STR Market Research: How to Use AirDNA, StrIQ, and PriceLabs Before You Buy

The Three Tools

StrIQ — Individual Property Performance

The most underrated research tool in STR. StrIQ (code BRENDAN10 for 10% off) pulls actual booking data from Airbnb and Vrbo and lets you build a real comp set.

How to use it: Search your target market, filter by bedroom count, study the top 20–30 properties by revenue. Look at ADR, occupancy rate, annual revenue, and minimum stay settings.

Building your comp set: 5–8 properties that genuinely mirror yours in bed count, location, and amenity level. These are your benchmarks — not the whole market.

AirDNA — Market-Level Trends

The 30,000-foot view: demand trends, supply trends, seasonality curves, market scores. What to look for: market score 60+ (functional), 70+ (healthy), revenue growth trend, occupancy rate vs. supply growth, seasonality depth.

PriceLabs Market Dashboard — Demand Signals

PriceLabs is primarily a dynamic pricing tool, but its Market Dashboard shows local demand signals in near-real-time. Use it after validating with StrIQ and AirDNA — it tells you how to price, not whether to buy.

The Five Numbers That Decide a Market

1. Occupancy Rate: Healthy STR markets run 60–75% annually. Below 55% is a warning sign.
2. ADR: What comparable properties charge. A $350k property with a $2,200/month payment needs ~$100–110/night at 65% occupancy to break even.
3. Revenue Growth YoY: Look for 10%+ annual revenue growth.
4. Supply Growth: Demand should be growing faster than supply.
5. Seasonality Depth: How bad is the off-season? Can the property carry its costs at 20–30% occupancy?

Four Signals a Market Is Emerging

1. Occupancy rising faster than new listings
2. New infrastructure nearby (highway, airport, resort)
3. Drive-to destination within 3 hours of a major metro
4. Few professional operators — most listings are owner-managed with low review counts

The Weekend Research Process: Three Markets in Two Days

• Saturday morning (2 hrs): StrIQ deep dive on Market 1 — pull top 20 by revenue, note ADR/occupancy/minimums, identify comp set.
• Saturday afternoon (1.5 hrs): AirDNA validation — market score, revenue trend, supply trend, seasonality.
• Saturday evening (30 min): Go/no-go — does your target property cash flow at 65% occupancy at comp set rates?
• Sunday: Repeat for Markets 2 and 3.

From Research to Acquisition

Market validation is step one. Step two is choosing how to enter — see our Three-Lane Framework for STR market entry. Step three is running the acquisition numbers — see our STR underwriting guide.

Once you’ve validated a market and closed, set up a Baselane account for property-specific banking before your first guest checks in — it saves hours at tax time.

If you’d rather work through the analysis with someone who’s done it, our STR consulting team evaluates markets and deals at every stage. See also our recommended tools page for the full stack.

The Hosted Well Course covers market research and deal evaluation step by step — 19 lessons, five weeks, free.