Short-term rental investing in New Hampshire
Short-term rentals in NH are two decisions, not one: picking a market where the rules allow it, and pricing the seasonality honestly. I operate STRs here myself — this page is how I'd want the landscape explained if I were starting today.
Regulation
The ordinance comes before the offer
New Hampshire has no single statewide STR law. Every town writes its own rules — through zoning, permitting, registration, or outright restriction — and the differences are not subtle.
Portsmouth is the cautionary example: the city tightly restricts where STRs can operate, and buyers who skipped that homework have learned it the expensive way. Meanwhile many Lakes Region and White Mountains towns permit STRs but layer on permits, occupancy limits, parking requirements, or local room-and-meals tax collection duties.
My rule for any STR conversation: before we talk about revenue, we pull the actual ordinance for the specific town and read it together. If the property's use doesn't survive that reading, the spreadsheet is fiction.
Seasonality
Model the off-season, not the postcard
NH STR demand runs on two engines. Lakes Region properties peak from late June through Labor Day, with a smaller foliage bump in early fall. Ski-area properties around the White Mountains peak December through March. Both have shoulder seasons that can run very thin.
A peak week on Winnipesaukee can be remarkable. It also isn't the business. The business is the annual number: occupancy across all four seasons, cleaning and turnover costs, platform fees, utilities you're now paying for guests, and furnishing and replacement cycles.
When we run the numbers on an STR together, the base case uses conservative off-season assumptions. If the deal only works on optimistic peak numbers, it doesn't work.
Questions
What STR investors ask me
Which NH towns allow short-term rentals?
It changes — towns revise ordinances as STRs grow. As a working pattern: many Lakes Region and White Mountains towns permit them with permits or registration, while several Seacoast communities restrict them heavily. For any specific property, I verify the current ordinance with the town before we proceed.
What taxes apply to STR income in NH?
NH's Meals and Rooms Tax — 8.5% — applies to short-term accommodations, and operators are responsible for collecting and remitting it. Some booking platforms remit on your behalf in some jurisdictions; confirming exactly who remits what is part of setting up correctly.
STR or LTR — which is better in NH?
They behave like different businesses. STRs can gross more but carry higher costs, more work, and regulatory risk that can change mid-ownership. LTRs are steadier and simpler. I run both, and the right answer depends on the property, the town, and how hands-on you want to be.