Beach townsAlabama2026
Alabama Beach Towns
Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island were the most booked of the 3 beach towns in Alabama on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 113,008, 75,240 and 13,526 stays. June is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 5.1 nights.
Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made
Ranking
Alabama Beach Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays
Every one of the beach and coastal towns in Alabama with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.
| 1 | Gulf Shores | 113,008 | $433 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Orange Beach | 75,240 | $435 |
| 3 | Dauphin Island | 13,526 | $411 |
Figures are AirROI estimates for the 12 months to October 2026, and stays count Airbnb bookings only. Typical stay is a booking's length, occupancy the share of available nights booked, and revenue the yearly average per home, before costs. Guest rating is out of 5.
When to go
Busiest and Quietest Months
June, July and May rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the beach towns in Alabama, and January and December as the quietest. June is the busiest month in every one of them. Across the 3 towns, nightly rates run lowest in November, at about $363, and highest in June, at about $591. Across the 3 towns, stays run longest in February, at 10.2 nights, and shortest in September, at 3.9 nights.
June ranks first, December last
Airbnb months in calendar order. The number is the month's rank, and 1 is the busiest. The bar shows its part of Airbnb nights.
- Three busiest months
- Other months
Month by month: rank, typical stay and nightly rate
| Rank | Month | Typical stay | Nightly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June | 5.0 nights | $591 |
| 2 | July | 4.9 nights | $565 |
| 3 | May | 4.5 nights | $489 |
| 4 | March | 5.3 nights | $428 |
| 5 | August | 4.2 nights | $408 |
| 6 | April | 4.7 nights | $415 |
| 7 | September | 3.9 nights | $366 |
| 8 | February | 10.2 nights | $383 |
| 9 | October | 4.5 nights | $388 |
| 10 | November | 4.6 nights | $363 |
| 11 | January | 9.5 nights | $380 |
| 12 | December | 4.8 nights | $381 |
Who comes
Where Guests Come From
Among guests who left a review, over 99% come from within the United States. The top home cities among those guests are Birmingham, Nashville and Atlanta. Dauphin Island draws the most from abroad, at 1.1%, among towns with 100 or more homes.
Top home cities
Among guests who left a review
Over 99% from within the United States
The money view
Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate
Among the 3 towns on this list, Gulf Shores has the highest estimated revenue per home, at $49,721 a year. Of those 3, Gulf Shores and Dauphin Island share the highest occupancy, at 40%, and Dauphin Island has the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at $411. Gulf Shores is also the most booked of the 3.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular beach town in Alabama?
By AirROI's estimates, Gulf Shores is the most booked of the 3 beach towns in Alabama, with 113,008 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Orange Beach is second, with 75,240. This counts Airbnb bookings only.
What is the most affordable beach town in Alabama?
By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among beach towns in Alabama with 100 or more homes, the lowest is Dauphin Island ($411). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.
What beach towns in Alabama offer the strongest Airbnb returns?
Returns depend on what a home costs to buy and run, which AirROI's figures do not cover. On AirROI's estimated revenue per home in the 12 months to October 2026, among beach towns in Alabama with 100 or more homes, the highest is Gulf Shores ($49,721). Among the same towns, Gulf Shores and Dauphin Island share the highest occupancy, at 40%.
Method
How These Lists and Numbers Are Made
How a town gets on this list. A town needs 100 or more Airbnb homes with recent stays. A language model then judges the place from its name, state, country and coordinates, not from words in its name: it has to be on an ocean or sea coast with its own beach, seafront or harbour, or on a Great Lake with a public beach, and within about 10 km of the shore. The town's own listings can back that up, with 30% of its homes listing beach access, or 10% with ocean views, waterfront homes or beach in their titles besides. A town whose listings do not gets a second, stricter check, which asks whether people go there for that or mainly for something else. Big cities stay off. Corrections come last: places the checks got wrong are added or taken off, and rows that name one place are joined.
How the figures are made. Stays, occupancy, nightly rate and revenue are AirROI estimates built from Airbnb listing data, and cover Airbnb only. A town's stays are its bookings in the period, and the typical stay and busiest month come from the same data. Guest ratings, home sizes and how far ahead guests book are the latest figures in each town's AirROI data. Month ranks compare each month's part of Airbnb nights. Origin rests on 316,073 reviews and describes guests who left a review, not everyone who stayed. A town needs 1,000 reviews before this page gives its share from abroad.