Charleston commands premium pricing under some of the strictest short-term rental rules in the South. Myrtle Beach runs volume. Hilton Head operates a mature, association-governed island market. Inland, the upstate is growing quietly with far simpler risk.
The coastal structureWind drives everything on the coast: named-storm deductibles, wind exclusions that push properties into the state wind pool, and surge language that matters more than most owners realize. Flood is separate, as always. The practical consequence is that a coastal South Carolina STR is usually a multi-policy program, wind, flood, and property liability, that has to be assembled deliberately rather than bought in one piece.
Storm-surge damage during named hurricanes gets treated as excluded water rather than covered wind, the classic Southeast dispute. Hurricane-season claims are denied on misstated coastal proximity. Flood remains the most common denial category for the simple reason that the coverage was never purchased.
South Carolina leaves short-term rental rules to its cities, and Charleston uses that authority fully. Operating there requires a business license and a permit, owner occupancy for residential rentals, the permit number on every listing, and a general liability policy of at least $1 million per occurrence from a carrier authorized in the state, kept continuously in force. The city enforces hard, with full-time officers and software that scans listings for unpermitted properties. Hilton Head is also tightly regulated, with zone-restricted permits and a required 24/7 local contact, while Beaufort caps rentals by neighborhood. Verify the jurisdiction, and confirm your policy meets the stated limit, before you buy.