It's the question I get most often from buyers with an investor profile: is vacation rental still working in Playa del Carmen?
My answer always has two parts. The first is yes. The second is that the yes depends on variables that very few people review before buying.
Playa del Carmen has one of the most active vacation rental markets in the Mexican Caribbean. But within that market there are properties that generate real returns and properties that generate returns on paper. The difference is in the details, and the details rarely appear in developer sales materials.
The market numbers in 2026
The Playa del Carmen-Riviera Maya corridor has 9,482 active vacation rentals according to platform data, with an average occupancy of 58%, an average stay of 6 days and an average nightly rate of $1,800 MXN.
To put that in perspective: 58% occupancy means the property is rented approximately 212 nights per year. At an average rate of $1,800 MXN per night, gross annual income is around $381,600 MXN, approximately USD$19,000 at the current exchange rate.
That's the number most buyers use for their calculations. The problem is that number is gross, not net.
What leaves before it reaches your account
Before talking about yield, you need to subtract the real operating costs. And those costs are higher than most buyers anticipate.
Platform commission is the first deduction. Airbnb charges property owners between 14% and 16% in Mexico. On gross income of USD$19,000, that is approximately USD$2,850 per year.
If you use a property manager, and for anyone who doesn't live in Playa del Carmen it's practically indispensable, add another 20% to 25% on gross income. Another USD$3,800 to USD$4,750 per year.
The maintenance fee is the cost most frequently underestimated. In Playa del Carmen the visible range runs from MXN$3,500 to MXN$12,000 per month depending on the project, amenities and property type. For a two-bedroom apartment in a project with pool, gym and full amenities, a MXN$6,000 monthly fee is USD$3,600 per year.
Operating expenses, cleaning between stays, consumables, minor maintenance, insurance, local taxes, easily add another USD$2,000 to USD$3,000 per year.
Running the conservative exercise on a two-bedroom apartment with a sale price of USD$350,000:
Gross annual income: USD$19,000
Airbnb commission (15%): minus USD$2,850
Property manager (22%): minus USD$4,180
Monthly maintenance: minus USD$3,600
Operating expenses: minus USD$2,500
Estimated net income: USD$5,870
On a USD$350,000 investment, that's a net yield of approximately 1.7%.
Why that number isn't the whole story
A net yield of 1.7% sounds low compared to what many developers promise. And it is, if vacation rental is your only objective.
But there are three factors that calculation doesn't include and that change the conversation.
The first is appreciation. Quintana Roo was the state with the highest housing appreciation in 2025 according to the Federal Mortgage Society, at 14.3%. A USD$350,000 property that appreciates 10% annually generates USD$35,000 in appreciation in one year. Combined with rental yield, the total return on investment changes significantly.
The second is personal use. If the buyer uses the property two or three weeks per year, the value of that use effectively reduces the cost of owning the property, even though it doesn't appear on any spreadsheet.
The third is optimization. A well-managed apartment, with professional photography, dynamic pricing and listing on multiple platforms, can significantly outperform the market average. The difference between a property managed with criteria and one managed without it can be 30% to 50% in income.
What makes a property perform better
After nine years watching properties work and not work in this market, the factors that most consistently make a difference are these.
Location within Playa del Carmen matters more than the entry price. A property ten minutes walking from Quinta Avenida and the beach will have substantially higher occupancy and rates than a well-equipped property far from the center. The difference in nightly rate can be 40% or more.
Size and layout matter for the type of guest it attracts. Two-bedroom apartments have the best combination of demand and rate in Playa del Carmen. Studios have lower rates and compete in a more mass-market segment. Three-bedroom or larger apartments have higher rates but lower demand and shorter occupancy cycles.
The condominium bylaws are the factor most frequently ignored. There are projects in Playa del Carmen where short-term rental is expressly prohibited or limited to a minimum number of nights that makes the Airbnb model unviable. Reviewing the bylaws before signing is not optional.
Active professional management makes a real difference. A property manager who adjusts prices based on demand, responds quickly to guests, keeps the property in good condition and optimizes the occupancy calendar can double the income of a passively managed property.
The question to ask before buying
Vacation rental in Playa del Carmen works. But it works as a complement to a broader investment strategy, not as the only argument for buying.
If you're evaluating a property specifically for vacation rental, the questions worth asking before signing are these. Does the condominium's bylaws allow short-term rental without restrictions? What is the exact maintenance fee for that specific property? What rates are similar properties achieving in that same area? Do you have access to a property manager with a proven track record in that area?
At Reference we run that analysis with every client before recommending any investment property. Not because we're pessimistic about the market, but because a well-informed investment from the start generates very different results from an investment based on optimistic projections.
If you're evaluating a property for vacation rental in Playa del Carmen and want to run that analysis together before deciding, we'd love to do it.
Sources: vacation rental platform data, Federal Mortgage Society 2025, Reference Real Estate market analysis.
Nat Vázquez
Certified Real Estate Advisor · Reference Real Estate
📍 Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo
📱 +52 (984) 195-0103
Did you enjoy this analysis? Join our WhatsApp community for more content on the Riviera Maya real estate market.
Join