Getting creamed in North Myrtle Beach

Jeff — before you sell it or hand 20–30% to a manager, I’d diagnose the actual failure point.

“30% occupancy” by itself doesn’t tell you enough. I’d pull the last 24 months and look at four things: occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, and booking lead time — then compare those against a tight comp set of properties that a guest would realistically choose instead of yours.

That will tell you very quickly whether you have:

1. a demand problem,

2. a pricing problem,

3. a listing/conversion problem, or

4. a property that simply doesn’t compete well enough anymore.

Good reviews eliminate one variable, but they don’t eliminate the others.

I’d also look hard at the calendar. Are you getting crushed only in shoulder/off-season months, or are you underperforming during periods when comparable properties are filling? Those are two completely different problems.

And I would not hire management just because occupancy is low. A manager only makes sense if you can identify something they can actually improve enough to cover their fee. Ask them to show you what they believe your property should produce, what comparable units they already manage are producing, and exactly what they would change. If they can’t quantify that, you’re just adding another expense to an already struggling asset.

Before selling, I’d run three cases side by side:

Current operation
Professionally managed STR
Sale / alternative rental strategy

Then make the decision from the numbers, not from the frustration.

At 30% occupancy, something is definitely worth investigating — but I wouldn’t assume yet that the property itself is the problem.