Port O'Connor vs Waveland: Two Towns, Never Average the Years

Jacob Mishalanie
14 hours ago
10 min read

Neighbor-market lodging exterior, labeled leftover, never the Port O'Connor pin

Most Port O'Connor listings get marketed as a generic Gulf of Mexico stay. That pitch could describe a dozen other towns, and it wastes what actually sets Port O'Connor, unincorporated Calhoun County, Texas apart. Guests who typed Port O'Connor are looking for the marina, Matagorda Bay, the jetties, the harbor — not Port Isabel, and not Waveland. 128 active listings sit on this extract. Write the town you can actually walk. Keep the listing specific. A vague water caption loses the booking.

Typical listings here earned about $21,172 last year from 128 active rentals, AirROI trailing twelve months through July 2026. The average night was $338. Occupancy was 24.3 percent. Revenue per available night was $85. Year over year is minus 15.2 percent. Active supply moved 21.9 percent. Do not average in Port Isabel at $24,192 on 259 listings. That is a different town. Leave Waveland as a different market. Do not mix those towns. Treat this as a small sample, not a blended coast.

The three strongest months are June, July, and August. June is the busiest. February is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Austin, then Houston. Typical stay is 3.2 nights, booked about 48 days ahead. Call Texas Comptroller hotel tax at 800-252-1385. Unincorporated Calhoun County. No city STR registration. Texas 6% HOT. Port Isabel Finance 956-943-0703 is another municipality. AirROI Low is a scrape Bill holds still show up in this sample. Confirm the live desk before you advertise.

Two Towns, Not One Gulf of Mexico Year

That heading is the useful way to read Port O'Connor, not a dashboard label. Guests come for the marina. Say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Gulf of Mexico caption. Do not write Port Isabel copy onto a Port O'Connor address. Do not use Waveland as if it were this occupancy. Be specific about the walk. A vague caption loses the guest who typed this town. Keep the other town out of the title.

Read more in Port O'Connor STR Rules and Port O'Connor Shoulder. Typical listings earned about $21,172 last year from 128 active rentals, at $338 a night and 24.3 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. February is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Austin. Call Texas Comptroller hotel tax at 800-252-1385. Unincorporated Calhoun County. No city STR registration. Texas 6% HOT. Port Isabel Finance 956-943-0703 is another municipality. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 15.2 percent. Supply moved 21.9 percent. Keep Waveland ($26,638 a year) on its own line. A 27.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph the marina. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Port O'Connor Sells 128 Cards

That heading is the useful way to read Port O'Connor, not a dashboard label. Guests come for Matagorda Bay. Say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Gulf of Mexico caption. Do not write Port Isabel copy onto a Port O'Connor address. Do not use Waveland as if it were this occupancy. Be specific about the walk. A vague caption loses the guest who typed this town. Keep the other town out of the title.

Read more in Port O'Connor Shoulder and Port O'Connor Remote Stays. Typical listings earned about $21,172 last year from 128 active rentals, at $338 a night and 24.3 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. February is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Austin. Call Texas Comptroller hotel tax at 800-252-1385. Unincorporated Calhoun County. No city STR registration. Texas 6% HOT. Port Isabel Finance 956-943-0703 is another municipality. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 15.2 percent. Supply moved 21.9 percent. Keep Waveland ($26,638 a year) on its own line. A 27.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph Matagorda Bay. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Waveland Is a Later Leftover, Labeled Only

That heading is the useful way to read Port O'Connor, not a dashboard label. Guests come for the jetties. Say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Gulf of Mexico caption. Do not write Port Isabel copy onto a Port O'Connor address. Do not use Waveland as if it were this occupancy. Be specific about the walk. A vague caption loses the guest who typed this town. Keep the other town out of the title.

Read more in Port O'Connor Remote Stays and DIY vs Hire in Port O'Connor. Typical listings earned about $21,172 last year from 128 active rentals, at $338 a night and 24.3 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. February is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Austin. Call Texas Comptroller hotel tax at 800-252-1385. Unincorporated Calhoun County. No city STR registration. Texas 6% HOT. Port Isabel Finance 956-943-0703 is another municipality. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 15.2 percent. Supply moved 21.9 percent. Keep Waveland ($26,638 a year) on its own line. A 27.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph the jetties. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Do Not Average Port Isabel Twenty-Four Thousand 192 into Twenty-One Thousand 172

That heading is the useful way to read Port O'Connor, not a dashboard label. Guests come for the harbor. Say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Gulf of Mexico caption. Do not write Port Isabel copy onto a Port O'Connor address. Do not use Waveland as if it were this occupancy. Be specific about the walk. A vague caption loses the guest who typed this town. Keep the other town out of the title.

Read more in DIY vs Hire in Port O'Connor and Who Books a Port O'Connor Rental. Typical listings earned about $21,172 last year from 128 active rentals, at $338 a night and 24.3 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. February is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Austin. Call Texas Comptroller hotel tax at 800-252-1385. Unincorporated Calhoun County. No city STR registration. Texas 6% HOT. Port Isabel Finance 956-943-0703 is another municipality. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 15.2 percent. Supply moved 21.9 percent. Keep Waveland ($26,638 a year) on its own line. A 27.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph the harbor. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Peak-Three Is June July August Here

Read more in Who Books a Port O'Connor Rental and Buying a Port O'Connor Rental. Typical listings earned about $21,172 last year from 128 active rentals, at $338 a night and 24.3 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. February is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Austin. Call Texas Comptroller hotel tax at 800-252-1385. Unincorporated Calhoun County. No city STR registration. Texas 6% HOT. Port Isabel Finance 956-943-0703 is another municipality. AirROI Low is a scrape

Waveland Peak-Three Is Not This File

Read more in Buying a Port O'Connor Rental and Port O'Connor Tourism Data. Typical listings earned about $21,172 last year from 128 active rentals, at $338 a night and 24.3 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. February is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Austin. Call Texas Comptroller hotel tax at 800-252-1385. Unincorporated Calhoun County. No city STR registration. Texas 6% HOT. Port Isabel Finance 956-943-0703 is another municipality. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 15.2 percent. Supply moved 21.9 percent. Keep Waveland ($26,638 a year) on its own line. A 27.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph Matagorda Bay. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Guests Who Typed the Wrong Place

Read more in Port O'Connor Tourism Data and Complete Visitor's Guide to Port O'Connor, Texas Stay. Typical listings earned about $21,172 last year from 128 active rentals, at $338 a night and 24.3 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. February is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Austin. Call Texas Comptroller hotel tax at 800-252-1385. Unincorporated Calhoun County. No city STR registration. Texas 6% HOT. Port Isabel Finance 956-943-0703 is another municipality. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 15.2 percent. Supply moved 21.9 percent. Keep Waveland ($26,638 a year) on its own line. A 27.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph the jetties. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

How to Keep the Markets Apart

Read more in Complete Visitor's Guide to Port O'Connor, Texas Stay and Port O'Connor STR Report 2026. Typical listings earned about $21,172 last year from 128 active rentals, at $338 a night and 24.3 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. February is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Austin. Call Texas Comptroller hotel tax at 800-252-1385. Unincorporated Calhoun County. No city STR registration. Texas 6% HOT. Port Isabel Finance 956-943-0703 is another municipality. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 15.2 percent. Supply moved 21.9 percent. Keep Waveland ($26,638 a year) on its own line. A 27.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph the harbor. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a typical Port O'Connor STR year on this extract?

AirROI shows about $21,172 across 128 active listings for the trailing twelve months through July 2026, updated 2026-08-08. Average night is $338, occupancy sits at 24.3 percent, and revenue per available night is $85. Year over year is minus 15.2 percent.

Why shouldn't I average Waveland's numbers into a Port O'Connor projection?

Waveland posted about $26,638 across 93 listings in the same window, and the two towns are separate markets on separate pins. Blending them produces a number that describes neither place accurately. Cite the $21,172 figure from Port O'Connor's own 128 listings, and keep Waveland's number on its own line if you reference it at all.

Which months carry the most demand in Port O'Connor?

June, July, and August are the three strongest months, with June the busiest of the year. February is the slowest.

Where do most guests booking Port O'Connor come from?

Austin leads, followed by Houston. Typical stays run about 3.2 nights, and guests book roughly 48 days out on average. Superhost listings make up about 70.3 percent of the active supply.

Does AirROI's low-regulation tag mean there is no tax obligation in Port O'Connor?

No, that tag is a scrape and does not reflect the live rule. Port O'Connor is unincorporated Calhoun County with no city STR registration, but the Texas 6 percent hotel occupancy tax still applies. Call the Texas Comptroller at 800-252-1385 to confirm current terms before advertising.

Is Port Isabel's figure relevant when comparing Port O'Connor and Waveland?

Only as a third labeled data point, never as a substitute for either. Port Isabel published about $24,192 from 259 listings in the same window; it is a separate market from both Port O'Connor and Waveland and should never be blended into either one's figures.

Does a 30-night minimum on some listings affect the occupancy figure?

No. About 27.3 percent of active listings, 35 of 128, run a 30-night minimum. That is a stay-length rule, not an occupancy figure, and should be read separately from the 24.3 percent stat.

Does sales tax apply to stays under 30 nights?

Yes, short-term rentals booked for fewer than 30 nights can still trigger the Texas 6 percent hotel occupancy tax, even in an unincorporated area with no city-level STR registration.

Are Port O'Connor and Waveland close enough to market as one stretch of Gulf coast?

Geographically comparable, yes, but they are not one market. Each has its own listing count, its own AirROI year, and its own regulatory desk. Marketing copy that treats them as interchangeable loses the guest who typed the specific town name.

What should go into a buyer or investor packet comparing the two towns?

List each town's figures on separate lines: Port O'Connor's $21,172 from 128 listings, subject to Texas hotel occupancy tax with no city registration, and Waveland's $26,638 from 93 listings, its own separate market. Never fold the two into a single blended-coast number.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Name the place. Do not mint a Gulf of Mexico mash year.

Send the listing if it still wears Waveland dollars on Port O'Connor. We will recut the identity. Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.