How Much Can Your Colorado Springs Airbnb Actually Make?

The key revenue drivers: ADR, occupancy, and RevPAR

Short-term rental revenue is driven by three interconnected metrics. Understanding them helps you evaluate any market-level data you pull from AirDNA, Rabbu, or AirROI:

• ›ADR (Average Daily Rate): the average price per night you charge across booked nights. ADR varies dramatically by property type, size, location within the city, amenities, and quality of listing photography and copywriting.
• ›Occupancy rate: the percentage of available nights that are booked in a given period. A high occupancy rate with a low ADR can still underperform a moderate-occupancy property with a premium ADR.
• ›RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room/Night): ADR × occupancy. This is the composite metric STR analysts use to compare properties across markets. Pull RevPAR comps from AirDNA or Rabbu for properties similar to yours in size and location.
• ›Seasonality: Colorado Springs has a peak summer season (June–August) and a secondary shoulder season around military PCS cycles (June and December). Winter is slower for leisure but military demand provides a base.

Where to find real market data for Colorado Springs

Do not rely on generic national averages for your Colorado Springs property analysis. Use these specialized STR data tools to pull local, property-level comps:

• ›AirDNA (airdna.co): The industry-standard STR analytics platform. Search Colorado Springs specifically and filter by property type, bedroom count, and neighborhood to see actual ADR, occupancy, and revenue ranges for comparable active listings. AirDNA offers both free market-level summaries and paid deep-dive reports.
• ›Rabbu (rabbu.com): Free STR revenue estimation tool that pulls Airbnb and Vrbo data. Enter your address for a property-specific projection based on real comps. Useful for a quick first pass.
• ›AirROI (airroi.com): Focused on STR investment analysis, particularly useful for out-of-state investors evaluating whether a specific Colorado Springs property pencils out as an STR.
• ›Mashvisor: Another option for STR vs. long-term rental comparison, though AirDNA and Rabbu are generally considered more accurate for STR-specific projections.

What your property could actually earn: use the estimator

Market-level data gives you a range, but your specific property's revenue depends on factors that no market report captures: your property's exact location and proximity to demand drivers, the number of bedrooms, quality of furnishings and photography, your pricing strategy, your management responsiveness, and review velocity. The Sun Mountain Stays Revenue Estimator uses local market data and property inputs to give you a tailored projection, not a national average. Use it as your starting point.

Why Colorado Springs outperforms expectations for STR owners

Colorado Springs is often overlooked compared to Denver or mountain resort towns, but that's precisely why it's interesting for STR investors. A few structural advantages:

• ›Military demand: Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, and the Air Force Academy generate a continuous stream of temporary duty (TDY) visitors, PCS movers, and family guests who need quality furnished accommodations, often for weeks at a time. This demand is relatively recession-resistant and less seasonal than leisure travel.
• ›Outdoor recreation: Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, the Broadmoor Seven Falls, and proximity to Pueblo Reservoir and Cañon City keep leisure travelers coming year-round, not just in summer.
• ›Sports tourism: USOC (now USOPC) headquarters, amateur sports tournaments at Weidner Field and Colorado Springs' multiplex venues, and cycling events drive predictable compression nights.
• ›No primary-residence restriction (unlike Denver): Colorado Springs allows non-owner-occupied STRs, which means the market is accessible to out-of-state investors.

Neighborhood and location: the biggest variable

Within Colorado Springs, revenue potential varies significantly by neighborhood. Properties near Garden of the Gods, Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs (technically a separate municipality but adjacent), the Broadmoor, and the north end (near the Air Force Academy) tend to attract premium nightly rates. Properties in suburban zip codes further from attractions and bases still perform, but at different ADR levels. Before drawing any conclusions from market-level data, filter your AirDNA or Rabbu comps to your specific sub-market: zip code or neighborhood level, not city-wide.

The military demand advantage: a floor on occupancy

One factor that sets Colorado Springs apart from pure leisure markets is the military installation presence. Temporary duty (TDY) travelers, families visiting a service member, and PCS (Permanent Change of Station) movers all create demand for short-term accommodations that is not purely leisure-driven. This tends to:

• ›Moderate the off-season slowdown that leisure-only markets experience in winter.
• ›Generate longer minimum-stay bookings (5–30 nights) that reduce turnover costs.
• ›Produce guests who tend to be respectful of the property: military culture and the nature of official travel create a different guest profile than spring-break leisure bookings.
• ›This demand pattern is structural and long-term; military installations don't close because of travel trends.

The management premium: what good management adds

Most underperforming Colorado Springs STRs are not in the wrong location. They are managed reactively. Consistent revenue gains come from:

• ›Dynamic pricing: adjusting nightly rates in response to local demand signals (military graduations, sports events, Pikes Peak races, holiday weekends). A static price leaves money on peak nights and drives away guests on slow nights.
• ›Review velocity: properties with more recent, 5-star reviews rank higher on Airbnb and Vrbo. Systematic guest follow-up accelerates review accumulation.
• ›Listing quality: professional photography and SEO-optimized listing copy meaningfully increase click-through rate from search results.
• ›Maintenance responsiveness: a fast response to maintenance issues prevents the negative reviews that suppress ranking.

A note on honesty: why we don't print a revenue number here

Some STR management sites publish specific revenue figures ("$X per month!") without citing a source or acknowledging that the number applies to a specific property type in a specific location. That approach can mislead owners into unrealistic expectations. We prefer to give you the tools to find accurate, property-specific data, and to be transparent about the uncertainty in any projection. If you want a real estimate for your specific property, use the Revenue Estimator or book a walkthrough with Jake.