Duluth MN Airbnb or other STRs

[Amy Ranae]

Does anyone on here do short term rentals in Duluth MN? What is has your experience been like? Do you have any property managers you can recommend? What are your 'seasons' like? 

[Michael Schraepfer]

Hey Amy - I'm late to the conversation but can probably add some additional useful information!  

Vacation rentals in Duluth have a ton of potential in my opinion. I personally own 7 here - and as a company we manage 14 with 10 more in cue. There is a long winter, so the revenue is definitely seasonal. You can expect to get 1/3 in the winter months to that of the summer months. The net overall ROI for a quality property with some amenity (view, water access or proximity, etc) is about 2-3x that of long term rental rates. (plus you can use it in the off season - win!)

Every city has their own rules it seems - there were a few areas in the US that  short term rentals had a massive impact on (pushing citizens completely out of areas) and that scared most city governments.  Here is a rundown of the rules in Duluth:

R1-R2 neighborhoods are capped at 60 currently.  As a planning commissioner for the city - its my opinion this isn't going to change.  Increases have been proposed and shot down twice in the past few years.

Form Districts: There are 11 of these in the city and they are unlimited - but a maximum of 4 per structure.  More than that, and it is considered a hotel and 24 hour staff is required.

Home Share Licenses:  This is a separate classification but has some options.  So if you owner occupy 1 unit in a duplex, or have 2 homes on a lot, you can vacation rental the other unit as a Home Share.  This is unlimited as well.  

Superior is unlimited - they are excited to have people staying over the bridge.  Same goes for the other smaller cities around Duluth, except Duluth Township and Lakewood Township who both have their own governmental bodies and have instituted acreage requirements and permits.  

Another lesser known ordinance - If you are not in a city or township that has a governmental body, St. Louis County requires a permit as well.  

At Heirloom we do have a dedicated management team of 5 that handles bookings, guests and all aspects of cleaning, consumables and laundry. We don't advertise this service currently because the organic flow of new clients in this space have been plenty to keep us busy - and Covid kind of flipped this world over a bit.  

Surprisingly - we are currently packed and are ahead of our pre-covid projected numbers for this summer.  I guess - what else is there to do?!

Hope that helps, happy to connect if you need any more info!

Cheers!