Help me understand AirDNA occupancy rates

[Lee Brookman]

I'm new to real estate investing and considering buying my first STR property. I started by looking at typical vacation destinations (popular beach/mountain towns), but after researching occupancy rates on AirDNA, I was surprised to see that occupancy rates in my hometown area (an ordinary suburb of Dallas) are just as high or higher than those in many major tourist areas. Should I take that data to mean that I could probably do just as well operating an STR here as I could in a vacation hot spot? Am I missing something? Thanks for your thoughts!

[Bruce Lynn]

Also understand occupancy is often a function of the rate.  Raise the rate, lower the occupancy, lower the rate, more heads in beds.

Seems like the sweet spot for airlines and big hotels is somewhere between 70-80%.   Hit that and they're profitable, lower than that, they're loosing money.

There are different philosophies on this though.....some people want it full every night.....some people would like quality over quantity, or minimum stays to reduce turnover or to attract a different kind of guest.