Wellfleet, MA Short-Term Rental Data: What $31,996 in Typical Revenue Really Means

Thomas Garner
Aug 21
8 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Empty covered porch of a Wellfleet Cape Cod cottage, no people

Wellfleet, Massachusetts sells itself on Cahoon Hollow Beach, Marconi Beach, a working harbor, and some of the best-known oysters in New England. None of that is occupancy. Across the twelve months from August 2025 through July 2026, AirROI data puts the typical active Wellfleet short-term rental at $31,996 in revenue, spread across 246 listings, at 39.6 percent occupancy. This piece separates the tourism story from the booking numbers, section by section, so the two stop getting blended into one claim.

Wellfleet's 2025-2026 Short-Term Rental Numbers

Across the twelve months from August 2025 through July 2026, AirROI data puts typical Wellfleet host revenue at $31,996 across 246 active listings, with an average daily rate of $434 and occupancy of 39.6 percent. Revenue per available night worked out to $192, and revenue was down 11.5 percent year over year even though active supply held essentially flat at 0.0 percent growth.

Those figures describe a strongly seasonal Cape Cod market: high ADR nights concentrated in summer, offset by a long, quiet stretch outside of it. A 39.6 percent occupancy rate paired with a $434 ADR is typical of towns that make most of their money on a short peak rather than steady year-round demand.

The takeaway for hosts is to treat these figures as the baseline for pricing and marketing decisions, not tourism headlines about how busy the beach parking lot looked in July. Read more in Wellfleet STR Report 2026 and Complete Visitor's Guide to Wellfleet, Massachusetts.

Cahoon Hollow Beach and Marconi Beach Aren't the Same Story

Cahoon Hollow Beach, on Wellfleet's Atlantic side, is one of the town's most photographed spots , a bluff-backed beach known for its surf and for the Beachcomber, a longtime nightclub built into a former lifesaving station. It's genuinely useful in listing photos and copy because it explains why a guest picked Wellfleet, but it says nothing about occupancy. A busy Saturday at Cahoon Hollow in July doesn't move the needle on the 39.6 percent occupancy figure for the year, and it says nothing at all about February.

Marconi Beach, a few miles south inside the Cape Cod National Seashore, is a different kind of draw , dramatic eroding bluffs and the site where Guglielmo Marconi sent the first transatlantic wireless message from American soil in 1903. It's landscape and history, which makes for strong marketing copy, but like Cahoon Hollow it's a reason a guest booked, not a stand-in for revenue.

The distinction matters for how listings get written: use the beach to explain the trip, and use the AirROI numbers , $31,996 in typical annual revenue on 246 listings , to talk about performance. Mixing the two makes both claims weaker. Read more in Market a Wellfleet Stay: Photograph Cahoon Hollow Beach by Name.

Wellfleet Harbor and the National Seashore Follow the Same Rule

Wellfleet Harbor anchors the town's working side , an active fishing fleet, the town pier, and the oyster grounds that give Wellfleet its best-known export. Wellfleet oysters have been farmed in these flats for generations, and the harbor is genuinely worth featuring in a listing: it's walkable from much of downtown and gives guests something to do besides the beach.

The Cape Cod National Seashore, established in 1961, covers much of outer Cape Cod including Wellfleet's ocean-side beaches and trails, and it draws visitors well beyond anyone renting a house. Both the harbor and the Seashore generate visitor traffic that has nothing to do with a specific rental's booking calendar , a full parking lot at the Seashore's Marconi Station site doesn't tell you anything about whether a three-bedroom cottage two miles away is booked.

Use these landmarks in listing copy to answer why Wellfleet, and use the market data to answer what a property will actually earn. Read more in What It Costs to Start a Legal Wellfleet STR Stay 2026.

Seasonality: August Leads, February Is the Slow Month

Wellfleet's strongest months are August, July, and June, in that order, with August typically the busiest of the year. That lines up with the broader Cape Cod pattern of a compressed summer season bracketed by a long shoulder and a quiet winter.

February is the softest month for occupancy, consistent with a town where many businesses and rentals scale back once the weather turns. Hosts pricing a calendar should plan for a real trough rather than assuming demand tapers gently , the swing between a booked-out August weekend and an empty February week is wide.

The typical guest stay runs 5.3 nights, and bookings are made roughly 95 days out on average , a summer trip planned in the spring. That booking window is worth building into any marketing calendar: by the time June arrives, much of peak season is already reserved. Read more in Wellfleet Shoulder: August Peak, February Hole, Not Vinalhaven.

Who Books a Wellfleet Rental

Boston is the largest single origin market for Wellfleet guests, followed by New York. That's consistent with Wellfleet's position roughly two and a half hours from Boston and a comfortable weekend or week-long drive from the New York metro area.

That origin pattern has practical marketing implications: Boston- and New York-based search and social audiences are worth prioritizing over broader national targeting, and messaging that plays up the drive-friendly distance from those two cities tends to outperform copy aimed at a generic national audience. Read more in Who Books a Wellfleet Rental: Boston First, Then New York.

Vinalhaven Is a Different Market, Not a Comparison Point

Vinalhaven is an island town off the coast of Maine , not Massachusetts , and it gets pulled into Wellfleet conversations only because both are small New England vacation towns with a summer season. Typical Vinalhaven listings earned about $15,718 over the same period, across 43 active rentals, roughly half of Wellfleet's per-listing revenue on a fraction of the supply.

The two towns don't share a market, a regulatory environment, or a booking calendar, and treating them as interchangeable in a report or a pricing conversation produces bad conclusions. Wellfleet's $31,996 typical revenue on 246 listings and Vinalhaven's $15,718 on 43 listings should stay on separate lines whenever both come up. Read more in Wellfleet vs Vinalhaven: Two Towns, Keep Those Years Apart.

Wellfleet's Short-Term Rental Registration

Wellfleet Town Hall, at 300 Main Street, Wellfleet, MA 02667, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the town maintains a short-term rental registration process referenced on its website. A specific registration fee wasn't listed on the town's primary page as of this review, so hosts should confirm current fees and requirements directly with the town before assuming a number.

Massachusetts also requires short-term rental operators to register with the state's Department of Revenue and collect the state's room occupancy excise tax, on top of any local requirements , a separate step from whatever Wellfleet's own registration process requires. Hosts new to the area should treat town and state registration as two distinct items to clear, not one. Read more in Wellfleet STR Rules: the hall the map names.

How Hosts Should Read Tourism Copy

Tourism writing about Wellfleet , the beaches, the harbor, the oysters, the National Seashore , answers a single question: why would someone visit. It's genuinely useful in listing descriptions and marketing content because it explains the trip. What it doesn't do is report a booking calendar, and the two shouldn't get merged into the same sentence.

When a report, a broker memo, or a piece of marketing copy uses beach traffic or visitor counts to imply occupancy, treat that as a signal to go find the actual performance data. In Wellfleet's case, that means $31,996 in typical annual revenue on 246 active listings, 39.6 percent occupancy, and a season concentrated in June through August , numbers that live separately from any description of how nice Cahoon Hollow Beach looked in July.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the typical Wellfleet, MA short-term rental earn in 2025-2026?

Based on AirROI data for the twelve months from August 2025 through July 2026, a typical active Wellfleet listing earned about $31,996, across 246 active rentals, with an average daily rate of $434, occupancy of 39.6 percent, and revenue per available night of $192. Revenue was down 11.5 percent year over year, while active supply stayed essentially flat.

Does Cahoon Hollow Beach's popularity mean Wellfleet rentals are always booked?

No. Cahoon Hollow Beach draws heavy visitor traffic in summer, but that traffic is a reason guests choose Wellfleet, not a measure of occupancy. The town's actual occupancy rate for the year was 39.6 percent, with February the weakest month regardless of how busy any single beach gets in July.

What's the difference between Cahoon Hollow Beach and Marconi Beach for marketing a Wellfleet listing?

Cahoon Hollow Beach is known for its surf and the Beachcomber club; Marconi Beach, inside the Cape Cod National Seashore, is known for its bluffs and its history as the site of Marconi's first transatlantic wireless transmission in 1903. Both work well in listing copy to explain a stay's appeal, but neither should be used to imply a specific occupancy or revenue outcome.

When is peak season for Wellfleet short-term rentals?

August, July, and June are Wellfleet's three strongest months, with August typically the busiest. February is the slowest month. The average guest books about 95 days ahead for a typical stay of 5.3 nights, so most peak-season demand is locked in well before summer arrives.

Where do most Wellfleet renters travel from?

Boston is the largest origin market for Wellfleet guests, followed by New York. Marketing and search targeting aimed at those two metro areas tends to outperform broader national campaigns.

How does Wellfleet compare to Vinalhaven, Maine?

They shouldn't be compared directly. Vinalhaven is a separate market in a different state, and typical listings there earned about $15,718 across 43 active rentals over the same period — roughly half of Wellfleet's per-listing revenue on far less supply. The two towns have different regulations, calendars, and guest bases.

What are the short-term rental registration requirements in Wellfleet?

Wellfleet Town Hall (300 Main Street, Wellfleet, MA 02667; open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) maintains a short-term rental registration process referenced on the town's website, though a specific fee wasn't published on the primary page as of this review. Massachusetts also requires separate state registration and collection of the state's room occupancy excise tax.

How should hosts read tourism marketing copy about a destination like Wellfleet?

Treat destination and tourism content as an answer to why someone would visit, not as a stand-in for booking data. Use the real performance numbers — for Wellfleet, $31,996 in typical annual revenue on 246 listings and 39.6 percent occupancy — to make pricing and business decisions, and keep beach photos and visitor traffic in the marketing copy where they belong.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

A packed beach parking lot at Cahoon Hollow doesn't mean Wellfleet listings are booked — tourism traffic and rental occupancy are two different numbers. The $31,996 typical revenue figure is what should drive pricing, not the trailhead crowd.

We build Wellfleet listing copy and pricing strategy around actual host-revenue data instead of beach-town tourism headlines, so hosts aren't marketing to visitor volume that never converts into a booked night.

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