Every year, millions of travelers descend on the serene, sugar sand beaches of Alabama Gulf Coast for fun and sun. Featuring plenty of oceanfront real estate, the most popular beach towns—Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Fort Morgan, and Perdido Key—are considered hot spots for vacation rental properties and condo investments.
Are you considering buying a beach condo to get your share of these travelers’ bookings? Here are five facts to help you determine if a Gulf Shores condo is the right type of vacation home for you.
While the Gulf Coast area as a whole is a much sought-after destination, its individual beach towns tend to attract certain types of travelers. For example:
With minimal restaurants and shopping, quiet Fort Morgan is most enticing to couples and retired travelers.
Families and adventurous travelers generally prefer to stay in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach for the easy access (often within walking distance) to shopping, dining, and entertainment.
The Alabama Gulf Coast draws travelers not just with its expansive white sand shores, but also family-friendly attractions and popular events. These include:
Vacasa tip: You might want to consider charging higher nightly rates during big events. (When you work with Vacasa, our dynamic pricing technology will automatically adjust rates according to demand.)
Your home is a success waiting to happen. We'll show you how.
Vacation home owners must have a valid business license in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Perdido Key—but not in Fort Morgan. All of those cities, however, require you to collect lodging taxes.
The type of license depends on your location, but lodging taxes must be collected and remitted to the appropriate agencies—city, county, and state—monthly whether you have revenue or not.
Just like many beaches around the world, visitors and locals alike are asked to follow certain rules to preserve the beauty and health of the coastline. On the Alabama Gulf Coast, most of the rules come from the local Leave Only Footprints program. Some to be aware of:
There are also efforts to protect local wildlife, including:
About 50,000 sea turtles nest in the area annually from July to October. Visitors and residents are asked to:
Beach mice are a federally endangered species and are most often seen among the coastal sand dune areas. To protect them, pets are not allowed on the beaches. And most importantly, vacation home owners should never use poison or snap traps to harm the mice.
Vacation home owners on the Gulf Coast need to have a game plan for hurricane season, lasting from June 1 until November 30. Take the proper precautions and prepare your home in advance. Some measures to take:
If you hire Vacasa to manage your home, our local Gulf Coast team can assist in preparing your home for hurricane season.
Want to learn how Vacasa can help you earn more and book more at your Alabama Gulf Coast vacation rental—all while taking care of your home and guests?
Call 844-518-0967 to speak with a Homeowner Consultant, who can answer preliminary questions and see if we’d be a good fit for you.
If you'd like to move forward, we’ll put you in touch with our market expert in your neighborhood to explore the financial potential of your home, outline our management fee, and introduce your local team.
California licenses
Vacasa Seasonals Inc.
California DRE #02160171
Vacation Palm Springs Real Estate, Inc.
California DRE #01523013
Vacasa offers property management and other real estate services directly through Vacasa LLC and through Vacasa LLC's licensed subsidiaries. Click here for more information about Vacasa's licensed real estate brokerage/property manager in your state. Vacasa’s licensed real estate brokerages/property managers include: Vacasa Alabama LLC; Vacasa Arizona LLC; Vacasa of Arkansas LLC; Vacasa Colorado LLC (Micah Victory); Vacasa Delaware LLC, 302-541-8999; Vacasa Florida LLC; Vacasa Illinois LLC 481.014072, Micah Victory Managing Broker Lic# 471.021837; Vacasa Louisiana LLC, Dana MacCord, Principal Broker, ph 504.252.0155 (Licensed in LA); Vacasa Michigan LLC, 602-330-9934; Vacasa Missouri LLC, Vicki Lyn Brown, Designated Broker; Vacasa Nevada LLC; Vacasa New Hampshire LLC,45 NH-25, Meredith, NH 03253, Susan Scanlon, Broker of Record; Vacasa Minnesota, Broker: Micah Victory, license #40877637; Vacasa New Mexico LLC, 503-345-9399; Vacasa New York LLC, 888-433-0068, Susan Scanlon, Real Estate Broker; Vacasa North Carolina LLC; Vacasa Oregon LLC; Vacasa Pennsylvania LLC; Vacation Palm Springs Real Estate, Inc., California DRE #01523013, Mark Graham, California DRE #00700720; Vacasa Real Estate LLC (licensed in Texas, Debra Brock, Designated Broker); Vacasa Real Estate LLC (licensed in Washington, Robert Brush, Designated Broker); Vacasa Seasonals Inc., California DRE #02160171, Lisa Renee Stevens, California DRE #01485234; Vacasa South Carolina LLC; Vacasa South Dakota LLC; Vacasa Tennessee LLC; Vacasa Vacation Rentals of Hawaii LLC, 69-201 Waikoloa Beach Dr. Ste. #2F17, Waikoloa, HI 96738; Vacasa Vacation Rentals of Montana LLC, Terah M. Young, Licensed Property Manager; Vacasa Virginia LLC; Vacasa Wisconsin LLC; Vacasa Wyoming LLC. In Canada, this advertisement is provided by Vacasa Canada ULC, CPBC lic. number 75826, 172 Asher Rd. V1X 3H6 Kelowna, BC.