Pella Tourism Data: Tulips Are a Walk, Not Occupancy 2026

Thomas Garner
17 hours ago
7 min read

Updated: 9 hours ago

Empty John Wayne Birthplace Museum Winterset, no people

AirROI's current Pella extract, August 2025 through July 2026, pins typical listings at about $20,593 a year on 56 active rentals. The average night was $191. Occupancy was 38.7 percent. Revenue per available night was $78. Year over year is minus 11.8 percent. Active supply moved plus 36.6 percent. Des Moines city cluster 240 is already LIVE at $16,916 on 619 listings. Do not remesh it. Do not average Pella $20,593 with that city year. Winterset has no AirROI extract on this pass. Do not invent a Winterset year. A separate Rabbu pass printed Pella at 24 listings and about $22,939. Do not average. Call Pella City Clerk Mandy Smith at 641-628-4173. 825 Broadway Street. Planning and Zoning 641-628-0043. Iowa Code 414.1: no city STR-specific CUP or STR-specific license/permit fee on this research pass. STR classified as residential. Generally applicable health and safety still allowed. State hotel and motel tax is 5 percent. Confirm remaining Pella local hotel tax at Iowa DOR. Confirm 2026. AirROI's low-regulation scrape is not the clerk file. Confirm remaining Winterset clerk before you advertise a Madison County driveway. Des Moines Development Services 515-283-4200 is the 240 city hall. Do not remesh 240.

Lake Red Rock Is Demand, Not Occupancy

Tulip Time Is Visitor Traffic

56 active listings is a gallery. Superhost share is 78.6 percent. Professionally managed share is 21.4 percent. Andrea holds 3 listings. Entire homes are 92.9 percent. Houses are 58.9 percent. What It Costs to Start a Legal Pella STR Stay 20 is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

The Windmill Is Visitor Traffic

August is the busiest month. May and September are the other strong months. February is the slowest. Stay is 4.2 nights. Lead is 62 days. Most guests arrive from Des Moines, then Omaha. Financing a Pella Rental Without a Des Moines Ye is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

Covered Bridges Are Winterset Demand

Call Pella City Clerk Mandy Smith at 641-628-4173. 825 Broadway Street. Planning and Zoning 641-628-0043. Iowa Code 414.1: no city STR-specific CUP or STR-specific license/permit fee on this research pass. STR classified as residential. Generally applicable health and safety still allowed. State hotel and motel tax is 5 percent. Confirm remaining Pella local hotel tax at Iowa DOR. Confirm 2026. AirROI's low-regulation scrape is not the clerk file. Confirm remaining Winterset clerk before you advertise a Madison County driveway. Des Moines Development Services 515-283-4200 is the 240 city hall. Do not remesh 240. Pella vs Winterset Desks is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

Keep Visitor Dollars Off $20,593

Des Moines listings earned about $16,916 last year from 619 active rentals on the current AirROI extract used for the already-LIVE 240 city cluster. Keep that stay on its own line. Do not remesh 240. Winterset has no AirROI extract on this pass. Do not invent a Winterset year, listing count, or ADR. Name Roseman Bridge, Holliwell Bridge, and the John Wayne Birthplace Museum as visitor demand, not occupancy. Pella vs Winterset is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

Des Moines Is a Different Hall

Tulip Time 2026 was May 7 through 9. Tulip Time 2027 is May 6 through 8. Covered Bridge Festival is October 10 through 11, 2026. Confirm hours. Do not invent a visitor count as occupancy. Towns Near Des Moines is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

Winterset Has a Different Calendar

Downtown Pella, Lake Red Rock, and Winterset's courthouse square are three occasions. Write the one the house can actually host. Market a Pella Stay is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

How a Host Should Read Tourism Copy

How a host should read this map is to file Pella $20,593, leave Winterset uncounted, and leave Des Moines 240 on its own live line. Pella STR Rules is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

Hosts who underwrite Pella stays should keep $20,593 on 56 town listings, call 641-628-4173, leave Winterset uncounted, and leave Des Moines 240 on its own live line. We market. We do not take the lock.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Tulip Time visitor traffic the same as rental occupancy?

No. Tulip Time draws real visitor traffic to Pella, and it correlates with May's above-average nightly rate in the rental data, but visitor headcount and booked-night occupancy are two different measurements. The current occupancy figure for Pella overall is 38.7 percent across the full year — a busy festival weekend doesn't retroactively change what happened in February. Keep visitor demand and occupancy data on separate lines.

Does the Vermeer Windmill drive bookings by itself?

The windmill is a genuine downtown landmark worth naming in a listing's photos and copy, and it's part of what makes Pella a search-specific destination rather than a generic Iowa town. But a landmark is a reason a guest considers the trip, not a guarantee of a booking. Occupancy still depends on the listing's own price, photos, and availability matching what that interested guest is looking for.

Is Lake Red Rock part of Pella's tourism draw?

Yes, as a nearby outdoor attraction worth mentioning honestly as a short drive from town, not folded into copy as if it's a walking-distance amenity. It adds to the reasons a guest might choose this area over another, but like the windmill, it's demand context rather than an occupancy number. A host should describe the actual distance rather than implying every listing sits lakeside.

What does the annual rental data show for Pella?

AirROI's current extract, August 2025 through July 2026, shows typical Pella listings earning about $20,593 a year on 56 active rentals, with 38.7 percent occupancy and a $191 average nightly rate. That's the actual booked-night performance behind the tourism draw described above — useful for a host to know how much of that visitor interest is currently converting into stays. Comparing that occupancy figure against the visitor draws described above gives a host a realistic sense of how much of the town's tourism interest is actually converting into paid nights.

When does tourism demand peak in Pella?

August is the busiest revenue month in the current rental data, with May and September also above average; May's lift lines up with Tulip Time specifically. February is the clear low point for both tourism visibility and rental occupancy. A host planning content or promotions around visitor interest should time that effort to these named months rather than assuming demand is constant.

How should a host use tourism landmarks in marketing without overstating occupancy?

Name the windmill, downtown Pella, and Lake Red Rock as real reasons to visit, and let the rental data — 38.7 percent occupancy, $20,593 typical annual revenue — describe how that interest is actually converting to bookings. Avoid using visitor headcount from an event like Tulip Time as if it were an occupancy statistic; the two numbers measure different things and shouldn't be blended in a pitch to a buyer or lender. Keeping those two kinds of numbers clearly labeled protects a host's credibility with anyone reviewing the listing's marketing materials or a buyer's underwriting packet.

How many listings compete for Pella's tourism-driven demand?

The current AirROI extract counts 56 active listings in Pella, with active supply up 36.6 percent year over year even as revenue fell 11.8 percent. That means more listings are now competing for the same tourism-driven demand described above, which is worth factoring into any content strategy built around the town's visitor draws — visibility matters more in a more crowded market. A host relying on a landmark's popularity alone to carry bookings should expect that a more crowded field of listings makes strong photography and pricing discipline matter more, not less.

Should a host build content around Tulip Time even outside of May?

Yes, within reason — evergreen content that explains what Tulip Time is and when it falls can draw search traffic from guests planning months ahead, since the average booking lead time on this market is about 62 days. That content should stay accurate to the actual current-year dates rather than a rough approximation, and it shouldn't be used to imply the festival atmosphere extends into unrelated months like February. Evergreen dates content also has a longer shelf life than a single seasonal promotion, since it keeps drawing search traffic year after year as the festival recurs.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Treating a festival crowd or a landmark's foot traffic as proof of occupancy is how a host ends up surprised by an actual 38.7 percent number.

We turn Pella's real tourism draws into listing content that converts interest into bookings — photos and copy tied to the actual walk, the actual event dates, and the actual season.

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