Broken Bow & Hochatown STR Rules: McCurtain County's A-Frame Boom

Broken Bow and the surrounding Hochatown area in McCurtain County, Oklahoma is one of the most regulatorily-permissive STR markets in the United States. The 2020-2022 pandemic-era 'A-frame cabin boom' saw thousands of new STR cabins built around Beavers Bend State Park and Broken Bow Lake, attracting Texas weekenders within 4 hours' drive. Hochatown incorporated as a municipality in November 2022 specifically to gain local zoning + tax authority over the rapid development. The municipality is still building out its regulatory framework — investors entering the market should monitor Hochatown council actions actively.

Licensing & Registration

McCurtain County requires registration for lodging-tax remittance but does not gate STR operation through a permit. The Hochatown municipality, post-2022 incorporation, is incrementally adding licensing — as of late 2025, a Hochatown business license ($100-$200/year) is required for properties within municipal boundaries, but a full STR-specific permit framework has not yet been formalized. The 2026 council agenda includes potential STR-specific licensing — investors should verify current status before purchase.

Lodging & Occupancy Taxes

Oklahoma state sales tax 4.5% + McCurtain County 1.625% + Hochatown municipal sales tax 2% (in incorporated areas) = ~8.125% sales tax. McCurtain County lodging tax 4.5%. Effective Hochatown lodging tax: ~12.6%. Airbnb collects Oklahoma state sales tax + McCurtain County lodging tax statewide. Hochatown municipal tax collection is actively being formalized — verify current platform-collection status.

Penalties & Enforcement

Lodging-tax non-compliance: 10% penalty + interest, similar to most state frameworks. Hochatown municipal enforcement is light given the municipality's recent incorporation. McCurtain County enforcement is collection-focused. The market's main constraint isn't regulatory — it's supply growth: the 2020-2023 development surge has created notable cabin oversupply in some submarkets, with downward pressure on ADRs.

Recent Changes

Hochatown's incorporation (Nov 2022) was driven specifically by local concern about unregulated STR-driven development. The municipality is methodically adding zoning, business-license, and lodging-tax frameworks. Investors entering Broken Bow / Hochatown in 2026 should expect modestly tighter rules ahead but starting from a very permissive baseline. The supply story is the larger investor concern — ADRs softened 15-25% from 2022 peaks in oversaturated cabin neighborhoods.

Tax Strategy for Compliant Investors

Even within Broken Bow / Hochatown's regulatory framework, properly-licensed STR investors keep the federal tax stack intact. Cost segregation accelerates depreciation across 5-year personal property and 15-year land improvements, and the STR loophole can convert losses into active-income offsets for materially-participating owners. See cost segregation for Airbnb properties for the full playbook.

Frequently asked questions