Storey Lake Resort sits 4.2 miles from Disney World in Kissimmee. It’s one of the few Orlando vacation rental resort communities that was built specifically for short-term rentals, not converted into one after the fact. That matters more than most people realize.
We manage over 100 Storey Lake Airbnb properties at FunStay Florida. Some owners clear $90,000 a year. Others struggle to break $40,000 with the same size home on the same street. The difference usually isn’t the house. It’s what the owner knows (or doesn’t know) about running a rental here.
This is everything we’ve learned managing Storey Lake vacation rentals since the community opened. HOA rules, actual revenue data, the tax situation most owners get wrong, and the things that separate a property that performs from one that just sits.
4.2 mi
From Disney World
77-83%
Avg Occupancy (Managed)
$65-90K
Annual Revenue (5-6 BR)
13.5%
Total Tax on Every Booking
Why Storey Lake Works for Airbnb
Lennar started building Storey Lake in 2016, with the bulk of construction running through 2023 across three phases. The resort sections are gated and zoned exclusively for short-term rentals inside Osceola County’s STR Overlay District. You can’t use a resort-section property as a primary residence. (Storey Lake does have a separate residential section called Reflections, but that’s a different HOA with different rules.)
That’s a big deal. Plenty of Orlando-area communities have had short-term rentals creep in over the years, and those HOAs are constantly tightening rules. At Storey Lake, the HOA was designed around rentals from day one. No minimum stay, no rental caps, no annual limit on how many times you can rent.
Location is the other piece. Disney World is a 10-minute drive. SeaWorld is about 15 minutes. Universal Studios is 20 minutes. And since Epic Universe opened in May 2025, families are staying longer and spending more time in this part of Kissimmee. If you’re navigating the regulatory side, here’s what you need to know about Orlando short-term rental laws in 2025.
Two clubhouses that actually drive bookings
Storey Lake has two full-service clubhouses, and they’re a big reason guests pick this community over others. The Hideaway Club has a heated resort pool, lazy river, dual water slides, a splash pad, tiki bar, ice cream shop, mini-golf, basketball court, and a fitness center.
The Bronson Club is newer and offers a bar and grill restaurant, tropical pool, arcade, and gym. There’s also a lake with kayak rentals. When a family is choosing between two similar-sized homes, the one at a resort with this kind of amenity package wins almost every time.
What Storey Lake Airbnb Owners Actually Earn
We’re going to give you real numbers here, not projections or estimates. This is what our managed properties at Storey Lake have done over the past 12 months.
| Property Type | Bedrooms | Annual Revenue | Purchase Price (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condos | 2-3 BR | $31,000 – $47,000 | $217K – $530K |
| Townhomes | 4-5 BR | $42,000 – $66,000 | $265K – $720K |
| Single-Family Pool Homes | 5-6 BR | $65,000 – $90,000 | $636K – $900K+ |
| Estate / Luxury Homes | 7-9 BR | $80,000 – $123,000 | $750K – $2M |
For context, the broader Kissimmee Airbnb market averages around $40,000-$52,000 per year depending on property size, with market-wide occupancy around 60-69%. Storey Lake Airbnb occupancy for our managed properties consistently runs 77-83%. That gap is where the money is.
Why the range matters:
A 5-bedroom home with professional photos, dynamic pricing, and themed rooms will land near the top of that range. The same floor plan with outdated furniture and flat pricing will land near the bottom. It’s not the house. It’s how you run it.
Seasonal breakdown
Storey Lake follows the Orlando Airbnb peak and off-season trends you’d expect. Summer (June through August) hits 82-90% occupancy with the highest nightly rates. Spring break is 78-85%. Holiday season is 72-82% with the highest ADR of the year.
Shoulder months are where most owners leave money on the table. September through November and January through February drop to 58-68% occupancy. The owners who manage pricing aggressively during those months are the ones hitting $80K+ instead of $60K. That’s not a guess. We see it in our portfolio every year. If you’re an out-of-state owner trying to decide how to handle this, read our take on co-hosting vs. full-service property management in Kissimmee.
Own a property at Storey Lake?
See how FunStay Florida manages Storey Lake Airbnb rentals to hit 77-83% occupancy.
HOA Rules Every Storey Lake Airbnb Owner Should Know
The Storey Lake HOA is managed by the Icon team. Compared to other resort communities, the rules here are straightforward and rental-friendly. But there are a few things that catch owners off guard.
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Short-term rentals | Permitted. No minimum stay. No rental caps. |
| Guest registration | Required through HOA for every booking |
| Quiet hours | Enforced after 10pm |
| Vehicle restrictions | No commercial vehicles overnight |
| Pool access | Set hours for both Hideaway and Bronson clubs |
| Primary residence | Not allowed. Vacation/second home use only. |
Monthly costs to plan for
| Cost | Townhomes | Single-Family |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly HOA | $401 | $430 |
| Annual CDD (on tax bill) | $1,428 | $2,282 |
| Property tax rate | 1.8% of assessed value | 1.8% of assessed value |
HOA fees cover cable, internet, landscaping, trash removal, and full access to both clubhouses. The CDD (Community Development District) fee is a separate line item on your property tax bill. When you’re running your vacation home ROI calculation, make sure you’re including both.
Storey Lake Vacation Rental Taxes, Licensing, and the One Thing Most Owners Get Wrong
Running a Storey Lake Airbnb requires three licenses. Most people know about the first one. Fewer get the second. Almost nobody expects the third.
| License | Cost | Where to Apply |
|---|---|---|
| State DBPR Vacation Rental License | $220-$270 (application + license + HEP fee) | myfloridalicense.com |
| Osceola County STR License | $410 initial / $150 renewal | Osceola County Zoning |
| Local Business Tax Receipt | $30/year | Osceola County Tax Collector |
The county license is the one that trips people up. You need a notarized compliance affidavit, proof of $1 million in liability insurance, a floor plan with safety equipment marked, and it takes 2-4 weeks to process. You also need to maintain a guest register for three years. More on Orlando vacation rental licensing and tax requirements.
The tax trap nobody warns you about:
Osceola County does NOT contract with Airbnb or Vrbo to auto-collect the 6% Tourist Development Tax. In Orange County (Orlando), the platforms handle it. In Osceola County (Kissimmee, including Storey Lake), you or your property manager must collect TDT from guests and remit it to the Osceola County Tax Collector by the 20th of each month. Filing is monthly for your first year. You file even in months with zero bookings. Late penalties start at 10% with a $50 minimum.
Total tax on every Storey Lake booking: 13.5%. That’s 6% state sales tax, 1.5% Osceola discretionary surtax (both collected by Airbnb), plus 6% TDT that you handle yourself. If you want the full breakdown of how Florida vacation rental taxes work county by county, we wrote a complete guide to Florida vacation rental taxes.
Epic Universe Changed the Math for Storey Lake Owners
Universal’s Epic Universe opened May 22, 2025. It’s the first major new U.S. theme park in over 25 years. And the data from the first full year is clear: it’s driving longer stays and bigger groups to this part of Kissimmee.
Osceola County’s Tourist Development Tax collections were up 5% year-over-year in 2025. In September 2025, vacation homes contributed 70% of the county’s tourism tax revenue, compared to just 27% from hotel stays. That’s not a trend. That’s a shift.
The split vacation trend:
Families that used to book a one-week Disney trip now build 10-14 day itineraries covering Disney, Universal, and Epic Universe. They’ll stay at a Universal hotel for the first few nights, then move to a vacation home for the extended stay. Storey Lake is about 14 miles from Epic Universe (22 minutes), and the properties with enough bedrooms for multigenerational groups are getting booked first.
What this means in practice: the shoulder months aren’t as soft as they used to be. Epic Universe pulls visitors year-round, not just during school breaks. If you’ve been self-managing and only seeing strong numbers in June and December, this is worth paying attention to.
What Top-Earning Storey Lake Airbnbs Do Differently
We manage enough properties at Storey Lake to see clear patterns. The top 20% of earners do a handful of things the bottom 80% don’t.
Dynamic pricing during shoulder months
Flat pricing is the biggest revenue killer in this community. A 5-bedroom home that gets $350 a night in July shouldn’t be priced at $350 in September. The top earners use dynamic pricing for Orlando Airbnbs to fill those shoulder months at lower but profitable rates instead of sitting empty.
Game rooms and themed bedrooms
This one sounds obvious, but the data backs it up. Properties with themed rooms that boost bookings get higher ADR and more repeat guests. A Mario-themed kids’ room or a Star Wars game room costs $5,000-$10,000 to build out. That investment pays for itself in one peak season.
Professional listing optimization
Professional photos are table stakes. Beyond that, the top earners have listings optimized for search visibility on Airbnb and Vrbo, with keyword-rich titles, updated descriptions, and competitive pricing that triggers the platform algorithms. We use Rankbreeze for Airbnb SEO optimization across our portfolio.
Multi-platform distribution
Owners who list only on Airbnb miss bookings from guests who search elsewhere first. The top earners are on Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia, Google Vacation Rentals, and a direct booking site. We break down which booking platforms Florida hosts should focus on in 2026. Calendar sync through a channel manager prevents double bookings.
Storey Lake vs Other Kissimmee Resort Communities
If you’re comparing short-term rental communities in Orlando, Storey Lake stacks up well, but every community has trade-offs. Here’s how it compares to the ones we hear about most.
| Feature | Storey Lake | Windsor Hills | ChampionsGate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distance to Disney | 4.2 miles | ~2 miles | 12 miles |
| Clubhouses | 2 (Hideaway + Bronson) | 1 | 2 (Oasis + Retreat) |
| Lazy River | Yes | No | Yes |
| Builder | Lennar (newer builds) | Various (2004-era) | Various |
| Entry Price (5 BR) | $636K+ | $350K+ | $500K+ |
| Monthly HOA | $401-$430 | ~$200-$300 | ~$350-$500 |
| Build Quality | Modern (2015+) | Aging (2004) | Mixed |
Windsor Hills is practically on Disney’s doorstep with a much lower entry price, but the homes are 20+ years old and it shows in guest reviews. ChampionsGate offers scale and brand recognition but sits farther out at 12 miles. Storey Lake’s advantage is the combination of modern Lennar construction, two clubhouses with resort-level amenities, and an HOA that was built for vacation rentals. We wrote a full breakdown in our Storey Lake vs Windsor Hills comparison.
If you’re still narrowing down where to buy, check out our guide to the best areas to buy an Airbnb near Disney World.
Storey Lake Property Market in 2026
The median sale price across all property types at Storey Lake is $450,000, which is down 7-8% year-over-year. Homes are averaging 146 days on market. That’s a buyer’s market by any measure.
For context: there are currently 105 houses, 135 townhouses, and 54 condos listed for sale. If you’re looking at buying your first Airbnb in Kissimmee or exploring short-term rental investing in Orlando, the negotiating position hasn’t been this good since 2020. And the real cost to run an Orlando short-term rental hasn’t changed much, so the lower purchase price goes straight to your bottom line.
Want to know if a specific Storey Lake property pencils out? We can run the numbers. Check our analysis on whether an Orlando Airbnb can pay for itself in 2026.
Ready to maximize your Storey Lake rental income?
FunStay Florida manages 100+ properties in Kissimmee with 77-83% occupancy. No hidden fees, no long-term contracts.
Storey Lake Airbnb FAQs
