Will the Last Person to Leave Hochatown Please Turn Off the Lights?

Broken Bow Oklahoma Lake, Hochatown OK. By Maclane Parker @ Shutterstock.com

You read recently that living in certain resort towns can start to feel like living on an island. And in some towns, almost no one is living there at all. The few remaining residents in Oklahoma’s Hochatown are calling it ‘one giant Airbnb.’ Dan Latu reports at Business Insider:

Thousands of rental cabins have descended upon the sleepy 219-person town of Hochatown, Oklahoma, — a popular vacation spot on scenic Broken Bow Lake that’s a three-hour drive from Dallas, The New York Times reported.

Before the pandemic, there were about 400 properties for rent in the area. Now, there are 2,400, according to the short-term-rental-tracking website AirDNA, as reported by the Times.

“The town is basically one giant Airbnb,” David Francis, an Oklahoma state official, told the Times.

But with Hochatown’s Airbnb boom comes challenges and growing pains. The influx of travelers was responsible for $456,000 in tax revenue the town collected in September — and local officials hope to hit $1 million a month in the near future. But Hochatown will need the money: It has no professional firefighters, police officers, or garbage collectors. Unpaved roads plague rental owners, as does unreliable water infrastructure, which is essential to maintaining the hot tubs that keep guests happy.

Some cabin owners who bought properties recently, when prices were high, also worry that there aren’t enough traveler bookings to make their investments worthwhile. That’s one hallmark of the so-called “Airbnbust,” which happens when the supply of homes for rent outpaces demand in some areas, cutting into owners’ profits.

Action Line: Community, or lack thereof, can make or break a town. If you are retiring and looking to move to a new home, spend a season or two in a town before committing to buying there. You probably don’t want to end up somewhere you’ll be the town’s only permanent resident. Start your search for a better America with Your Survival Guy’s 2023 Super States. Then click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

Latest posts by E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy (see all)

• Do You Look Marvelous? See My Friend Marc - September 13, 2024
• Kitten Update This Week - September 13, 2024
• Dershowitz Decries “Hard Left” Hijacking of Democratic Party - September 13, 2024
• September RAGE Gauge: Win Friends and Influence People - September 12, 2024
• Stay Diversified My Friends - September 12, 2024