Curious about the performance of short-term rentals in Petra, Jordan? Over the last year, the average occupancy rate was 23% with an ADR (Average Daily Rate) of 45€. Hosts earned on average 290€ per month.

90-day occupancy forecast for Petra so you can update rates and stay ahead of competitors.
Key metrics to optimize your pricing strategy
Avg. Monthly Revenue
290€
$264 USD
YoY Revenue Change
-30%
vs. previous year
Occupancy Rate
23%
~7 days/month
Average Daily Rate
45€
$41 USD
Seasonality Index
120%
demand variation
Best Months
May, June
peak season
Worst Months
August, September
low season
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Petra's numbers are the most challenging in this set and must be read honestly. Average occupancy is just 23%, exactly matching the national figure for Jordan, with roughly 82 booked nights a year, by far the lowest night count among the cities tracked here. Combined with a low 43 euro average daily rate, that produces average monthly revenue of only 281 euros per listing, a fraction of what alpine or Mediterranean markets generate.
Most striking is a 34% year-on-year revenue decline, a steep drop that points to softening demand or growing oversupply in a town with 239 listings chasing a thin, stopover guest base. The 124% seasonality index confirms how concentrated and fragile that demand is. Read together, these figures describe a low-yield, high-competition market where success depends on disciplined cost control and capturing the narrow May and October windows, not on volume.
📌 Historical trends reveal seasonal highs – plan accordingly.
These figures reflect real-time demand in Petra, helping you plan and price strategically.
Petra's short-term rental market is built almost entirely around a single, world-class draw: the rose-red Nabataean city carved into the cliffs, with its Treasury (Al-Khazneh), Monastery (Ad-Deir) and Siq, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The listings tracked here sit in Wadi Musa, the gateway town that exists to feed Petra's visitor flow, hosting the hotels, guesthouses and apartments where travellers stay before their day inside the archaeological park.
Demand is overwhelmingly tour-driven and transit-heavy: many visitors arrive on organised circuits that pair Petra with Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, often staying just one or two nights. That structure shapes everything about the market. With 239 active listings serving a town of fewer than 7,000 residents, supply is heavy relative to a guest base that treats Wadi Musa as a stopover rather than a destination in itself, which keeps nightly demand thin and competition for each booking intense.
Petra's calendar is governed by desert climate, and the data reflects it cleanly: the strongest months are May and October, the spring and autumn shoulders when daytime temperatures are comfortable for walking the long, exposed trails through the site. The weakest months are August and September, the tail of the brutal high-desert summer when midday heat makes extended outdoor sightseeing punishing and tour volumes thin out.
The seasonality index of 124% signals demand that swings sharply between these comfortable shoulders and the harsh extremes of deep summer and, to a lesser degree, cold winter nights. For operators this means the viable earning window is concentrated into two relatively short spring and autumn bands, with long soft stretches in between. Pricing and occupancy strategy must lean heavily on capturing the May and October peaks, because the rest of the year offers little cushion.
Effectively all of Petra's rentable stock is in Wadi Musa, the town immediately above the site entrance, so the real distinction is position within it rather than separate districts. Properties clustered near the main visitor centre and the Petra gate command the most convenience value, letting guests walk to the entrance for an early start before the heat and the crowds.
Higher up the hillside, the central Wadi Musa area around the town's hotels and the King's Way road offers more rooms and easier transport links but a longer transfer down to the gate. Some listings sit further out toward Umm Sayhoun, the village on Petra's northern edge historically tied to the local Bedoul Bedouin community, or along the approach roads, trading walkability for quiet and views. Across all of them, proximity to the Petra entrance and a reliable transfer arrangement are the levers that matter most for bookings.
Short-term tourist accommodation in Jordan falls under the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA), which regulates hotels and tourism establishments nationally rather than through a Petra-specific Airbnb ordinance. Jordan has been reforming this framework: recent reforms move away from a traditional operating licence toward a Ministry classification and approval system for hotels and tourism establishments, intended to simplify entry and standardise service quality across categories that include guesthouses and tourist apartments.
Because the exact obligations for small apartment-style rentals are evolving under these reforms and are not set by a dedicated municipal short-term-let scheme, anyone operating in Wadi Musa should verify current requirements directly with MoTA and the local Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA), which governs the wider Petra area, before letting. Treat classification, registration and any tourism-tax obligations as items to confirm with these authorities rather than assume, and budget for compliance accordingly.
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* Calculations based on 30 days/month. Actual results may vary depending on market, season, property type, and implemented strategy.
Petra averages just 23% occupancy, around 82 booked nights a year, the lowest in this group and exactly matching Jordan's national figure. Most visitors treat Wadi Musa as a one or two night stopover between Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, so demand is thin and spread across 239 listings, keeping competition for each booking intense.
May and October are the strongest months, the spring and autumn shoulders when temperatures suit walking the site's long, exposed trails. August and September are weakest, at the tail of the harsh desert summer. With a 124% seasonality index, earning is concentrated into these two short shoulder windows, so pricing should lean hard on capturing them.
Tourist accommodation in Jordan is regulated by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, which is shifting from operating licences toward a classification and approval system. There is no Petra-specific Airbnb ordinance, so verify current requirements directly with MoTA and the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) before letting, including any registration and tourism-tax obligations.
Almost all stock is in Wadi Musa, the gateway town, so position matters more than district. Listings near the visitor centre and Petra gate convert best by letting guests walk in early before the heat and crowds. Central Wadi Musa offers more rooms and transport but a longer transfer; properties toward Umm Sayhoun trade walkability for quiet. Proximity to the entrance is the key lever.