Air BnB on a lake vacancy rate

[Drew Kirchhoff]

Hi everyone, hope all is well! I am considering buying an Air BnB on a lake in the Midwest. There are 6 months of the lake being in season (very crowded), and 6 months where the lake is out of season (almost no one is there). It is on the best location possible in the lake with great views. I am currently using 20 days booked per month through in season, and 5 days booked through off season for my calculations. Does that sound accurate to any experienced Air BnB investors? 

Negative responses won’t hurt my feelings, excited to hear all of your opinions!

[John Underwood]

I think your days are low.

June and July you should be close to 100%. March and April are good fishing dates and I would say 50%, May 70%, August before school starts 80%, August after school starts 65%.

I was very surprised as to how high our lake house was in the fall and Winter. December maybe 75%.

Jan and Feb still usually books on weekends.

These are probably low guesses on what your market might be like.

Do you have a fireplace? Outdoor fire pit? Hot tub? Any of these things will help you in the off season.

Do you have a dock where people can swim or tie up their boat?

I'm considering adding a boat rental option through a 3rd party site that will provide rental insurance. 

I am in the Upstate of SC and we have a longer season and even higher occupancy. We are also close to Clemson University and get alot of high dollar books for events there.