How this short-term rental calculator works
The calculator normalizes the available nights you enter to monthly and annual figures, estimates booked nights from occupancy, converts booked nights into stays, then combines nightly revenue, owner-received cleaning fee revenue, platform fees, operating expenses and mortgage payment. The result is a before-tax scenario estimate from the numbers entered.
Revenue, occupancy and available-night assumptions
Occupancy is the share of available nights expected to be booked. Available nights are user-entered scenario nights, not a live calendar feed. You can enter nights by month or by year, and the calculator shows monthly and annual outputs from the same assumptions.
Cleaning fees, platform fees and turnover costs
Cleaning fee revenue is included only when you enter an owner-received cleaning fee. Owner-paid cleaning or turnover cost is entered separately per stay. Platform fees are a simplified percentage applied to nightly revenue plus owner-received cleaning fee revenue, not an official platform-specific model.
Operating expenses and mortgage payments
Operating expenses include cleaning, management, utilities, insurance, furnishing reserve, maintenance reserve, user-entered local taxes and fees, and other monthly expenses. Mortgage payment is shown separately so NOI remains before debt service and cash flow shows the result after the payment entered.
Break-even occupancy
Break-even occupancy estimates the occupancy rate needed for cash flow to reach 0 after operating expenses and mortgage payment. If the variable revenue contribution is too low, the calculator shows break-even occupancy as not available instead of producing a misleading percentage.
What this calculator does not include
This calculator does not use live occupancy, booking, platform or market data. It does not calculate local lodging taxes, permits, licenses, zoning, HOA rules, tax treatment, insurance eligibility, financing approval, market demand or official platform fees.
Key terms and assumptionsFormula notes, key terms, source assumptions and limits used in this calculator.
These notes are specific to this calculator. Read the property methodology notes for shared property formulas, region settings and estimate limits.
- Nightly rate
- The average nightly price entered by the user before fees and expenses.
- Available nights
- The number of nights the property can be booked in the selected month or year.
- Occupancy rate
- The share of available nights expected to be booked.
- Average stay length
- Average booked nights per stay, used to estimate the number of stays and turnovers.
- Cleaning fee received
- Cleaning fee revenue kept by the owner. It should be 0 if the owner does not receive it.
- Cleaning / turnover cost
- Owner-paid cost per stay for cleaning, laundry, supplies or turnover.
- Platform fees
- User-entered platform or service fee percentage applied to gross booking revenue in this estimate.
- Management fee
- User-entered management fee percentage applied to gross booking revenue in this estimate.
- NOI
- Net operating income is revenue after platform fees and operating expenses, before mortgage payments and tax.
- Monthly cash flow
- NOI minus the mortgage payment entered by the user.
- Break-even occupancy
- Occupancy needed for estimated monthly cash flow to reach 0 under the assumptions entered.
- Furnishing reserve
- Monthly allowance for furniture, linens, appliances and replacements.
- Local taxes and fees
- User-entered local charges only; the calculator does not calculate tax or permit rules.
- Region settings
- Region settings change defaults, labels and currency formatting only. They do not convert exchange rates or create country-specific results.
- Scenario estimate
- The calculator uses only user-entered assumptions. No live data, booking data, platform data, legal rules or tax rules are used.
- General estimate
- The calculator is not financial, tax, legal, mortgage, accounting, compliance, market-data or investment advice.
- Seasonality
- Seasonality is not included; separate scenarios can be run for different seasons.
Guides and methodology
Plain-English notes that explain the assumptions behind related calculators and tools.
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FAQs
Does this use live short-term rental or Airbnb data?
No. It uses only the nightly rate, occupancy, available nights and cost assumptions you enter.
Is this official platform data?
No. It is a general scenario calculator and is not connected to any booking platform.
What is occupancy rate?
Occupancy rate is the percentage of available nights expected to be booked.
Should I enter nights per month or per year?
Use the period that matches your estimate. The calculator normalizes the result to monthly and annual outputs.
Does this include cleaning fees?
Yes, if you enter a cleaning fee the owner receives. Owner-paid cleaning or turnover cost is entered separately.
Does this include platform fees?
Yes, based on the platform fee percentage you enter. It does not model official platform-specific fee rules.
Does this include local taxes, permits or licensing costs?
Only if you enter a monthly amount. It does not calculate tax law, permit rules or legal compliance.
Does this include mortgage payments?
Yes, if you enter a monthly mortgage payment. Set it to 0 when debt service is not part of the scenario.
What is break-even occupancy?
It is the occupancy rate needed for estimated monthly cash flow to reach 0 under the assumptions entered.
Why might break-even occupancy be unavailable?
It may be unavailable when available nights, average stay length or full-occupancy contribution are invalid or not enough to cover variable deductions.
Does this handle seasonality?
No. Run separate scenarios for high season, low season or an annual average.
Is this investment, tax or legal advice?
No. It is a general estimate from user-entered assumptions, not financial, tax, legal, lending or compliance advice.