Who Books a Bay St. Louis Rental: New Orleans, Not Crystal Beach

Thomas Garner
14 hours ago
10 min read

Lodging interior or exterior, Bay St. Louis stay 7

Most Bay St. Louis listings get marketed as a generic Gulf of Mexico stay. That pitch could describe a dozen other towns, and it wastes what actually sets City of Bay St. Louis, Hancock County, Mississippi apart. Guests who typed Bay St. Louis are looking for Old Town, the harbor, beachfront, the marina — not Vermilion, and not Crystal Beach. 340 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 $25,594 last year from 340 active rentals, AirROI trailing twelve months through July 2026. The average night was $279. Occupancy was 31.5 percent. Revenue per available night was $92. Year over year is minus 4.5 percent. Active supply moved 0.0 percent. Do not average in Vermilion at $29,012 on 78 listings. That is a different town. Leave Crystal Beach 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, October, and May. June is the busiest. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from New Orleans, then Baton Rouge. Typical stay is 3.8 nights, booked about 60 days ahead. Call Planning at 228-466-5516. City short-term rental permit. Published as a $100 form. Confirm the live fee at hall. AirROI Low is a scrape Heirloom holds still show up in this sample. Confirm the live desk before you advertise. A regulation scrape is not a permit.

June Is the Busiest Month

That heading is the useful way to read Bay St. Louis, not a dashboard label. Guests come for Old Town. Say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Gulf of Mexico caption. Do not write Vermilion copy onto a Bay St. Louis address. Do not use Crystal Beach 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 Buying a Bay St. Louis Rental and Bay St. Louis Tourism Data. Typical listings earned about $25,594 last year from 340 active rentals, at $279 a night and 31.5 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from New Orleans. Call Planning at 228-466-5516. City short-term rental permit. Published as a $100 form. Confirm the live fee at hall. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 4.5 percent. Supply moved 0.0 percent. Keep Crystal Beach ($44,416 a year) on its own line. A 28.8-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph Old Town. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

May Is Still One of the Three Strongest Months

That heading is the useful way to read Bay St. Louis, 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 Vermilion copy onto a Bay St. Louis address. Do not use Crystal Beach 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 Bay St. Louis Tourism Data and Complete Visitor's Guide to Bay St. Louis and Old Town. Typical listings earned about $25,594 last year from 340 active rentals, at $279 a night and 31.5 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from New Orleans. Call Planning at 228-466-5516. City short-term rental permit. Published as a $100 form. Confirm the live fee at hall. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 4.5 percent. Supply moved 0.0 percent. Keep Crystal Beach ($44,416 a year) on its own line. A 28.8-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.

Most Guests Arrive from New Orleans

That heading is the useful way to read Bay St. Louis, not a dashboard label. Guests come for beachfront. Say that in the listing. Do not bury it under a generic Gulf of Mexico caption. Do not write Vermilion copy onto a Bay St. Louis address. Do not use Crystal Beach 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 Bay St. Louis and Old Town and What It Costs to Start a Legal Bay St. Louis STR Stay. Typical listings earned about $25,594 last year from 340 active rentals, at $279 a night and 31.5 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from New Orleans. Call Planning at 228-466-5516. City short-term rental permit. Published as a $100 form. Confirm the live fee at hall.

Year over year is minus 4.5 percent. Supply moved 0.0 percent. Keep Crystal Beach ($44,416 a year) on its own line. A 28.8-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph beachfront. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Baton Rouge Is a Secondary Origin, Not the Listing Pitch

That heading is the useful way to read Bay St. Louis, 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 Vermilion copy onto a Bay St. Louis address. Do not use Crystal Beach 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 What It Costs to Start a Legal Bay St. Louis STR Stay and Bay St. Louis STR Report 2026. Typical listings earned about $25,594 last year from 340 active rentals, at $279 a night and 31.5 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from New Orleans. Call Planning at 228-466-5516. City short-term rental permit. Published as a $100 form. Confirm the live fee at hall. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 4.5 percent. Supply moved 0.0 percent. Keep Crystal Beach ($44,416 a year) on its own line. A 28.8-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.

Larger Homes Are Common in Bay St. Louis

Read more in Bay St. Louis STR Report 2026 and Market a Bay St. Louis Stay. Typical listings earned about $25,594 last year from 340 active rentals, at $279 a night and 31.5 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from New Orleans. Call Planning at 228-466-5516. City short-term rental permit. Published as a $100 form. Confirm the live fee at hall. AirROI Low is a scrape

Photos Should Match the Trip Guests Actually Book

Read more in Market a Bay St. Louis Stay and Bay St. Louis STR Rules. Typical listings earned about $25,594 last year from 340 active rentals, at $279 a night and 31.5 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from New Orleans. Call Planning at 228-466-5516. City short-term rental permit. Published as a $100 form. Confirm the live fee at hall. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 4.5 percent. Supply moved 0.0 percent. Keep Crystal Beach ($44,416 a year) on its own line. A 28.8-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.

Crystal Beach Attracts a Different Guest

Read more in Bay St. Louis STR Rules and Bay St. Louis Shoulder. Typical listings earned about $25,594 last year from 340 active rentals, at $279 a night and 31.5 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from New Orleans. Call Planning at 228-466-5516. City short-term rental permit. Published as a $100 form. Confirm the live fee at hall. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 4.5 percent. Supply moved 0.0 percent. Keep Crystal Beach ($44,416 a year) on its own line. A 28.8-percent share of listings uses a 30-night minimum. That is a stay rule, not occupancy. Photograph beachfront. Confirm the parcel before you advertise. Sales tax can still apply under 30 days. Call the desk. Do not underwrite another town's year.

Who This Market Fits

Read more in Bay St. Louis Shoulder and Bay St. Louis Remote Stays. Typical listings earned about $25,594 last year from 340 active rentals, at $279 a night and 31.5 percent occupancy. June is the busiest month. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from New Orleans. Call Planning at 228-466-5516. City short-term rental permit. Published as a $100 form. Confirm the live fee at hall. AirROI Low is a scrape

Year over year is minus 4.5 percent. Supply moved 0.0 percent. Keep Crystal Beach ($44,416 a year) on its own line. A 28.8-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.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a typical Bay St. Louis STR year on this extract?

AirROI lists about $25,594 from 340 listings for August 2025 through July 2026, updated 2026-08-08. The average night ran $279, occupancy was 31.5 percent, and year over year is down 4.5 percent. Don't average in Vermilion's $29,012 or Crystal Beach's $44,416 — both are separate towns on different coasts.

Can I use Vermilion's numbers for Bay St. Louis?

No. Vermilion, Ohio published $29,012 across 78 listings for the same window, a Lake Erie town rather than a Gulf Coast one. Cite Bay St. Louis' $25,594 across 340 listings on its own before you advertise.

Which months are strongest in Bay St. Louis?

June, October, and May are the three strongest months, with June the busiest and January the slowest. Occupancy for the year runs 31.5 percent against the $25,594 typical figure — with 340 listings, this is a reasonably sized sample for a Gulf Coast market this size.

Where do Bay St. Louis guests come from?

New Orleans is the top origin market, followed by Baton Rouge. Typical stay is 3.8 nights with a 60-day lead, and superhost share sits at 62.4 percent. Serve the guest who typed Bay St. Louis specifically, not a generic Gulf Coast caption.

Does a low-regulation label mean there's no local permit in Bay St. Louis?

No — that label is a scrape of listing data. Call Planning at 228-466-5516 to confirm the current fee on the city short-term rental permit, published as a $100 form — confirm that figure is still live before you advertise.

Is a 30-night minimum the same as occupancy?

No. About 28.8 percent of listings, 98 of the 340, set a 30-night minimum, but the typical actual stay is still 3.8 nights. A minimum-stay setting is a host's platform choice, not a measure of how full the calendar runs.

What should a buyer packet carry for a Bay St. Louis parcel?

Cite the $25,594 typical year on 340 listings, the June-October-May peak with January as the slow month, New Orleans as the top origin, 3.8-night stays with a 60-day lead, and the Planning number, 228-466-5516. Label Vermilion's $29,012 and Crystal Beach's $44,416 separately rather than averaging any of it in.

Is Crystal Beach the same market as Bay St. Louis?

No. Crystal Beach published $44,416 across 131 listings for the same window, a materially higher-earning Texas Gulf market with its own permit desk. Bay St. Louis' own figure is $25,594 across 340 listings, with January as its slowest month — confirm Planning directly at 228-466-5516 before advertising either town's numbers as the other.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Serve the guest who typed Bay St. Louis, not a mashed Gulf of Mexico shore.

If one tile tries to hold city and Crystal Beach, send it. We will split the stays. Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.