Geneva-on-the-Lake STR Market Report 2026: $23,170 on 151 Listings

Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio, sometimes shortened to GOTL, is a small Lake Erie resort village in Ashtabula County with a 2020 census population of just 916 people and 151 active short-term rental listings, a ratio that surprises a lot of people until they understand what kind of place this actually is. It's a summer destination first, a year-round residential town second, and the rental data reflects that clearly.

For the vintage running August 2025 through July 2026, the extract puts a typical year at $23,170 across those 151 listings, with an average daily rate of $301, occupancy of 32.3 percent, and RevPAR of $97. Those numbers describe a real, specific dataset, not a rounded estimate or a blended regional average, and treating them as anything other than what they are is where most outside analysis of this market goes wrong.

The most common mistake in reading this market is averaging it with the numbers from two very differently positioned neighbors: the inland City of Geneva, a separate municipality about a fifteen-minute drive south, and Ashtabula, the county's harbor city further east. Both have their own rental markets, their own numbers, and their own guest profiles, and none of that data belongs blended into Geneva-on-the-Lake's own figures.

This report walks through what the current Geneva-on-the-Lake data actually shows, how it compares honestly to those nearby markets, and what a host or buyer evaluating a property here should actually be looking at instead of a generic, mashed-together Lake Erie number. This is not legal advice.

The Current Year: $23,170, ADR $301, Occupancy 32.3 Percent

The core figures for the August 2025 through July 2026 vintage: a typical annual revenue of $23,170 across the 151-listing sample, an average daily rate of $301, occupancy of 32.3 percent, and RevPAR of $97. Average stay length is 2.6 nights, and the typical booking lead time is 74 days out.

The property mix skews toward entire-home listings, 90.7 percent of the sample, with houses making up 67.5 percent of that. Two-bedroom configurations are the single most common size, at 46.4 percent of listings. Superhost status is held by 83.4 percent of active hosts in the sample, a notably high share that suggests a mature, experienced host base.

Minimum-stay settings split in an interesting way: 24.5 percent of listings set a one-night minimum, while nearly half, 48.3 percent (73 listings), set a 30-plus night minimum, indicating a meaningful share of the listing stock is oriented toward longer, off-peak stays rather than pure weekend turnover.

Year over year, this vintage is down 14.7 percent even as supply grew 14.4 percent, a combination that points to more listings competing for a demand pool that didn't grow to match. That's a useful data point for anyone underwriting a new listing here: added supply in this specific window did not translate into added typical-year revenue for the market as a whole.

Seasonality: August Carries the Year, February Is the Floor

The peak-3 months in this sample are August, July, and June, in that order, with August as the single strongest month. This lines up with what you'd expect from a summer lake resort village: the season runs hot through the core of summer and tapers sharply outside it.

February is the clear low point of the year, with April and November also sitting in the softer stretch alongside it. A host or buyer building a pricing calendar for this market should expect a real trough in the winter and shoulder months, not a smooth, evenly distributed occupancy curve.

This seasonality pattern matters directly for how a listing should be marketed and priced throughout the year. A calendar priced as if every month resembles August will sit unbooked for long stretches; a calendar that acknowledges the February floor and prices accordingly captures more of the demand that does exist in the off-season.

Professional Management on this market: 17.9 Percent, Led by Sunset

Professionally managed listings make up 17.9 percent of the sample, meaning the large majority of active listings, over four in five, are self-managed by individual hosts rather than run through a management company. The leading professional manager identified in the data is a company called Sunset, operating 20 listings with combined revenue of $373,210 across that portfolio.

This is a genuinely useful data point for anyone considering whether to self-manage or hire help in this specific market: with under a fifth of the market professionally managed, there's real room for a well-run, self-managed listing to compete effectively without facing an overwhelming professional-management presence.

The high Superhost share, 83.4 percent, alongside the relatively low professional-management share, paints a picture of a market largely run by engaged, experienced individual hosts rather than large-scale operators, which is a different competitive environment than markets where a handful of management companies control a large share of listing stock.

The Neighbors: City of Geneva and Ashtabula Are Different market

The inland City of Geneva, a separate municipality from Geneva-on-the-Lake despite the overlapping name, published a typical year of $16,816 across 88 listings for the same vintage, with an ADR of $227, occupancy of 30.6 percent, and RevPAR of $72. Year over year there was down 32.8 percent, a steeper decline than the lake village saw, and professional management share was just 3.4 percent.

Ashtabula, the county's harbor city, published $19,015 across 76 listings, with an ADR of $226 and occupancy of 35.0 percent. Its seasonal hole falls in February, similar to Geneva-on-the-Lake, but its guest draw leans more toward the harbor's dining and wine-country identity than the lake village's boardwalk-and-arcade draw.

Two additional labeled neighbors for context, not for blending: Madison published $31,610 across 58 listings, and Conneaut published $18,048 across 47 listings. Each of these markets has its own guest base, its own seasonality, and its own reasons a guest would choose it specifically, and none of them should be averaged into a Geneva-on-the-Lake underwriting model just because they sit in the same general county.

Who's Actually Booking Geneva-on-the-Lake

Guests in this sample are 99.2 percent domestic, and the leading origin city identified in the data is Pittsburgh, not Cleveland, despite Cleveland being the closer, more obvious metro reference point at roughly 46 miles and under an hour away via I-90 and OH-534.

That distinction matters for how a listing should think about its audience. Cleveland functions as the drive corridor, the highway a lot of guests will use to get here, but Pittsburgh is where a larger share of actual demand is originating from, based on this data. A listing's marketing language leaning entirely on a Cleveland-adjacent identity may be talking past a meaningful share of its actual likely guest base.

The average 2.6-night stay length and 74-day lead time together describe a guest who plans a specific summer weekend well in advance rather than someone booking a spontaneous last-minute trip, which is consistent with a destination resort village drawing visitors from a couple hours away rather than a purely local, spontaneous market.

What This Means for Buying, Pricing, or Listing Here

For anyone evaluating an existing listing or considering a purchase in Geneva-on-the-Lake specifically, the $23,170 typical year, $301 ADR, and 32.3 percent occupancy figures are the actual, current baseline to underwrite against, not a number pulled from a general Lake Erie regional average or an older snapshot that may no longer reflect current conditions.

Given the 14.4 percent supply growth against a 14.7 percent revenue decline in this vintage, new entrants to this market should have a realistic view that added competition has outpaced demand growth recently, at least in this specific data window, rather than assuming the market will simply absorb new supply at the same rate.

The relatively low professional-management share and high Superhost concentration suggest a market where careful, hands-on self-management can still compete well, provided pricing accounts honestly for the sharp seasonality, strong summer, real winter trough, rather than smoothing over that pattern with flat, year-round pricing.

Above all, keep this village's numbers separate from City of Geneva's, Ashtabula's, and every other nearby market's numbers when making any financial decision. They are genuinely different markets with genuinely different guest bases, and treating them as interchangeable produces a distorted picture of what this specific 151-listing market actually looks like.

Related Reading

More Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio reading already live on Crest & Cove.

• Market a GOTL Cabin: The Strip, Not a Cleveland Mash

• GOTL STR Rules: Village Bed Tax, County Lodging Tax

• GOTL Shoulder Season: August Peak, Not a February Hole

• GOTL Remote Stays: Seventy-Three panel Set 30-Plus

• DIY vs Hire at Geneva-on-the-Lake: Sunset Is on Extract

• Who Books a GOTL Rental: Strip Family, Wine Couple

• Buying a GOTL Rental: $23,170, Census Nine Sixteen

• GOTL Tourism Data: The Strip Is Demand, Not Occupancy

• Complete Visitor's Guide to Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio

• What It Costs to Start a Legal Geneva-on-the-Lake STR

• Financing a Geneva-on-the-Lake Rental Without Costume Year

• GOTL vs City of Geneva vs Ashtabula: Three Ohio market

• Geneva-on-the-Lake Bed Tax and County Lodging Clerks

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the typical annual short-term rental revenue in Geneva-on-the-Lake?

For the August 2025 through July 2026 vintage, the typical year across the 151-listing sample is $23,170, with an average daily rate of $301 and occupancy of 32.3%.

Is Geneva-on-the-Lake the same market as the City of Geneva, Ohio?

No. They're separate municipalities with separate rental markets. City of Geneva, an inland city, published a typical year of $16,816 across 88 listings for the same vintage, a meaningfully different number that shouldn't be blended with the lake village's figures.

What months see the highest short-term rental demand in Geneva-on-the-Lake?

August, July, and June, in that order, form the peak-3 months, with August as the single strongest. February is the clear low point of the year, with April and November also sitting in the softer stretch.

How many short-term rental listings are active in Geneva-on-the-Lake?

The current extract includes 151 active listings for the August 2025 through July 2026 vintage, against a 2020 census population of just 916 residents, a striking ratio that says something about how tourism-driven this village's economy is.

What share of Geneva-on-the-Lake listings are professionally managed?

17.9%, meaning over four in five listings are self-managed by individual hosts. The leading identified professional manager is a company called Sunset, operating 20 listings with combined revenue of $373,210.

Where do most Geneva-on-the-Lake guests come from?

The data shows guests are 99.2% domestic, with Pittsburgh identified as the leading origin city, notably ahead of the geographically closer Cleveland, which functions more as the highway corridor guests use to arrive than as the primary source of bookings.

How does Geneva-on-the-Lake compare to Ashtabula's rental market?

Ashtabula published a typical year of $19,015 across 76 listings, with an ADR of $226 and occupancy of 35.0%, lower revenue overall than Geneva-on-the-Lake despite a slightly higher occupancy rate, reflecting Ashtabula's lower ADR.

What's the average length of stay in Geneva-on-the-Lake?

2.6 nights, with a typical booking lead time of 74 days, consistent with a destination resort village where guests plan a specific summer weekend well in advance rather than booking on short notice.

Did supply or demand grow faster in this Geneva-on-the-Lake vintage?

Supply grew 14.4% while revenue declined 14.7% year over year, meaning added listings outpaced demand growth in this specific data window, a signal worth factoring into any near-term revenue projection for a new listing entering the market.

Should a buyer use a Lake Erie regional average to evaluate a Geneva-on-the-Lake property?

No. Blending in a neighboring market like City of Geneva, Ashtabula, or Madison distorts the picture. Each is a genuinely different market with its own guest base and numbers, and Geneva-on-the-Lake's own $23,170 typical year is the figure to underwrite against.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Geneva-on-the-Lake's typical year is $23,170 across 151 listings, not a blended Cleveland weekend number and not the inland City of Geneva's $16,816. Averaging those market together is the fastest way to underwrite the wrong market.

We help hosts and buyers read short-term rental data for specific, correctly bounded markets instead of blended regional averages that mask what a place like Geneva-on-the-Lake actually earns. Send us the property you're evaluating and we'll help you check the numbers against the right comparison set.

Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.