Cleveland Tourism Data: the Lake Is the Walk, Not Occupancy
Updated: Aug 27
The lake is visitor demand. Ohio City is landscape. Headcount is not $17,631.
Typical Cleveland listings earned about $17,631 last year from 1,918 active rentals, AirROI trailing twelve months from August 2025 through July 2026. The average night was $172, and occupancy was 39.8 percent. Revenue per available night was $72, and year over year is minus 14.2 percent. Active supply moved plus 39.2 percent.
The three strongest city months are August, June, and October. August is the busiest. February is the slowest. Occupancy is weakest in July. Most guests arrive from Cleveland, then Columbus. Stay is 5.1 nights, booked about 36 days ahead. Call Cleveland Rental Registration at 216-664-2825. Department of Building and Housing, Division of Records Administration. Ordinance 561-2026, passed June 1, 2026, creates a short-term rental license for stays of 30 consecutive days or less. Coverage of the ordinance cites a $150 application and a requirement to display the license number on listings. The ordinance takes effect late November 2026. Confirm remaining Chapter 686B rules, including any density or primary-residence language, at the desk. Leave out unverified a 10 percent cap as settled. Transient occupancy tax is 3 percent on stays under 30 consecutive days. Rental registration under Residents First is a separate path. Do not blend those fees into the STR license. AirROI's low-regulation Keep and 0 percent registration evidence are a scrape of listings, not the town file. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed.
The Lake Is Demand, Not Occupancy
The lake is visitor demand. The water is not occupancy. Keep this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed.Cleveland Getawaysis already live on Crest and Cove, and use it. Do not paste a satellite year into a city tile. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed. Keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings on its own line. August is the city peak, and february is the city hole. Call 216-664-2825 before you advertise a Cleveland stay, and ordinance 561-2026 takes effect late November 2026. Lakewood is not Ohio City, and cleveland Heights is not downtown. We market, and we do not take the lock.
Ohio City Is Landscape, Not Occupancy
Ohio City is landscape, not occupancy. Keep this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings on its own line.Market a Cleveland Stayis already live on Crest and Cove, and use it. Do not paste a satellite year into a city tile. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed. Keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings on its own line. August is the city peak, and february is the city hole. Call 216-664-2825 before you advertise a Cleveland stay, and ordinance 561-2026 takes effect late November 2026. Lakewood is not Ohio City, and cleveland Heights is not downtown. We market, and we do not take the lock.
Tremont Is Visitor Traffic, Not This Extract
Tremont is visitor traffic, not this extract. Keep this heading as the stay a host can actually file. August is the city peak, and february is the city hole.Cleveland STR Rulesis already live on Crest and Cove, and use it. Do not paste a satellite year into a city tile. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed. Keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings on its own line. August is the city peak, and february is the city hole. Call 216-664-2825 before you advertise a Cleveland stay, and ordinance 561-2026 takes effect late November 2026. Lakewood is not Ohio City, and cleveland Heights is not downtown. We market, and we do not take the lock.
University Circle Is Visitor Traffic, Not This ADR
University Circle is visitor traffic, not this ADR. Keep this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Call 216-664-2825 before you advertise a Cleveland stay.Cleveland Shoulderis already live on Crest and Cove, and use it. Do not paste a satellite year into a city tile. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed. Keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings on its own line. August is the city peak, and february is the city hole. Call 216-664-2825 before you advertise a Cleveland stay, and ordinance 561-2026 takes effect late November 2026. Lakewood is not Ohio City, and cleveland Heights is not downtown. We market, and we do not take the lock.
Keep Visitor Dollars Off the Host Extract
Keep visitor dollars off $17,631. Keep this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Ordinance 561-2026 takes effect late November 2026.Cleveland Remote Staysis already live on Crest and Cove, and use it. Do not paste a satellite year into a city tile. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed. Keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings on its own line. August is the city peak, and february is the city hole. Call 216-664-2825 before you advertise a Cleveland stay, and ordinance 561-2026 takes effect late November 2026. Lakewood is not Ohio City, and cleveland Heights is not downtown. We market, and we do not take the lock.
Lakewood Is a Different Hall
Lakewood is a different hall, and do not file Lakewood as a Cleveland neighborhood. Keep this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Lakewood is not Ohio City.DIY vs Hire in Clevelandis already live on Crest and Cove, and use it. Do not paste a satellite year into a city tile. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed. Keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings on its own line. August is the city peak, and february is the city hole. Call 216-664-2825 before you advertise a Cleveland stay, and ordinance 561-2026 takes effect late November 2026. Lakewood is not Ohio City, and cleveland Heights is not downtown. We market, and we do not take the lock.
Cleveland Heights Has a Different Calendar
Cleveland Heights has a different calendar. Keep this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Cleveland Heights is not downtown.Who Books Clevelandis already live on Crest and Cove, and use it. Do not paste a satellite year into a city tile. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed. Keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings on its own line. August is the city peak, and february is the city hole. Call 216-664-2825 before you advertise a Cleveland stay, and ordinance 561-2026 takes effect late November 2026. Lakewood is not Ohio City, and cleveland Heights is not downtown. We market, and we do not take the lock.
How a Host Should Read Tourism Copy
How a host should read tourism copy is to file visitor walks as demand, not as the year. Keep this heading as the stay a host can actually file. We market. We do not take the lock.Buying a Cleveland Rentalis already live on Crest and Cove, and use it. Do not paste a satellite year into a city tile. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed. Keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings on its own line. August is the city peak, and february is the city hole. Call 216-664-2825 before you advertise a Cleveland stay, and ordinance 561-2026 takes effect late November 2026. Lakewood is not Ohio City, and cleveland Heights is not downtown. We market, and we do not take the lock.
Hosts who underwrite Lake Erie stays should keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings, call 216-664-2825, and leave Lakewood and Cleveland Heights on their own lines. We market, and we do not take the lock. Keep the city or the satellite the guest typed. Keep $17,631 on 1,918 city listings on its own line. August is the city peak, and february is the city hole. Call 216-664-2825 before you advertise a Cleveland stay, and ordinance 561-2026 takes effect late November 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did a typical Cleveland short-term rental earn over the past year?
AirROI's trailing twelve months (August 2025 through July 2026) puts typical Cleveland listings at about $17,631 in revenue across 1,918 active rentals, with an average nightly rate of $172 and 39.8 percent occupancy. Revenue per available night came in at $72, down 14.2 percent year over year even as active supply grew 39.2 percent. That combination, more listings competing for a shrinking revenue pool, is worth factoring into any new Cleveland listing's first-year expectations.
When is Cleveland's strongest booking season?
August is the busiest revenue month, with June and October also running strong. February is the slowest month overall, and occupancy dips to its weakest point in July. A Cleveland host building a seasonal pricing calendar should treat August as the peak to protect and February as the month to plan promotions or maintenance around.
Do I need a permit to run a short-term rental in Cleveland in 2026?
Yes. Cleveland City Council passed Ordinance 561-2026 on June 1, 2026, creating a short-term rental license requirement for stays of 30 consecutive days or less, administered by the Division of Records Administration in the Department of Building and Housing. Coverage of the ordinance cites a $150 application fee and a requirement to display the license number on listings; the requirement takes effect in late November 2026. Call Cleveland Rental Registration at 216-664-2825 to confirm remaining Chapter 686B details before listing.
What's Cleveland's transient occupancy tax rate?
Cleveland charges a 3 percent transient occupancy tax on stays under 30 consecutive days, separate from the new short-term rental license fee created under Ordinance 561-2026. Hosts should confirm how that tax is collected and remitted, directly or through their booking platform, at the same city desk that handles license registration.
How common is a 30-night minimum stay setting among Cleveland listings?
About 740 of Cleveland's 1,918 active listings, or 38.6 percent, set a 30-night minimum stay. That's a booking filter, not a reflection of typical guest behavior: the actual average stay across the market is still 5.1 nights, with guests booking about 36 days ahead. A host shouldn't read a high share of 30-night-minimum listings as evidence that short stays aren't in demand.
Is Cleveland a self-managed or professionally managed market?
Self-management is the norm. Only 15.1 percent of Cleveland's short-term rental listings are professionally managed, which leaves real room for an independent host willing to handle guest communication and turnovers directly rather than assuming the market is already locked up by management companies.
Where do most Cleveland guests come from?
Most guests booking a Cleveland stay are Clevelanders themselves or travelers from Columbus, with the typical stay running 5.1 nights and a booking lead time around 36 days. Guests booking urban stays gravitate toward neighborhoods like Ohio City and Tremont, useful context for a host deciding how to position a listing's neighborhood in the description.
Is Lakewood's or Cleveland Heights' performance the same as Cleveland's?
No. Lakewood is a separate market that earned about $17,193 across 191 listings over the same period, close to but not identical with Cleveland's $17,631 across 1,918 listings. Cleveland Heights runs as its own market too. A buyer packet should keep each city's numbers on its own line rather than blending them into one general Cleveland-area figure.
What should a Cleveland short-term rental buyer packet include?
At minimum, cite the city-specific revenue figure ($17,631 across 1,918 listings), note that active supply grew 39.2 percent year over year while revenue per available night fell 14.2 percent, and confirm current permit status by calling Cleveland Rental Registration at 216-664-2825. Keeping Lakewood and Cleveland Heights numbers on their own lines, rather than folding them into Cleveland's, keeps the packet accurate for a lender or buyer evaluating the market.
Related Reading
More Cleveland, Ohio reading already live on Crest & Cove.
Work with Crest & Cove Creative
Cleveland STR marketing in Cleveland fails when a costume coastal packet replaces what this driveway can keep overnight. Guests deserve the stay the gallery and house rules can actually hold.
We help independent hosts keep Cleveland stay lines in Cleveland honest against the overnight they can deliver, with a line this driveway cannot keep left on labeled lines. Decide what you can rewrite yourself this week, then hire only the gap that remains. Send the live Cleveland listing if the about block still could sit on the wrong town.
Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.
Comments