,095), 2-bedroom (2,435), 3-bedroom (2,327), 4-bedroom (1,034), and 5-bedroom (743). Channel distribution shows Airbnb-only at 5,326, VRBO-only at 748, and 3,571 appearing on both. Investability scores 93.8 out of 100, the highest sub-score in the market, driven by the captive resort-demand thesis.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40% | $208 | $2,370 |
| Feb | 48% | $216 | $2,527 |
| Mar | 40% | $171 | $1,960 |
| Apr | 44% | $156 | $1,771 |
| May | 47% | $176 | $1,823 |
| Jun | 56% | $215 | $2,846 |
| Jul | 64% | $226 | $3,778 |
| Aug | 60% | $220 | $3,586 |
| Sep | 44% | $189 | $2,285 |
| Oct | 44% | $186 | $2,276 |
| Nov | 40% | $166 | $1,886 |
| Dec | 43% | $190 | $2,123 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Ellicottville
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 209 | 5,947 | ★ 4.68 |
| 2 | Cooperstown Stay | 186 | 2,249 | ★ 4.87 |
| 3 | ERA Team VP Vacation Properties | 40 | 175 | ★ 4.43 |
| 4 | Angel Rock Waterfront Cottages & Vacation Homes | 32 | 386 | ★ 4.77 |
| 5 | Cooperstown Baseball Rentals | 31 | 378 | ★ 4.92 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Ellicottville?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 3,095 |
| 2 bed | 2,435 |
| 3 bed | 2,327 |
| 4 bed | 1,034 |
| 5 bed | 743 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $173 |
| Luxury | $390 |
| Professionally Managed | $260 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $1,380 |
| Entire Place | $1,885 |
| House | $1,938 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 55.2% |
| vrbo | 7.8% |
| both | 37% |
Investment Analysis
Ellicottville’s investment case rests on captive resort demand from a single anchor asset: Holiday Valley. Unlike multi-driver markets, performance here is tightly correlated with ski season length and conditions, summer recreation programming, and the village’s festival calendar.
Typical home value data is not available in the current housing snapshot. The median list price as of April 2026 is $334,100 with 77 active listings in the market. At the current $1,771 average monthly revenue, an annualized gross revenue of approximately $21,252 is implied. At a $334,100 median list price, that implies a rough gross yield of approximately 6.4% ($21,252 / $334,100) — though this uses the April trough month as the revenue base and understates peak-season contributions significantly. Using the 2025 full-year average of $2,660 per month, annualized gross revenue would be $31,920, implying a yield closer to 9.6% at the median list price.
Property type generates meaningful performance differences. Houses average $1,938 per month, entire-place listings $1,885, and apartments $1,380 — a 40% gap between houses and apartments. At the ADR tier level, luxury listings average $390.45 per night versus the market-wide $160.60 — more than double. Professionally managed properties average $260.30 per night, a $99.70 premium (62% above market average).
The multi-year trend shows the market building from $1,782 per month in 2017 to a peak of $2,827 in 2021, then settling to $2,660 in 2025. A 49% gain from 2017 to 2025 over eight years, though the trajectory since 2021 is declining. Regulatory complexity (Local Law 1-2025, strict enforcement) is an additional investment consideration.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Ellicottville guests book an average of 37.3 days in advance — slightly over five weeks. That lead time reflects a mix of destination resort bookings for ski season and summer trips, both of which tend to be planned further ahead than urban or drive-market short stays.
Average length of stay is 4.10 nights, consistent with long-weekend resort trips for ski runs or summer outdoor recreation at Holiday Valley’s Sky High Adventure Park and mountain coaster. A 4.1-night stay at 43.2% occupancy in the shoulder season implies roughly 3 turnovers per listing per month, which drops cleaning overhead relative to higher-occupancy markets.
The 37-day lead time creates a clear pricing window: operators can hold firm on rates through five weeks out, then apply dynamic adjustments as arrival approaches. For ski season specifically — January and February — demand from Buffalo-area and Canadian visitors tends to book even earlier around holiday weekends (Christmas, New Year, Presidents Day). Blocking those weekends and pricing them at a significant premium relative to mid-week rates is the primary lever for maximizing winter revenue.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Ellicottville has one of the more structured STR regulatory frameworks among small resort markets in New York. The Town of Ellicottville adopted Local Law 1-2025 (a zoning amendment) on February 19, 2025, with applications opening in spring 2025.
All STRs require an annual permit. Licenses expire February 28 each year regardless of issuance date. The key distinction is property type:
Primary-residence owners (those living on-site at least 184 days per year) pay $200 per year with no cap on permit issuance. Secondary, vacation, and investment properties pay $700 per year and are subject to density caps limiting STR permits to no more than 15% of total lots on any given block in residential zones R-1, R-2, and R-3. Owner-occupancy is not required city-wide, but the density cap and fee structure create material constraints for investment properties.
Occupancy is capped at two overnight guests per legal bedroom plus two additional (a 2-bedroom allows up to 6 guests). Operators must designate a local contact available 24/7 who can physically respond within one hour, contain all parking on-site, and store trash in covered containers. Events such as weddings and corporate functions are prohibited. The permit number must appear in all platform listings.
Enforcement is rated strict: fines range from $1,000 to $4,000 depending on severity, with repeat violations risking permit suspension or revocation. As of February 2026, approximately 266 STR licenses had been issued, and the town was considering capping future secondary-residence permits.
No local occupancy or bed tax is currently in effect, though one of up to 5% has been proposed and would require New York State authorization. Investors should monitor this actively.
Market Comparison
Against US national STR benchmarks of approximately 55% occupancy and $220 ADR, Ellicottville runs below average on occupancy (43.2% in April 2026) and in line on ADR ($160.60 in April, though summer months reach $220-226). The April figure reflects the inter-season lull between ski and summer seasons.
On a full-year 2025 average basis, the market averaged 48.0% occupancy and $202 ADR — closer to but still below national benchmarks. The market’s strength is in its high summer peak and the investability score of 93.8, which reflects the concentrated demand around a well-established resort anchor.
Professional management is active at a relatively small scale given the village’s size. Evolve leads with 209 listings and 5,947 reviews at a 4.68 average rating. Cooperstown Stay operates 186 listings with 2,249 reviews at a 4.87 rating. ERA Team VP Vacation Properties holds 40 listings (4.43 rating), Angel Rock Waterfront Cottages and Vacation Homes operates 32 listings (4.77 rating), and Cooperstown Baseball Rentals rounds out the top 5 with 31 listings and a 4.92 rating. The professionally managed ADR premium of $260.30 versus the market-wide $160.60 is a 62% lift, the largest premium documented among the five markets in this batch.
The overall market score of 69.7 reflects the tension between the market’s high investability (93.8) and the constraints of strict regulation (70.8), lower rental demand (58.8), and a post-peak revenue trend.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ellicottville, New York
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