Regional vacation markets short term rentals

[Lane C.]

I am looking into buying a short term rental property. Ive been leaning towards a regional vacation market. I was wondering if anyone has a short term rental in one of these markets and could give me some feedback. I’m interested in how it does/how many beds and baths it is. Any tips or things to look out for would be greatly appreciated.

1. Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg

2. Big Bear Lake

3. Lake Tahoe

Any other market suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Douglas Fox]

Hi Lane Chomko,   I attended a Massive/Passive Training event where I heard an expert in Vacation Rentals suggest that "this concept [i.e. Vacation Rentals] works anywhere!"  I had a long-term rental property in a very rural area of northeastern Connecticut and I decided to put this claim to the test.   This property was so remote, that when we put it on the market for sale in 1998, for a very attractive price, nobody even came to look at it!  When I told my wife and grown children about the idea to make it a vacation rental, they laughed out loud and said, "Who would ever want to come to that town for a vacation?"  Well, I think we know where this story is going.   We published it to the platforms (Airbnb, VRBO, etc.) in mid-February of 2021 and 57 bookings later, we haven't had a weekend vacancy yet!   So I am suggesting that you might not need to look in a famous vacation market, where competition is fierce, to try out this idea.  We have found our income has been 2.5x to 3x what it was previously as a long-term rental and the demand for vacation rentals is very, very strong, way beyond our wildest expectations.