Tampa Bay Ranked #3 NFL Market for Airbnb – Surprising Gap in the Data

[Mary Beth Blackwell]

I just read the BiggerPockets article ranking Tampa Bay #3 in the nation for short-term rental profitability in NFL markets (right behind Buffalo and Nashville).

Bucs weekends clearly bring a huge demand spike — booked calendars, higher nightly rates, the works.

I pulled some market data to see which property types are actually performing best here. Here’s what stood out:

Performance – 4–5+ Bedroom Homes:

• Average Annual Revenue: $102,900

• Occupancy Rate: 65%

• Average Daily Rate (ADR): $499

• RevPAR: $324.93

• YoY Revenue Growth: +14%

Inventory Share – All STR Listings:

• 1 BR: 22%

• 2 BR: 19%

• 3 BR: 34%

• 4 BR: 18%

• 5+ BR: 7%

That means 75% of the market is made up of 1–3 bedroom homes, while only 7% of listings are 5+ bedrooms — and that small segment is hitting the highest revenues, ADRs, and occupancy rates.

Bigger homes are attracting families, wedding groups, and football weekend groups — but competing with far fewer properties in the same category.

If you were buying in Tampa Bay today, would you stick with the 1–3 BR space, or target the bigger homes?

[Ryan Moyer]

I think Tampa is a good market, but these generic articles are worth what you pay for them.  The whole article is just some random blogger throwing power rankings at the wall.  The "rankings" don't even align with the revenue metrics they quote in the article, and they don't even attempt to discern actual profitability.