Vermilion vs Bay St. Louis: Two Towns, Never Average the Years

Jacob Mishalanie
Aug 20
9 min read

Updated: 16 hours ago

Gray cottage lodging exterior, labeled leftover, never the Vermilion pin

Most Vermilion listings get marketed as a generic Lake Erie stay. That pitch could describe a dozen other towns, and it wastes what actually sets City of Vermilion, Erie and Lorain Counties, Ohio apart. Guests who typed Vermilion are looking for Main Street Beach, Vermilion Harbor, Lighthouse Beach, downtown shops , not St. Joseph, and not Bay St, and louis. 78 active listings sit on this market sample, and Keep the town you can actually walk. Keep the listing specific, and a vague water caption loses the booking.

Typical listings here earned about $29,012 last year from 78 active rentals, AirROI trailing twelve months through July 2026. The average night was $264, and occupancy was 38.4 percent. Revenue per available night was $111, and year over year is minus 7.6 percent. Active supply moved 16.4 percent, and in St is a different market. Joseph at $27,986 on 76 listings, and that is a different town. Leave Bay St, and louis as a different market. Do not mix those towns, and this is a small-town sample.

The three strongest months are August, June, and July. August is the busiest, and january is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Columbus, then Cleveland. Typical stay is 4.2 nights, booked about 57 days ahead. the hall the map names, and transient rental permit. Biennial fee $300, and chapter 1484.01, and inspection required. AirROI Low is a scrape Nick holds still show up in this sample. Confirm the live desk before you advertise, and a regulation scrape is not a permit. before you list.

Two Towns, Not One Lake Erie Year

That heading is the useful way to read Vermilion, not a dashboard label. Guests come for Main Street Beach, and say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Lake Erie caption. Do not Keep St, and joseph copy onto a Vermilion address. Do not use Bay St, and louis 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.

File $29,012 on 78 listings as this town's host year. Two halls and two years do not share a listing tile. Read more in Vermilion STR Rules and Vermilion Shoulder.

Year over year is minus 7.6 percent, and supply moved 16.4 percent. Keep Bay St, and louis ($25,594 a year) on its own line. A 33.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy, and photograph Main Street Beach. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days, and call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Vermilion Sells 78 listings

That heading is the useful way to read Vermilion, not a dashboard label. Guests come for Vermilion Harbor, and say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Lake Erie caption. Do not Keep St, and joseph copy onto a Vermilion address. Do not use Bay St, and louis 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.

File $29,012 on 78 listings as this town's host year. Occupancy is 38.4 percent. Read more in Vermilion Shoulder and Vermilion Remote Stays.

Year over year is minus 7.6 percent, and supply moved 16.4 percent. Keep Bay St, and louis ($25,594 a year) on its own line. A 33.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy, and photograph Vermilion Harbor. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days, and call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Bay St. Louis Is a Later Leftover, Labeled Only

Guests come for Lighthouse Beach, and say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Lake Erie caption. Do not Keep St, and joseph copy onto a Vermilion address. Do not use Bay St, and louis 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.

File $29,012 on 78 listings as this town's host year. Occupancy is 38.4 percent. Read more in Vermilion Remote Stays and DIY vs Hire in Vermilion.

Keep Bay St, and louis ($25,594 a year) on its own line. A 33.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy, and photograph Lighthouse Beach. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days, and call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

St is a different market. Joseph Twenty-Seven Thousand 986 into Twenty-Nine Thousand 012

Guests come for downtown shops, and say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Lake Erie caption. Do not Keep St, and joseph copy onto a Vermilion address. Do not use Bay St, and louis 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.

File $29,012 on 78 listings as this town's host year. Two halls and two years do not share a listing tile. Read more in DIY vs Hire in Vermilion and Who Books a Vermilion Rental.

Keep Bay St, and louis ($25,594 a year) on its own line. A 33.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy, and photograph downtown shops. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days, and call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Peak-Three Is August June July Here

Guests come for Main Street Beach, and say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Lake Erie caption. Do not Keep St, and joseph copy onto a Vermilion address. Do not use Bay St, and louis 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.

The three strongest months are August, June, and July. August is the busiest on this market sample, and january is the hole. Price it as the hole. Read more in Who Books a Vermilion Rental and Buying a Vermilion Rental.

Keep Bay St, and louis ($25,594 a year) on its own line. A 33.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy, and photograph Main Street Beach. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days, and call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Bay St. Louis Peak-Three Is Not This File

Guests come for Vermilion Harbor, and say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Lake Erie caption. Do not Keep St, and joseph copy onto a Vermilion address. Do not use Bay St, and louis 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.

File $29,012 on 78 listings as this town's host year. Occupancy is 38.4 percent. Read more in Buying a Vermilion Rental and Vermilion Tourism Data.

Keep Bay St, and louis ($25,594 a year) on its own line. A 33.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy, and photograph Vermilion Harbor. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days, and call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Guests Who Typed the Wrong Place

File $29,012 on 78 listings as this town's host year. Occupancy is 38.4 percent. Read more in Vermilion Tourism Data and Complete Visitor's Guide to Vermilion Harbor Beach.

How to Keep the Markets Apart

Open the tile with the walk this driveway can actually finish. Occupancy is 38.4 percent; a busy caption is not a sold year. File $29,012 on 78 listings as this town's host year. Read more in Complete Visitor's Guide to Vermilion Harbor Beach and Vermilion STR Report 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a typical Vermilion, Ohio STR year on this market sample?

AirROI puts typical annual revenue at $29,012 across 78 active listings for the trailing twelve months through July 2026, updated August 8, 2026. The average daily rate was $264, occupancy 38.4 percent, and revenue per available night $111. Year over year, that figure moved down 7.6 percent while active supply grew 16.4 percent.

Can I average St. Joseph, Michigan's numbers into Vermilion's year?

No. St. Joseph published $27,986 from 76 listings on its own separate AirROI cell, and that figure doesn't blend into Vermilion's. Cite $29,012 from 78 Vermilion listings only, and confirm which town's parcel you're actually marketing before advertising. These are two different lakefront towns with independently sourced numbers, and neither should stand in for the other.

Which months are strongest in Vermilion?

The three strongest months are August, June, and July, with August as the single busiest. January is the clear slowest month and should be priced as the seasonal low point rather than treated as an off-month surprise. Occupancy across the full year is 38.4 percent on a $29,012 typical year from 78 listings.

Where do Vermilion's guests come from?

Columbus is the largest origin market, followed by Cleveland. Typical stay length is 4.2 nights, and guests book about 57 days ahead of arrival on average. Superhost status covers 70.5 percent of the active listing base, a useful benchmark for a new host gauging how much guest-experience investment it takes to compete here.

Does a low-regulation reading mean Vermilion has no local rental permit?

No. Vermilion requires a transient rental permit under Chapter 1484.01 of the city code, with a biennial fee of $300 and a required inspection, handled through the building clerk's office at 440-204-2410. A regulation database showing a market as "low" reflects a data scrape, not an actual ordinance, so confirm the live permit requirement with the city desk directly before advertising.

Is a 30-night minimum stay the same thing as occupancy?

No, those measure two different things. About 33.3 percent of Vermilion's 78 listings, or 26 properties, set a 30-night minimum stay, which reflects a host's own calendar choice, not a measurement of demand. Vermilion's occupancy figure, 38.4 percent, is tracked separately and independently of how any individual host structures their minimum stay.

What numbers should a buyer packet cite for Vermilion?

Cite the $29,012 typical annual revenue from 78 listings, the August-June-July peak months with January as the slowest, Columbus as the top origin market, a 4.2-night average stay, and a 57-day average booking lead. Keep the transient rental permit details (Chapter 1484.01, $300 biennial fee, building clerk at 440-204-2410) in the same packet, since compliance costs belong alongside revenue figures.

Is Bay St. Louis, Mississippi the same market as Vermilion, Ohio?

No. Bay St. Louis published $25,594 from 340 listings on its own AirROI cell, a much larger and lower-per-listing market than Vermilion's $29,012 from 78 listings. The two towns don't share a lake, a state, or a permitting desk, and their figures shouldn't be blended into a single "small waterfront town" average in any comparison or marketing document.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Vermilion listings marketed as a generic Lake Erie stay could describe a dozen other towns and bury what Main Street Beach offers. Guests who typed Vermilion deserve copy that names this town, not Bay St. Louis averaged in.

We help Vermilion hosts write listing copy that keeps this town's $29,012 typical year and its own beaches on one line, never blended with another market's numbers.

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