What It Costs to Start a Legal Port Austin STR Stay

Thomas Garner
15 hours ago
11 min read

Dining table in a lodging interior, Port Austin

Most Port Austin listings get marketed as a generic Lake Huron stay. That pitch could describe a dozen other towns, and it wastes what actually sets Village of Port Austin, Huron County, Michigan apart. Guests who typed Port Austin are looking for Turnip Rock, Port Austin Reef Light, Lake Huron shoreline, downtown commons — not Caseville, and not Caseville. 46 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 $16,525 last year from 46 active rentals, AirROI trailing twelve months through July 2026. The average night was $281. Occupancy was 33.8 percent. Revenue per available night was $107. Year over year is minus 28.4 percent. Active supply moved 84.0 percent. Do not average in Caseville at $21,162 on 43 listings. That is a different town. Leave Caseville as a different market. Do not mix those towns. Treat this as a small sample, not a blended coast.

The three strongest months are August, July, and June. August is the busiest. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Michigan, then Juneau. Typical stay is 3.7 nights, booked about 80 days ahead. Call the village office at 989-738-5199. Village short-term rental license. Annual application fee $1000 on the village forms page. Township hall at 989-738-6808 is another municipality. Do not invent a fee beyond the published application. AirROI Low is a scrape Kirstyn holds still show up in this sample.

Price the City License Before You Furnish

That heading is the useful way to read Port Austin, not a dashboard label. Guests come for Turnip Rock. Say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Lake Huron caption. Do not write Caseville copy onto a Port Austin address. Do not use Caseville 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 Austin Tourism Data and Complete Visitor's Guide to Port Austin and Turnip Rock. Typical listings earned about $16,525 last year from 46 active rentals, at $281 a night and 33.8 percent occupancy. August is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Michigan. Call the village office at 989-738-5199. Village short-term rental license. Annual application fee $1000 on the village forms page. Township hall at 989-738-6808 is another municipality. Do not invent a fee beyond the published application.

Year over year is minus 28.4 percent. Supply moved 84.0 percent. Keep Caseville ($21,162 a year) on its own line. A 41.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph Turnip Rock. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Clerk Phone Is Nine Eight Nine Seven Three Eight Five One Nine Nine

That heading is the useful way to read Port Austin, not a dashboard label. Guests come for Port Austin Reef Light. Say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Lake Huron caption. Do not write Caseville copy onto a Port Austin address. Do not use Caseville 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 Complete Visitor's Guide to Port Austin and Turnip Rock and Port Austin STR Report 2026. Typical listings earned about $16,525 last year from 46 active rentals, at $281 a night and 33.8 percent occupancy. August is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Michigan. Call the village office at 989-738-5199. Village short-term rental license. Annual application fee $1000 on the village forms page. Township hall at 989-738-6808 is another municipality. Do not invent a fee beyond the published application.

Year over year is minus 28.4 percent. Supply moved 84.0 percent. Keep Caseville ($21,162 a year) on its own line. A 41.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph Port Austin Reef Light. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

New Cards Need the Live Desk

That heading is the useful way to read Port Austin, not a dashboard label. Guests come for Lake Huron shoreline. Say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Lake Huron caption. Do not write Caseville copy onto a Port Austin address. Do not use Caseville 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 Austin STR Report 2026 and Market a Port Austin Stay. Typical listings earned about $16,525 last year from 46 active rentals, at $281 a night and 33.8 percent occupancy. August is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Michigan. Call the village office at 989-738-5199. Village short-term rental license. Annual application fee $1000 on the village forms page. Township hall at 989-738-6808 is another municipality. Do not invent a fee beyond the published application.

Year over year is minus 28.4 percent. Supply moved 84.0 percent. Keep Caseville ($21,162 a year) on its own line. A 41.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph Lake Huron shoreline. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Confirm City Parcel Before You Buy a Permit Story

That heading is the useful way to read Port Austin, not a dashboard label. Guests come for downtown commons. Say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Lake Huron caption. Do not write Caseville copy onto a Port Austin address. Do not use Caseville 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 Market a Port Austin Stay and Port Austin STR Rules. Typical listings earned about $16,525 last year from 46 active rentals, at $281 a night and 33.8 percent occupancy. August is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Michigan. Call the village office at 989-738-5199. Village short-term rental license. Annual application fee $1000 on the village forms page. Township hall at 989-738-6808 is another municipality. Do not invent a fee beyond the published application. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 28.4 percent. Supply moved 84.0 percent. Keep Caseville ($21,162 a year) on its own line. A 41.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph downtown commons. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Statewide Tax Sits Statewide

Read more in Port Austin STR Rules and Port Austin Shoulder. Typical listings earned about $16,525 last year from 46 active rentals, at $281 a night and 33.8 percent occupancy. August is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Michigan. Call the village office at 989-738-5199. Village short-term rental license. Annual application fee $1000 on the village forms page. Township hall at 989-738-6808 is another municipality. Do not invent a fee beyond the published application. AirROI Low is a scrape

Caseville Permit Is Another Desk

Read more in Port Austin Shoulder and Port Austin Remote Stays. Typical listings earned about $16,525 last year from 46 active rentals, at $281 a night and 33.8 percent occupancy. August is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Michigan. Call the village office at 989-738-5199. Village short-term rental license. Annual application fee $1000 on the village forms page. Township hall at 989-738-6808 is another municipality. Do not invent a fee beyond the published application. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 28.4 percent. Supply moved 84.0 percent. Keep Caseville ($21,162 a year) on its own line. A 41.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph Port Austin Reef Light. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Caseville Is a Different City Desk

Read more in Port Austin Remote Stays and DIY vs Hire in Port Austin. Typical listings earned about $16,525 last year from 46 active rentals, at $281 a night and 33.8 percent occupancy. August is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Michigan. Call the village office at 989-738-5199. Village short-term rental license. Annual application fee $1000 on the village forms page. Township hall at 989-738-6808 is another municipality. Do not invent a fee beyond the published application. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 28.4 percent. Supply moved 84.0 percent. Keep Caseville ($21,162 a year) on its own line. A 41.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph Lake Huron shoreline. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

What You Actually Spend Before Night One

Read more in DIY vs Hire in Port Austin and Who Books a Port Austin Rental. Typical listings earned about $16,525 last year from 46 active rentals, at $281 a night and 33.8 percent occupancy. August is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Michigan. Call the village office at 989-738-5199. Village short-term rental license. Annual application fee $1000 on the village forms page. Township hall at 989-738-6808 is another municipality. Do not invent a fee beyond the published application.

Year over year is minus 28.4 percent. Supply moved 84.0 percent. Keep Caseville ($21,162 a year) on its own line. A 41.3-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph downtown commons. 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 Austin STR year on this extract?

AirROI lists typical Port Austin revenue at about $16,525 from 46 active listings, trailing twelve months through July 2026. The average night was $281, occupancy 33.8 percent, and revenue per available night $107. Year over year is down a sharp 28.4 percent even as active supply grew 84.0 percent -- a lot more listings chasing a much softer year. Treat this as a small, village-specific sample -- don't average in Caseville figures.

Can I average Caseville into this year?

No. Caseville published its own figure -- about $21,162 from 43 listings -- and it's a separate municipality with its own permit desk. Cite $16,525 from 46 Port Austin listings only, and keep Caseville's number labeled on its own line rather than blending the two into one Lake Huron average.

Which months are strongest in Port Austin?

August, July, and June are the three strongest months, with August the busiest of the year. January is the slowest month. That seasonal shape, paired with the town's 33.8 percent annual occupancy and $16,525 typical revenue, should drive when marketing spend ramps up rather than a flat year-round push.

Where do Port Austin guests come from, and how do they book?

Most guests arrive from within Michigan, then Juneau. The typical stay is 3.7 nights, booked about 80 days ahead of arrival -- a notably long lead time for a market this size. Superhost share on this extract runs 60.9 percent, a signal that guest experience and responsiveness matter in a village-sized market.

Does a low-regulation label mean there is no local permit in Port Austin?

No -- that label is a scrape of listings, not the town file. Port Austin requires a village short-term rental license, with an annual application fee of $1,000 published on the village forms page. Note that the village office (989-738-5199) and township hall (989-738-6808) are two separate municipalities -- confirm which one covers your parcel before assuming a fee applies.

Is a 30-night minimum the same as occupancy?

No -- a 30-night minimum-stay policy and occupancy are two different things. About 41.3 percent of Port Austin listings, or 19 of the 46 active rentals, run a 30-night minimum, yet the typical stay across the market is still only 3.7 nights. Don't read a minimum-stay rule as evidence of longer average bookings.

Does Michigan sales tax still apply to a Port Austin stay under 30 days?

Yes -- state sales tax can still apply to short-term stays under 30 days regardless of the village permit's status. Confirm the current tax obligation with the appropriate desk before advertising, since the village license and the tax requirement are two separate questions.

What should a Port Austin buyer or startup packet carry?

Cite the village-specific figures: $16,525 typical revenue from 46 listings, the August-July-June peak season with January as the slow month, Michigan as the top guest origin, a 3.7-night typical stay with an 80-day lead, and the village office contact at 989-738-5199. Label Caseville ($21,162) separately -- never average that year into the Port Austin number.

Is Caseville the same market as Port Austin?

No. Caseville published about $21,162 from 43 listings, a different municipality with its own permit desk and demand pattern. Port Austin is $16,525 from 46 listings with January as its slowest month. Confirm the Port Austin village office line at 989-738-5199 before advertising Caseville data as if it belonged to this town.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Port Austin listings too often get marketed as a generic Lake Huron stay instead of the Turnip Rock and Reef Light draw that actually brings guests here. That vague framing could describe a dozen other towns and loses the guest who typed this specific place.

Crest & Cove Creative writes marketing around what makes Village of Port Austin specific -- Turnip Rock, the Reef Light, downtown commons -- not a blended Lake Huron caption. Let's build a listing that reads like this town, not the whole coast.

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