Red Lodge, MT STR Market Report 2026: What Hosts Should Underwrite

Thomas Garner
Jul 23
15 min read

Updated: 10 hours ago

Red Lodge, Montana, sits at the base of the Beartooth Mountains, with a population roughly 2,300 to 2,800 depending on the source and the year measured (2024 estimates cluster around 2,686; 2026 projections run closer to 2,800), and it does something most mountain towns in the Northern Rockies can't: it fills calendar gaps most gateway markets leave empty. A ski hill in winter, a nationally famous scenic highway in summer, and a century-old rodeo that draws a hard, dateable demand spike every July 4th weekend. That's three separate reasons for a guest to book, layered across three different parts of the calendar, in a town of about 2,000 housing units total.

For short-term rental operators, that layering is the whole investment thesis. Most mountain-gateway markets have one big season and a long shoulder. Red Lodge has a winter season built around Red Lodge Mountain, a summer season built around the Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone's northeast entrance, and a sharp, short spike built around the Home of Champions Rodeo. Below is what's actually verifiable about demand, regulation, and competitive density in this market as of mid-2026 , including a significant correction to the regulatory timeline that matters if you're underwriting a purchase here.

Why Red Lodge Has Three Seasons Instead of One

Winter: Red Lodge Mountain.The ski area typically opens the Friday after Thanksgiving and runs through the second Sunday in April, with the 2025-2026 season opening December 5, 2025. Daily lift operations run 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This is a real, multi-month season , not a handful of powder weekends , and it anchors STR demand from late November through early spring in a way that pure summer-gateway towns (say, most Yellowstone South Entrance markets) don't get.

Summer: The Beartooth Highway.US-212, the Beartooth Highway, is nationally recognized as one of the most scenic drives in the country and is the direct route from Red Lodge to Yellowstone's northeast entrance and the communities of Cooke City and Silver Gate. It's a seasonal road: the segment near Red Lodge generally opens around Memorial Day weekend (in 2026, the May 22 target was cited by Montana DOT, weather permitting) and stays open through roughly mid-October, with the high alpine pass itself subject to weather closures at any point given its elevation above 10,000 feet. That's a firm four-to-five-month window where Red Lodge functions as a legitimate, drive-through gateway to Yellowstone , not just a standalone mountain town, but a waypoint with its own lodging demand from travelers staging a Yellowstone trip.

The spike: Home of Champions Rodeo.This is the fact worth verifying carefully, because the marketing shorthand ("century-old tradition") undersells how specific the history is. Red Lodge cowboys were staging informal exhibition bronc rides at the railroad stockyards as far back as the late 1890s. A formal arena and paid-admission rodeo began in 1929, and the Red Lodge Rodeo Association formed in 1930. The "Home of Champions" name was adopted in 1954, after local cowboy Bill Linderman won his third World All-Around Champion title. The rodeo runs annually around July 4th (typically July 2-4), which puts 2026 at roughly the 97th consecutive year of the event. That's a real, dateable, three-day demand spike stacked directly on top of the already-strong summer Beartooth Highway season , not a marketing embellishment.

Rate and Occupancy: Verified Numbers, With a Caveat on Sourcing

Third-party STR data platforms disagree with each other on Red Lodge's exact listing count and occupancy rate , which is normal for a small market, but worth flagging rather than smoothing over. That's still real competition on scale and standardized service (fee structures in this tier typically run 18% for Casago-affiliated management up to 25-35% for full-service brands like Vacasa), but it's not the four-deep field the brief described , and it leaves more room than the brief implied for a direct-booking brand with genuine local authority on rodeo weekend, Beartooth Highway closures, and which cabins actually hold value in a 44% (or 25%, depending on source) occupancy market.

One data provider (Rabbu, snapshot dated mid-March 2026) puts Red Lodge at 256 listings (AirROI Red Lodge as of 2026-07-31), an average daily rate of $281, and 25% occupancy, with average annual revenue near $33,269. The same source cites the Montana statewide ADR at $437 and statewide occupancy at 47% , both figures skewed upward by Big Sky, Whitefish, and other resort-tier markets that don't reflect what a working gateway town like Red Lodge actually commands.
A second provider (AirDNA) shows a materially different picture for essentially the same period: roughly 44% occupancy and a $300 average daily rate, with monthly revenue estimates near $33,269. AirDNA's market page lists 377 total properties as of mid-2026, though that figure appears to include inactive or lightly booked listings rather than the smaller "active and competitive" set Rabbu measures.

The brief's framing , that Red Lodge runs a moderate-premium ADR below the Montana statewide average , checks out under both data sources.$281-$300 a night sits meaningfully below the $437 statewide figure, and that gap is a real market feature, not noise: it reflects Red Lodge's identity as a working ski/rodeo/gateway town rather than a resort-tier destination. Investors should not expect Big Sky or Whitefish pricing here. Given the spread between providers, treat any specific occupancy or listing-count figure as directional, and verify against a licensed data terminal (AirDNA Market Minder or Key Data) before underwriting a specific property.

One additional factor that changes net returns starting in 2026 and wasn't in the original brief: Montana's property tax reform.Under HB 231 and SB 542, passed in the 2025 legislative session, short-term rentals and second homes are taxed at a flat 1.90% rate on full assessed value starting with the 2026 tax year. Primary residences and long-term rentals instead get a tiered rate that starts at 0.76% and only reaches that same 1.90% ceiling on the portion of value above roughly four times the statewide median residential value. In practice, that means STR owners in Red Lodge are paying a meaningfully higher effective property tax rate than a long-term-rental or owner-occupied neighbor on a comparably valued home , a real carrying-cost difference that belongs in any underwriting model for this market.

Property Management Competition Is Real, But Verify Who's Actually Here

The brief's claim that Vacasa, Avant Stay, Casago, and Grand Welcome are all active in Red Lodge does not fully hold up, and it needs correcting rather than restating. Here's what's actually confirmed:. For an independent operator, the real competitive picture in Red Lodge is narrower than the brief suggested: a consolidated Vacasa/Casago presence, a confirmed Evolve book of 21 listings, and several claimed-but-unverified national brands.

Vacasa and Casago are now the same corporate parent, and Vacasa has a genuine, verifiable Red Lodge presence.Casago and Vacasa announced a merger agreement on December 30, 2024; the deal closed on April 30, 2025, valued at approximately $130 million, and Vacasa's stock was delisted from Nasdaq. Vacasa now operates inside Casago's decentralized franchise structure. Vacasa itself has confirmed bookable Red Lodge listings (individual unit pages, not just a regional landing page).Casago's own Red Lodge presence is unconfirmed, Casago maintains dedicated property-management pages for nearby Montana markets like Whitefish, but no equivalent Red Lodge-specific page or listing set turned up in verification. Treat "Casago in Red Lodge" as folded into the Vacasa brand for now, not as a second, independent local operator.

Avant Stay does not have a confirmed presence in Red Lodge, and there's no evidence of Avant Stay operating anywhere in Montana. The brief's inclusion of Avant Stay should be removed rather than corrected , it appears to be an error, not an update. The brief's claim that Vacasa, Avant Stay, Casago, and Grand Welcome are all active in Red Lodge does not fully hold up, and it needs correcting rather than restating.

Grand Welcome's Red Lodge presence is also unconfirmed. It may operate here through a regional affiliate, but that couldn't be confirmed independently. Casago's own Red Lodge presence is unconfirmed , Casago maintains dedicated property-management pages for nearby Montana markets like Whitefish, but no equivalent Red Lodge-specific page or listing set turned up in verification.

Evolve's presence checks out precisely: Evolve lists 21 active Red Lodge vacation rentals, matching the brief's figure exactly , this is the one management-company claim in the original brief that verifies cleanly. For an independent operator, the real competitive picture in Red Lodge is narrower than the brief suggested: a consolidated Vacasa/Casago presence, a confirmed Evolve book of 21 listings, and several claimed-but-unverified national brands. That's still real competition on scale and standardized service (fee structures in this tier typically run 18% for Casago-affiliated management up to 25-35% for full-service brands like Vacasa), but it's not the four-deep field the brief described , and it leaves more room than the brief implied for a direct-booking brand with genuine local authority on rodeo weekend, Beartooth Highway closures, and which cabins actually hold value in a 44% (or 25%, depending on source) occupancy market.

The STR Cap: A Necessary Correction to the Timeline

This is the most time-sensitive claim in the original brief, and it needs a significant correction. The brief describes Red Lodge City Council "actively voting as of June 2026" on capping short-term rentals at 270 units , a 50% increase above roughly 180 registered units at the time.That vote did happen, but not in 2026. It happened in 2023.

Here's the verified sequence: In June 2023, with 180 registered short-term rentals inside city limits, Red Lodge's city council took up a proposal to cap growth at 50% above that count , the 270-unit figure , with a vote scheduled for June 27, 2023. Mayor Kristen Cogswell framed it at the time as wanting "the tools in place to continue to guide the growth of this community," while local rental managers like Chelsea Toupin of Red Lodge Reservations raised concerns about the economic impact of a hard cap. The measure then moved through the ordinance process andOrdinance No. 963, regulating short-term rentals citywide, passed on second reading on August 22, 2023, by a 5-1 council vote.

The final, enacted cap mechanism is tied to a percentage of citywide housing stock ,20% of total housing units, after a planning committee had recommended 15% , rather than the flat 270-unit number floated in the original 2023 proposal. Against Red Lodge's roughly 2,012 total housing units, a 20% cap works out to a ceiling in the neighborhood of 400 registered short-term rentals, well above the original 270-unit proposal figure. The ordinance includes a waiting list mechanism to be established once the cap is reached, with the limit recalculated by city staff.

Where things actually stand in mid-2026:as of an October 2025 KTVQ report, Red Lodge sits at roughly 200 registered short-term rentals , about11% of housing stock, comfortably under the 20% cap. Mayor Dave Westwood confirmed the cap is in place to "manage growth while still supporting tourism," but there is no indication of an active waiting list or that the cap is close to binding. This is a market with real, enacted supply regulation, but one that currently has meaningful headroom left before that regulation actually constrains new registrations , a materially different picture than either "cap not yet enacted" (the brief's error) or "cap already binding with a waitlist" (a plausible but unconfirmed assumption). Anyone underwriting a Red Lodge purchase should still confirm current registration availability directly with the city, since a market at 11% of a 20% cap can tighten as listing growth continues , Rabbu's data shows roughly 91% year-over-year listing growth in the broader market , but as of the most recent reporting, new STR registration is not gated by a waitlist.

What This Means for Positioning a Red Lodge Listing

Given a regulatory environment that caps supply growth and a multi-season demand pattern that most single-season gateway towns can't match, the operators who win in Red Lodge are the ones who program their calendar and their content around all three demand windows instead of defaulting to "summer Yellowstone gateway" messaging alone. A listing optimized only for Beartooth Highway traffic leaves a five-month ski season and a guaranteed July rodeo spike underexploited. A listing that speaks to skiers, scenic-drive travelers, and rodeo weekend visitors , with pricing, content, and direct-booking messaging tuned to each , captures demand the generic full-service property managers are pricing and marketing identically year-round.

With STR growth capped by ordinance and registration inventory finite, the value of an existing, licensed Red Lodge STR is also structurally different than in an unregulated market: it's a scarcer asset, and the operators who already hold a registration have more reason to invest in maximizing what that license earns rather than assuming they can simply add units later.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Red Lodge, Montana a good short-term rental investment market in 2026?

It can be, but go in with realistic expectations. Red Lodge's average daily rate runs in the $280-$300 range, well below Montana's statewide average, which is skewed upward by Big Sky and Whitefish, and reported occupancy varies significantly by data source, from around 25% to 44%. It's a moderate-premium, multi-season market rather than a high-ADR resort-tier one. The city's STR registration cap limits long-run supply, but as of late 2025 the market was running at only about 11% of housing stock against a 20% cap.

Does Red Lodge, Montana currently have a cap on short-term rentals?

Ordinance No. 963, passed by Red Lodge City Council in August 2023, established a short-term rental cap set at 20% of citywide housing stock, with the limit recalculated by city staff and a waiting list to be established once the cap is reached. As of an October 2025 KTVQ report, Red Lodge sits at roughly 200 registered STRs, or about 11% of housing stock, comfortably under the cap with no active waiting list.

What was the original proposed STR cap number for Red Lodge?

In June 2023, when Red Lodge had roughly 180 registered short-term rentals, the initial council proposal discussed capping growth at 50% above that figure, approximately 270 units. The ordinance that ultimately passed in August 2023 was structured around a percentage-of-housing-stock formula rather than a flat unit count, so operators should confirm the current numeric ceiling directly with the city rather than relying on the original 270-unit proposal figure.

What makes Red Lodge different from other Yellowstone-area gateway towns?

Most Yellowstone gateway markets have one dominant season. Red Lodge has three: a genuine multi-month ski season at Red Lodge Mountain from late November through early April, a summer season driven by Beartooth Highway scenic-drive traffic and access to Yellowstone's northeast entrance from roughly Memorial Day through mid-October, and a sharp early-July demand spike tied to the Home of Champions Rodeo.

When is the Beartooth Highway open, and why does it matter for bookings?

The Beartooth Highway, US-212, typically opens around Memorial Day weekend and stays open through roughly mid-October, weather permitting, given its elevation above 10,000 feet at Beartooth Pass. It's the direct route to Yellowstone's northeast entrance and the communities of Cooke City and Silver Gate, making Red Lodge a legitimate staging point for Yellowstone travelers during that window, not just a standalone destination.

How old is the Home of Champions Rodeo, and when does it happen?

Red Lodge cowboys held informal exhibition rides as early as the late 1890s. A formal, paid-admission rodeo began in 1929, the Red Lodge Rodeo Association formed in 1930, and the 'Home of Champions' name was adopted in 1954 after local cowboy Bill Linderman's third World All-Around Championship. The rodeo runs annually around July 4th, typically July 2-4, making 2026 approximately its 97th consecutive year.

Which property management companies operate in Red Lodge?

Evolve is confirmed with 21 active Red Lodge listings. Vacasa also has a confirmed, bookable Red Lodge presence; Vacasa's parent company, Casago, closed its acquisition of Vacasa in April 2025, but Casago does not appear to have an independent, verifiable Red Lodge listing set of its own. Grand Welcome is a large national brand, but its specific Red Lodge presence could not be verified, and Avant Stay has no confirmed presence in Red Lodge or anywhere in Montana. Full-service management fees in this market generally run from about 18% up to 25-35%.

Should I expect to register a new short-term rental in Red Lodge easily in 2026?

Likely, based on the most recent data. The city's STR cap has been enacted policy since 2023, set at 20% of citywide housing stock, and as of an October 2025 report Red Lodge was running at only about 11% of housing stock with no active waiting list. That leaves meaningful registration headroom, though the market has also seen fast listing growth, so confirm current capacity directly with the City of Red Lodge before assuming a new license is available.

How is Red Lodge's property tax treatment changing for short-term rentals in 2026?

Starting tax year 2026, short-term rentals and second homes are taxed at a flat 1.90% rate on full assessed value under Montana's HB 231 and SB 542, while primary residences and long-term rentals get a tiered rate starting at 0.76% and reaching 1.90% only above roughly four times the statewide median residential value.

When does the ski season run at Red Lodge Mountain?

The 2025-2026 season opened December 5, 2025, with typical closure the second Sunday in April. That gives the market a genuine multi-month winter demand window, not just a couple of holiday weekends, which is one of the reasons Red Lodge supports three distinct seasonal demand segments rather than one.

About the Authors

Crest & Cove Creative is a short-term rental marketing agency founded by Thomas Garner and Jacob Mishalanie. We build direct-booking brands, listing optimization systems, and market-specific content strategies for independent STR operators nationwide, including emerging corridors like Red Lodge, Montana. A listing that speaks to skiers, scenic-drive travelers, and rodeo weekend visitors , with pricing, content, and direct-booking messaging tuned to each , captures demand the generic full-service property managers are pricing and marketing identically year-round.

Sources

Red Lodge looking at possible cap on short-term rentals, KTVQ, published June 14, 2023. Confirms 180 registered STRs in city limits at the time, the proposed 50%-growth (approximately 270-unit) cap, the June 27, 2023 council vote date, and quotes from Mayor Kristen Cogswell and rental manager Chelsea Toupin.Correction to brief: this vote occurred in 2023, not June 2026 as the brief stated.
City of Red Lodge council meeting record referencing Ordinance No. 963, passed second reading August 22, 2023, by a 5-1 vote , regulating short-term rentals citywide, with the cap set at 20% of citywide housing stock (up from a 15% committee recommendation) and a waiting-list mechanism once the cap is reached. Direct primary-source access to the full ordinance text on cityofredlodge.net returned a 403 error during verification; the 20% figure is corroborated by the October 2025 KTVQ report below.
Red Lodge motel turns from traditional operations to owner-operated, KTVQ, published October 13, 2025, updated October 23, 2025. Confirms the 20%-of-housing-stock cap is enacted policy, that Red Lodge currently sits at approximately 11% of housing stock (~200 vacation rentals), and includes a direct quote from Mayor Dave Westwood.This is the key update resolving the brief's stale cap-timeline framing: as of this report, the cap has substantial headroom and no active waiting list.
Red Lodge, MT Airbnb Market Data , Rabbu, snapshot dated mid-March 2026. 256 listings (AirROI Red Lodge as of 2026-07-31), $281 ADR, 25% occupancy, ~$33,269 average annual revenue, ~91% year-over-year listing growth; Montana statewide ADR cited at $437, statewide occupancy at 47%.
Red Lodge, Montana short-term rental market data , AirDNA, approximately 44% occupancy, $300 ADR, ~$33,269 monthly revenue; 377 total listed properties as of verification, likely including inactive listings.Flagged: Rabbu and AirDNA occupancy figures diverge significantly (25% vs. 44%) for roughly the same period , treat as directional pending a licensed data terminal check.
THE BEST Red Lodge Vacation Rentals , Evolve, confirms 21 active Evolve-managed listings in Red Lodge, matching the brief's figure.
Vacasa/Casago merger , merger agreement announced December 30, 2024; deal closed April 30, 2025, valued at approximately $130 million; Vacasa delisted from Nasdaq and now operates within Casago's franchise network. Vacasa has confirmed, bookable individual Red Lodge listings (vacasa.com).Correction to brief: the deal closed in April 2025, not December 2024, and at approximately $130 million, not $128.6 million. Casago itself has no independently verified Red Lodge listing set , its market-specific property-management pages (e.g., Whitefish) do not include Red Lodge.
Avant Stay , no confirmed presence found in Red Lodge or elsewhere in Montana in any verification search.Correction to brief: remove Avant Stay as a Red Lodge competitor; this claim does not check out.
Flagged as unconfirmed, not stated as fact.
HB 231 & SB 542 Summary of Property Tax Changes, Montana Association of Counties. Confirms that starting tax year 2026, short-term rentals and second homes are taxed at a flat 1.90% rate on full assessed value, while primary residences and long-term rentals get a tiered rate starting at 0.76% and reaching 1.90% only above roughly four times the statewide median residential value.
Beartooth Highway , Montana Department of TransportationandNPS Yellowstone road opening announcements, confirm seasonal opening near Memorial Day weekend (2026 target cited as May 22, weather permitting) and closure by roughly mid-October; confirms the highway's role as the direct route to Yellowstone's northeast entrance and Cooke City/Silver Gate.
Red Lodge Mountain , Mountain Infoand season-tracking sources (On The Snow, Snow Pak) , confirm 2025-2026 season opening December 5, 2025, with typical closure the second Sunday in April.
Home of Champions Rodeo , Raised in the West MagazineandRed Lodge Rodeo, confirm informal rides dating to the late 1890s, formal rodeo since 1929, Red Lodge Rodeo Association founded 1930, "Home of Champions" name adopted 1954 after Bill Linderman's third World All-Around title, and the annual early-July (July 2-4 pattern) event date.
Population and housing-stock figures (approximately 2,300-2,800 population depending on vintage, ~2,012 total housing units) drawn from multiple demographic aggregators (city-data.com, Data USA, Census Reporter, World Population Review); figures vary by source and vintage and should be treated as approximate.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Red Lodge markets itself on one big season the way most mountain towns do, but the data shows three overlapping ones, winter skiing, summer Beartooth Highway traffic, and rodeo week, that a single seasonal pitch misses.

We help hosts build listing copy and a pricing calendar around all three of Red Lodge's demand windows instead of just the ski season. Send your live listing and we'll flag which window your copy is missing.

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