Best Vacation Rental Management in St. James (Beaver Island), Michigan

No. As of the last verification (April 2026), St. James has no STR-specific ordinance — general zoning and nuisance codes apply.

The market average is about $41,471 a year; a three-bedroom averages $42,194 and a five-bedroom $74,764. Note these are market-wide averages across every listing — most of them self-managed by owner-operators, without professional pricing or multi-channel distribution — the top quartile of listings earns $54,756 or more.

About 46% across the market, holding between 44% and 49% across property sizes.

St. James scores 82 on the ROAM Market Score — strong tier — with an 18.75% gross yield on a $221,217 typical home value (Zillow index). Supply is structurally limited to the island's 19 listings; the offset is ferry-dependent logistics.

Friendly. No STR-specific ordinance at the township level and no countywide ordinance in Mackinac County. For contrast in the region: St. Ignace runs a 50-permit cap with a waitlist, and Mackinac Island treats stays under 30 days as hotel use through zoning.

July, at about 2.7 times the revenue of February. The season concentrates in the months the ferry runs.

The market averages an 18.75% gross yield, versus the 6.1% Michigan average.

ROAM prices full-service management in St. James — dynamic pricing, multi-channel listing, guest support, and turnovers — as one transparent structure, quoted per property. Get a quote at roammgmt.com/get-started.

ROAM is a Michigan vacation rental management company operating across the state, including Beaver Island — Airbnb management with ferry-scheduled turnovers and local support built into the operating plan. Start at roammgmt.com/get-started.

Because most listings run part-time. The market average is $41,471 a year, but the top quartile earns $54,756 and the top tenth $73,714 — same market, same guests. The difference is professional pricing, multi-channel distribution, and an optimized listing. That upper band is what ROAM manages toward.

By ferry from Charlevoix — about a two-hour crossing on the Beaver Island Boat Company, running April through December — or by scheduled flights that operate year-round. The island sits roughly 32 miles offshore and had 616 year-round residents at the 2020 census.

The draws are Great Lakes lighthouses — including the Beaver Island Harbor Light at Whiskey Point — plus Lake Michigan beaches, inland lakes for fishing and paddling, and touring the island by bike or car. St. James village anchors the museums, shops, and restaurants, and the pace is unhurried.

Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan and is entirely surrounded by it, reached by ferry or small plane from Charlevoix. Its main protected-land anchor is the Beaver Island State Wildlife Research Area, thousands of acres of habitat that also holds an International Dark Sky Sanctuary designation.

Exceptionally dark night skies — ranked among the darkest anywhere, with an annual dark-sky festival — plus stargazing over the wildlife research area, biking or driving the island loop, remote Lake Michigan beaches crowned with historic lighthouses, and fishing or paddling the inland lakes. Everything is reached by ferry or plane from Charlevoix.

Visiting tracks the ferry season: the Beaver Island Boat Company runs the Charlevoix–Beaver Island ferry across the warmer months, with the fullest, most frequent service in summer — the peak season. Service thins in the shoulder months and the island is far quieter off-season, and all trips are weather-permitting.

The average St. James (Beaver Island) vacation rental earns approximately $42,194 per year, based on current market data. Properties managed by ROAM typically outperform the market average by 30-50% through optimized pricing, professional photography, and listing optimization.

St. James (Beaver Island) does not currently require a specific STR permit. ROAM handles all permit applications and renewals for managed properties.

ROAM offers competitive management packages with transparent pricing. Our fees are structured to align our success with yours — we earn more when your property earns more. Visit our packages page for current pricing.

ROAM combines local Michigan expertise with proprietary technology (Signal) for listing optimization and dynamic pricing. Unlike national platforms, we have boots on the ground in your market and treat every property as our own.