Suburban short-term rentals skyrocket in Tampa Bay

More Tampa Bay residents are using their homes for short-term rentals, but that doesn't mean more people are renting them.

Driving the news: New data from AirDNA shows big growth in the suburbs of St. Petersburg and Tampa, listing them as two of the hottest short-term rental cities in the country.

Details: Tampa's short-term rental listings grew 25% last year, with the strongest growth seen among suburban homes — a nearly 51% year-over-year increase.

• In St. Petersburg, listings grew 16% over the last year with a 47% year-over-year increase among suburban homes.

The intrigue: Supply is outpacing demand in Tampa Bay. Short-term rental occupancy dropped 11% in the region year over year, an AirDNA spokesperson told Axios.

• Still, prices are ticking up. The average daily rate was $217.71, up more than 7% from the same month last year.
• That's well below the national average of $315.70.

Be smart: Tampa ranked high in a recent list of national cities with the highest Airbnb fees, along with Sarasota and Davenport.

• About 42% of the cost of an Airbnb stay in Tampa is made up of fees — cleaning, service and taxes, according to a recent Forbes analysis.