How do east coast STRs work in the winter?

[Shanel Dial]

My father owns a small 2 lbs 1 bath cottage on the Branford River. It is right on the water, has a beach, is right next to a dock, gets amazing sunset because of where it is located and it is in a beautiful neighborhood - everyone loves it but it needs a lot of work. We'd like to turn it into a STR but we are from San Diego and don't know how to rent it in the winter. How do others on the east coast handle STRs in the winter? The profit from the summer will not sustain it in the winter. Thanks so much!

[Kit Serrell]

You should check out AirDNA. They have statistics on the seasonality of each area and can can give you real data versus a bunch of opinions and hypotheticals. Last time I checked, its $99 for 1 month. I just buy it a month or two out of the year for my STRs to make sure I am still on track with trends. It has been 100% worth it.