San Antonio is a short-term rental hot spot
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San Antonio is the fifth hottest city in the country for short-term rentals this year, according to AirDNA, a short-term rental analysis firm.
Driving the news: Listings here grew 28% from 2021 to 2022.
- The suburbs saw even more interest, with 43.1% growth in listings.
By the numbers: The typical Airbnb host in San Antonio made $12,500 last year, according to company figures shared with Axios' Sami Sparber.
- That's 11% less than the typical U.S. host made last year, per Airbnb data.
Why it matters: Renting out your home is a growing way to bank extra income as the cost of living goes up.
- "Two-thirds of hosts tell us they're covering their entire mortgage payment with rental income through Vrbo," spokesperson Melanie Fish says.
Yes, but: Short-term rentals' presence in neighborhoods is causing friction in some cities and suburbs. Hosts are sometimes accused of effectively reducing the supply of local housing and driving up property prices and rents.
- Boerne is considering tighter regulations on short-term rentals.
- New Braunfels prohibits short-term rentals in neighborhoods. A 2020 lawsuit filed by homeowners is still making its way through the courts, per the Express-News.
State of play: San Antonio has struggled to get short-term rental operators permitted, meaning many aren't paying local taxes.
- There's been no substantial movement this year on a recent City Council proposal to review the city's rules on short-term rentals, including ways to ramp up permit enforcement.
What they're saying: More people getting into the short-term rental business has led to growing competition for guests, Shelley Galbraith, chair of the Short Term Rental Association of San Antonio, tells Axios.
- "Instead of just the simple idea of letting out your living room couch to someone who needs space to stay, it's this ROI machine for some people," Galbraith says. "It is spreadsheets and figuring out the cost to the penny. It's a complicated business process now."
- That's led some hosts to leave the business, Galbraith says.
Zoom out: The national short-term rental supply reached record levels in 2022, rising 20% year over year to 1.3 million listings, per new data from AirDNA.
- Vacation rental hosts were expecting a surge in demand this summer. According to a recent survey from Vrbo, 69% of host respondents expect occupancy to be the same as or higher than last summer.
Reality check: Bexar County Airbnb hosts don't earn as much money as hosts in other Texas vacation hot spots.
- Gillespie County, home to Fredericksburg in the heart of the Hill Country, was the highest-earning county for hosts last year.
- Presidio County in West Texas, home to Marfa, came in second. It's grown into a tourist hot spot.
- Rounding out the top five: Brewster County, which houses Big Bend National Park; McLennan County, home to Waco; and Nueces County, home to Corpus Christi.