What It Costs to Start a Legal Port O'Connor STR Stay

Thomas Garner
13 hours ago
10 min read

Dining table in a lodging interior, Port O'Connor

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.

Price the City License Before You Furnish

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 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 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.

Clerk Phone Is Eight Zero Zero Two Five Two One Three Eight Five

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 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 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.

New Cards Need the Live Desk

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 STR Report 2026 and Market a Port O'Connor 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.

Confirm City Parcel Before You Buy a Permit Story

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 Market a Port O'Connor Stay and Port O'Connor STR Rules. 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.

Statewide Tax Sits Statewide

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

Waveland Permit Is Another Desk

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.

Port Isabel Is a Different City Desk

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.

What You Actually Spend Before Night One

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

AirROI lists typical Port O'Connor revenue at about $21,172 from 128 active listings, trailing twelve months through July 2026. The average night was $338, occupancy 24.3 percent, and revenue per available night $85. Year over year is down 15.2 percent even as active supply grew 21.9 percent. Treat this as a small, town-specific sample -- don't average in Port Isabel or Waveland figures.

Can I average Port Isabel into this year?

No. Port Isabel published its own figure -- about $24,192 from 259 listings -- and it's a separate incorporated city with its own registration desk. Cite $21,172 from 128 Port O'Connor listings only, and keep Port Isabel's number labeled on its own line rather than blending the two into one Gulf Coast average.

Which months are strongest in Port O'Connor?

June, July, and August are the three strongest months, with June the busiest of the year. February is the slowest month. That seasonal shape, paired with the town's 24.3 percent annual occupancy and $21,172 typical revenue, should drive when marketing spend ramps up rather than a flat year-round push.

Where do Port O'Connor guests come from, and how do they book?

Most guests arrive from Austin, then Houston. The typical stay is 3.2 nights, booked about 48 days ahead of arrival. Superhost share on this extract runs 70.3 percent, a signal that guest experience and responsiveness matter in a market this size.

Does a low-regulation label mean there is no local permit in Port O'Connor?

Port O'Connor is unincorporated Calhoun County, so there's no city STR registration to file -- Texas's 6 percent state hotel occupancy tax still applies. Call the Texas Comptroller's hotel tax line at 800-252-1385 to confirm current obligations. Note Port Isabel's Finance line (956-943-0703) is a different, incorporated municipality with its own separate registration process -- don't confuse the two.

Is a 30-night minimum the same as occupancy?

No -- a 30-night minimum-stay policy and occupancy are two different things. About 27.3 percent of Port O'Connor listings, or 35 of the 128 active rentals, run a 30-night minimum, yet the typical stay across the market is still only 3.2 nights. Don't read a minimum-stay rule as evidence of longer average bookings.

Does Texas sales tax still apply to a Port O'Connor stay under 30 days?

Yes -- Texas's 6 percent state hotel occupancy tax applies to short-term stays under 30 days regardless of the fact that Port O'Connor is unincorporated and has no separate city registration. Confirm current obligations with the Texas Comptroller at 800-252-1385 before advertising.

What should a Port O'Connor buyer or startup packet carry?

Cite the town-specific figures: $21,172 typical revenue from 128 listings, the June-July-August peak season with February as the slow month, Austin as the top guest origin, a 3.2-night typical stay with a 48-day lead, and the Texas Comptroller hotel tax contact at 800-252-1385. Label Port Isabel ($24,192) and Waveland ($26,638) separately -- never average those years into the Port O'Connor number.

Is Waveland the same market as Port O'Connor?

No. Waveland published about $26,638 from 93 listings, a different market with its own demand pattern. Port O'Connor is $21,172 from 128 listings with February as its slowest month. Confirm the Texas Comptroller hotel tax line at 800-252-1385 before advertising Waveland data as if it belonged to this town.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Port O'Connor listings too often get marketed as a generic Gulf of Mexico stay instead of the marina, Matagorda Bay, and jetties 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 Port O'Connor specific -- the marina, the bay, the jetties -- not a blended Gulf Coast caption. Let's build a listing that reads like this town, not the whole coast.

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