Considering your options for property investments? Well, hold off on making any purchases for the moment. You may be surprised to find that your money could be better spent elsewhere.
The Best US Cities For Vacation Rental Businesses
| Market | State | Score | Estimated Income | |
| 1 | Panama City Beach | Florida | 98.9 | $26,301 |
| 2 | Chicago | Illinois | 95.3 | $26,301 |
| 3 | Napa | California | 93.1 | $61,898 |
| 4 | Tulsa | Oklahoma | 92.5 | $26,350 |
| 5 | Memphis | Tennessee | 90.5 | $55,690 |
| 6 | Nashville | Tennessee | 90.3 | $30,620 |
| 7 | Killington | Vermont | 88.3 | $46,709 |
| 8 | Seattle | Washington | 87.8 | $90,766 |
| 9 | Navarre | Florida | 86.0 | $48,349 |
| 10 | Atlanta | Georgia | 85.2 | $34,502 |
| 11 | Gatlinburg | Tennessee | 82.9 | $47,224 |
| 12 | San Antonio | Texas | 82.3 | $28,414 |
| 13 | Savannah | Georgia | 82.0 | $61,933 |
| 14 | Destin | Florida | 79.0 | $47,467 |
| 15 | Biloxi | Mississippi | 75.8 | $28,768 |
| 16 | Pigeon Forge | Tennessee | 73.6 | $38,893 |
| 17 | Kissimmee | Florida | 73.1 | $24,125 |
| 18 | Corpus Christi | Texas | 73.0 | $37,144 |
| 19 | Cocoa Beach | Florida | 71.3 | $37,045 |
| 20 | Bryson City | North Carolina | 70.6 | $32,568 |
| 21 | Bangor | Maine | 69.5 | $24,979 |
| 22 | Brian Head | Utah | 69.2 | $20,625 |
| 23 | Galveston | Texas | 68.8 | $34,322 |
| 24 | Fresno | California | 66.4 | $27,034 |
| 25 | Albuquerque | New Mexico | 65.0 | $29,030 |
Feeling confused? Wondering where New York and Hawaii are? The bottom of the list at 143 and 132, respectively.
Let’s take a look at the methodology used in forming this list:
• Real Estate Price
• Local Vacation Rental Rates
• Insurance, taxes and Maintenance Costs
• Overall Popularity of the Tourist Destination
The final scores are essentially just the property’s ROI. Comprehensive studies like this allow us to make some clear conclusions about the vacation rental market:
High Tourism ≠High Returns
For a lot of inexperienced vacation rental managers, a property’s value is tied to the amount of tourism in its location. That may be true regarding the real-estate appraisal value, but it’s certainly no indicator of your potential returns. In fact, if your business strategy involves purchasing a property for the purpose of vacation rentals, you’re better off avoiding typical tourist cities. The Rented.com reports have repeatedly shown that real estate costs are an extremely limiting factor:
The worst places to buy a second home typically include multiple cities within states with housing shortages (California, Massachusetts, Utah, Colorado, and New York) and states with the highest costs of living (Utah, Delaware, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, California, Hawaii and Virginia).
For rental managers looking to get started in these high tourism / high cost of living cities, your best strategy is likely a property lease.
Welcome to Tokeet’s Podcast — your trusted source for insights, trends, and strategies shaping the vacation rental industry. Each episode features expert interviews, data-driven analysis, and practical tips to help property managers grow their businesses, improve guest experiences, and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market. Whether you’re new to short-term rentals or managing a large portfolio, tune in to stay informed and inspired.
Some days just don’t work for a guest arrival, whether it’s a holiday, a maintenance window, or a turnover day your team can’t cover. This episode walks through check-in and check-out restrictions, the most requested feature in AdvanceCM, now live in the Rentals module. You’ll hear how to block arrivals or departures for a date range, such as December 24 to 26, and how to allow check-ins only on the weekdays you choose. We also cover channel-specific rules, like keeping Airbnb to Friday and Saturday arrivals while direct bookings stay open through Sunday. Finally, we explain what to check before switching rules on, from existing reservations to sync time and visibility on booking sites.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Block check-ins or check-outs for any date range
✅ Limit arrivals to the weekdays you choose
✅ Set different rules for each booking channel
✅ Existing reservations stay unchanged
✅ More restrictions mean fewer guests can book, so review rules each season
Related Links:
Company: https://www.tokeet.com/Blogs: https://www.tokeet.com/blog/Blog: Check-in and Check-out Restrictions: How to Set Them in AdvanceCM 👉 https://blog.tokeet.com/check-in-and-check-out-restrictions/
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit podcast.tokeet.com
