Hawaii vs Nashville: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Nashville edges ahead of Hawaii on higher occupancy (48% vs 30%), stronger RevPAR (£44 vs £29).

Head-to-head metrics

	Hawaii	Nashville
Median occupancy	30%	48%
Median daily rate	£164	£127
Median RevPAR	£29	£44
Active listings	22,154	7,697
YoY occupancy	+11.9 pts	+15.1 pts
YoY daily rate	+1.5%	-6.4%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Hawaii vs Nashville

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Nashville finishes decisively ahead of Hawaii. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 51.6% higher in Nashville: £44 against £29. Nashville sells 18 more points of its calendar — 48% median occupancy against 30% in Hawaii. That is not a rounding difference, and it compounds over a hold period.

The two markets reach their revenue by different routes, which is what makes this pairing worth reading rather than just tabulating. Hawaii is the rate market: £164 a night against £127, some 29.2% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 30% occupancy. Nashville is the volume market, filling 48% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £44 in Nashville against £29. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Hawaii is not simply the weaker market of the two. Hawaii commands 29.2% more per night, £164 against £127. Hawaii is the deeper market at 22,154 active listings against 7,697, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. If your model leans on nightly rate rather than volume, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Hawaii nor Nashville currently has a verified short-term rental regulation record in our register, so the comparison above is a yield comparison only. Regulation is the single largest source of downside in this asset class — an unverified market is an unpriced risk, not an absent one.

The two calendars also behave differently. Hawaii peaks in October at 48% and bottoms in May at 26.5%; Nashville runs from 50.8% in October down to 19.8% in January. Hawaii is the steadier of the two at 21.5 points peak-to-trough against 31 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Nashville concentrates its return into a shorter window and rewards operators who price the peak aggressively instead of holding a flat rate all year.

Who each suits, then. Hawaii suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. Nashville answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, dated 2025-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 14,266 active Hawaii listings and 3,438 in Nashville.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hawaii or Nashville better for Airbnb investment?

Nashville, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£44 vs £29), higher occupancy (48% vs 30%), and higher median annual revenue (£15,920 vs £10,485). Hawaii is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a higher nightly rate (£164 vs £127).

Which has higher occupancy, Hawaii or Nashville?

Nashville, at 48% median occupancy against 30% in Hawaii — a gap of 18 points. That is a wide spread by short-term rental standards and usually reflects a structural demand difference rather than better hosting. Over the last twelve months Hawaii gained 11.9 points and Nashville gained 15.1 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Hawaii or Nashville?

Hawaii, at £164 a night against £127 in Nashville — roughly 29.2% more. The nightly rate is not the whole story, though. On revenue per available night — rate multiplied by how often the room actually sells — Nashville comes out ahead at £44 against £29, so Nashville's cheaper nights are more than repaid by how often they fill.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Hawaii or Nashville?

Nashville, on occupancy: +15.1 points over the last twelve months against +11.9 points in Hawaii. Nightly rates rose 1.5% in Hawaii and fell 6.4% in Nashville over the same window. One year of movement is a direction, not a trend — weigh it against the regulation picture before treating it as momentum.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Hawaii or Nashville?

Hawaii, with 22,154 active listings against 7,697 in Nashville. Size cuts both ways: a deep market gives you comparables, contractors and an exit, while a thinner one means fewer near-identical rivals competing for the same search results.

How much can you earn from an Airbnb in Hawaii vs Nashville?

Nashville earns more: roughly £15,920 a year for a median listing against £10,485 in Hawaii. Those are gross booking revenues before cleaning, management, platform fees, furnishing amortisation and tax — budget for a meaningful share of them, and note that a median listing is a median operator, not a good one.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide

Airbnb in Hawaii →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Nashville →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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