How to Underwrite an Akron, Ohio Rental With Its Own Numbers

Jacob Mishalanie
6 days ago
10 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

Empty Akron Ohio Craftsman house exterior, no people

Lenders underwriting an Akron short-term rental want one clean number, not a blended guess. AirROI's current extract for the market, August 2025 through July 2026, puts typical listings at about $13,337 a year across 309 active rentals. Average daily rate was $132, occupancy ran 39.0 percent, and RevPAR landed at $53. That's the note year, built on this city's own supply, not a neighboring metro's.

Build the Debt-Service Number From Akron's Own Data

A DSCR lender wants revenue that matches the parcel, and Akron's is $13,337 a year on 309 active listings, down 6.1 percent year over year as supply grew 39.8 percent. That softening matters for underwriting: more competing units chasing fewer booked nights is exactly the kind of trend a lender will ask about, so bring the year-over-year figure into the packet alongside the raw revenue number. For the day-to-day story behind that number, see theAkron STR market report.

A 6.1 percent year-over-year decline paired with 39.8 percent supply growth is a pricing signal, not just a data point: more listings are splitting a shrinking pool of booked nights, which is why the $132 average daily rate and 39.0 percent occupancy need to be checked against current comps rather than last year's figures. A host preparing a packet should pull the trailing-twelve-month number closest to closing, not an older annual figure, since a lender comparing the note to a stale extract will ask why the two don't match.

That gap between ADR and occupancy also tells a host where the real lever sits: at $132 a night and 39.0 percent occupancy, RevPAR of $53 reflects a market where rate is holding but nights booked are thinning out. A proforma that assumes flat occupancy going forward is assuming away the trend the data already shows.

Keep Cleveland's Numbers Off This Loan File

It's tempting to average in a bigger nearby market to make a proforma look stronger, but Cleveland is a different rent roll. Cleveland listings earned about $17,631 last year across 1,918 active rentals, a separate city, separate supply curve, separate demand base. Blending that figure into an Akron loan file overstates what this specific property can produce. Keep the two numbers on separate lines in any packet, and if a loan officer wants the comparison spelled out side by side, point them toAkron vs. Cleveland STR desks.

Blending Cleveland's revenue into an Akron proforma doesn't just inflate the top line, it inflates the debt-service coverage ratio a lender is using to decide whether the loan clears at all. A DSCR built on $17,631 instead of $13,337 can make a marginal deal look approvable when the actual Akron property can't service that debt on its own numbers. Keep every Cleveland figure clearly labeled as market context and never let it touch the subject property's revenue line.

If a broker or appraiser hands over a comp set that already includes Cleveland listings, ask for it rerun with Akron-only comps before it goes in the file. A lender who catches a blended number after underwriting has already flagged it once tends to scrutinize the rest of the packet harder, so it's worth catching before submission rather than after.

Registration Has to Clear Before the Loan Closes

Akron's Housing Division treats short-term rental registration as a precondition to operating, not paperwork you can catch up on later. Title 11 the matching section above requires an annual short-term rental registration certificate before you operate or advertise the unit, and the application fee is a non-refundable $250. Registrations run one calendar year and must be renewed by January 31. You'll also need proof of at least $1,000,000 in general liability insurance, and the unit must separately register as a rental under Section 150.30. Display the certificate inside the unit and on every hosting-platform listing. Call the Housing Division at 330-375-2366, or reach rental registration directly at extension 2694; zoning questions go to 330-375-2350 or zoning@akronohio.gov, and the registration portal is rentalregistry.akronohio.gov. Confirm remaining 2026 requirements directly with the Housing Division before closing, since ordinance details can shift. For the fuller walkthrough of what the certificate covers, seeAkron STR rules.

For a host working backward from a closing date, the sequence runs: apply for the Title 11 the matching section above certificate through rentalregistry.akronohio.gov, pay the $250 non-refundable fee, secure the $1,000,000 general liability policy the application requires, and register the unit separately under Section 150.30, all before the certificate is in hand to display in the unit and on the listing. Because the fee is non-refundable, it's worth confirming zoning eligibility with 330-375-2350 or zoning@akronohio.gov before filing, rather than after a denial.

Because registrations run one calendar year and renew by January 31, a host closing mid-year should also confirm how much of the current registration period remains, a certificate that expires two months after closing needs a renewal plan built into the loan file, not discovered after the fact.

The Excise Tax Line a Proforma Needs

Chapter 104 the matching section above levies a 3 percent short-term rental excise tax on gross revenues under Ordinance 302-2022, that's the correct rate; an older 5.5 percent figure some briefs still carry is wrong and should not appear in any lender packet. Confirm the remaining 2026 status directly with the Housing Division before finalizing a proforma. If the operator is structured as a business, also confirm the current Ohio commercial activity tax rate with the Department of Taxation rather than assuming a figure, that number isn't fixed here. AirROI's "0 percent licensed" reading on some listings is a scrape artifact, not the city's actual registration status, and should never be cited as if it were.

For DSCR math, the excise tax isn't a rounding error: 3 percent of gross revenue on a $13,337 typical year is real money off the top line before debt service is even calculated, and a packet that omits it will overstate net cash flow to a lender who eventually checks. If the operator is structured as a business, the commercial activity tax adds a second line that has to be confirmed with the Ohio Department of Taxation rather than assumed, since guessing a rate here is the kind of error that gets a proforma sent back for revision.

Seasonality Changes What a 12-Month Average Hides

August is the strongest revenue month in Akron, with May and October also running hot, while February is the softest month for revenue and January posts the weakest occupancy. A flat annual average smooths over that swing, which matters for a lender stress-testing worst-case months. Build a month-by-month view into the packet rather than relying on the single annual figure alone. Hosts pricing around that curve can see the shoulder-season pattern mapped out inAkron's shoulder season.

Akron's calendar tracks its own seasonal draws: August pairs with the Cuyahoga Valley towpath at its busiest and downtown Akron's late-summer events, while the softer February stretch falls when Stan Hywet Hall and the Goodyear Airdock draw fewer out-of-town visitors. A host pricing a full year should treat August, May, and October as the months to push rate, and February as the month to plan for lower revenue rather than be surprised by it.

The 28-day average booking lead time also shapes how far out a host can safely adjust pricing, with guests booking about four weeks ahead on average, a rate change made in early July still has time to catch August demand, but a change made in late July is reacting to a season that's already largely booked.

What a 30-Night Minimum Does and Doesn't Tell a Lender

About 74 listings, or 23.9 percent of the 309 active rentals, run a 30-night minimum, a booking-policy choice, not a measure of how full the market actually runs. The market's real occupancy is 39.0 percent, and the typical stay length across the sample is 6.8 nights with a 28-day booking lead time. A lender comparing a subject property to comps should check which comps run long-term minimums before treating their calendars as apples-to-apples with a nightly-rental proforma. For how guest demand actually shapes those numbers, seewho books an Akron stay.

That 23.9 percent minimum-stay share also connects to who's running those listings: professionally managed operators are a small slice of the market at 6.8 percent, so a comp running a 30-night minimum is more likely an independent host opting out of nightly turnover than a signal of institutional long-term-rental strategy. A lender or appraiser building a comp set should flag which properties run minimums before averaging their calendars into a market-rate estimate.

With 72.5 percent of listings being entire homes rather than private rooms, most of the market, minimum-stay or not, is competing on the same whole-unit basis, which is the more useful comparison point for a subject property than stay-length policy alone.

Professional Management Is Still the Exception Here

Only 6.8 percent of Akron's active listings carry professional management, Jessica Rattray is the single largest operator on record with 5 listings, well short of anything resembling market consolidation. Most of this market is still independent hosts running their own calendars, which affects how a lender should read comps: a self-managed proforma is closer to the market norm here than an assumption built around full-service management fees. Superhost status covers 56.6 percent of listings, another signal of an owner-operated market rather than an institutional one.

That 6.8 percent professionally managed share, next to a 56.6 percent Superhost share, describes a market where hosts are doing the work themselves and doing it well enough to earn platform trust, not one where a handful of management companies set the pricing floor. A new host entering Akron is competing against other owner-operators, not against a professionalized fleet, which changes what 'competitive' pricing actually looks like here.

For underwriting purposes, that also means a proforma shouldn't automatically subtract a management fee unless the borrower actually plans to hire one. Budgeting as if professional management is standard, when 93.2 percent of the market runs without it, overstates the operating expense a self-managed host will actually carry.

What Belongs in the Lender Packet

A complete Akron DSCR packet should carry the $13,337 typical annual revenue figure on 309 listings, the year-over-year decline of 6.1 percent against 39.8 percent supply growth, confirmed current registration status from the Housing Division, the confirmed 3 percent excise rate, and Cleveland's $17,631 figure clearly labeled as a separate market for context only, never blended into the subject property's number. Pair that with the seasonal breakdown so the lender sees both the strong months and February's dip. For a side-by-side on how the two markets differ operationally,Akron vs. Cleveland, two townslays out the comparison in more detail.

In practice, that means assembling the packet in this order: pull the current $13,337 revenue figure and 309-listing count first, attach the year-over-year and supply-growth trend next, confirm registration status and the excise rate directly with the Housing Division third, and only then add the seasonal breakdown and the Cleveland comparison as labeled context. A packet built in that order gives a lender the subject-property number up front and the supporting detail after, rather than burying the core figure in market color.

Frequently Asked Questions

What revenue number should go in an Akron DSCR loan packet?

Use the market's own extract: about $13,337 typical annual revenue across 309 active listings, average daily rate of $132, occupancy of 39.0 percent, and RevPAR of $53, drawn from the August 2025 through July 2026 period. That figure is down 6.1 percent year over year while active supply grew 39.8 percent, both worth flagging to the lender as context for the trend, not just the raw total.

Can I use Cleveland's revenue numbers to strengthen an Akron proforma?

No. Cleveland is a separate market with about $17,631 in typical annual revenue across 1,918 active listings, a much larger, differently structured supply base than Akron's 309 listings. Blending the two markets overstates what an Akron property can realistically produce. Keep the figures on separate lines in any lender packet and cite Cleveland only as comparison context, never as part of the subject property's number.

What registration has to be in place before an Akron STR can close on financing?

Title 11 the matching section above requires an annual short-term rental registration certificate before the unit can operate or advertise, with a non-refundable $250 application fee. Registrations run one calendar year and renew by January 31. The operator also needs proof of at least $1,000,000 in general liability insurance and must separately register the unit under Section 150.30. Confirm current status with the Housing Division at 330-375-2366 before closing.

What's the current short-term rental excise tax rate in Akron?

Chapter 104 the matching section above sets a 3 percent short-term rental excise tax on gross revenues under Ordinance 302-2022. An older figure of 5.5 percent circulating in some older briefs is incorrect and should not be used. Confirm the remaining 2026 status directly with the Housing Division before finalizing any proforma, since municipal rates can be revisited.

Does AirROI's licensing data reflect Akron's actual registration status?

No. AirROI's 'percent licensed' reading is a data-scrape artifact based on how listings self-report, not the Housing Division's actual registration records. A lender or buyer should never treat that figure as the city's official position on which listings are properly registered, confirm real status through the Housing Division's rentalregistry.akronohio.gov portal instead.

How much does Ohio's commercial activity tax add to an Akron STR business?

That depends on how the operator is structured, and the current rate should be confirmed directly with the Ohio Department of Taxation rather than assumed. If the short-term rental is run as a registered business rather than personal income, the commercial activity tax may apply on top of the local 3 percent excise tax, so build in a line item to confirm before finalizing underwriting.

How should seasonality change an Akron STR proforma?

August is the strongest revenue month, with May and October also running well above average, while February is the softest month for revenue and January posts the weakest occupancy. A flat 12-month average masks that swing. A stronger proforma models the peak months and the February dip separately so a lender can see the range, not just the annual mean.

Does a 30-night minimum on a comp property change how a lender should read its calendar?

Yes. About 74 listings, 23.9 percent of Akron's 309 active rentals, run a 30-night minimum, which is a booking-policy decision rather than a measure of demand. The market's real occupancy is 39.0 percent, with a typical stay of 6.8 nights and a 28-day booking lead time. Comps with long-term minimums shouldn't be compared directly to a nightly-rental proforma without adjustment.

Should an Akron STR budget assume professional management costs?

Not necessarily. Only 6.8 percent of Akron's active listings carry professional management, and the largest single operator, Jessica Rattray, holds just 5 listings, nowhere near market consolidation. Most listings are independently run, and 56.6 percent hold Superhost status, so a self-managed cost structure is closer to the market norm here than a full-service management-fee assumption.

What five figures should never be missing from an Akron STR lender packet?

Typical annual revenue of about $13,337 on 309 listings, the year-over-year change of minus 6.1 percent against 39.8 percent supply growth, confirmed current registration status from the Housing Division, the confirmed 3 percent excise tax rate, and Cleveland's $17,631 figure clearly labeled as separate market context rather than blended into the subject property's number.

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