Healthy Occupancy Rates in the Smoky Mountains?

[Brandon Gale]

Wondering what others with experience in the Smokies consider "healthy" occupancy rates.

I heard on a YouTube video recently that for a market with around 30 day avg. lead time (I think Smokies is about 28), a healthy calendar is booked:

7 days: 100%

14 Days: 75%

30 Days: 50%

60 Days: 32%

Obviously its not an exact science but curious how others with experience feel about these numbers. My listing went live a little less than 2 months ago now and it's been heavily booked (30 day is currently at 84% and 60 day is at 47%). Im not ready to raise my prices just yet, as the heavy booking has made me feel a little more secure just starting out and we are just coming out of the slow season, but thinking I may have to start bumping my rates up at some point. I use PriceLabs for pricing

Let me know what you guys shoot for on your listings and what you consider a "healthy" calendar in this market.

[Nicole Balsamo]

Congrats on such high occupancy in a competitive market like the Smokies! Occupancy definitely varies a ton based on individual STR — that's why trending topics like #AirbnBust can be so misleading. Supply & demand is self-correcting from the pandemic so lower-quality suppliers are getting pushed out and experiencing low occupancy, but it sounds like you and your rental are holding strong.

Have you looked at occupancy for your market on data.rabbu's free market data? You can filter for your bedroom count & amenities and use it as a benchmark