Glossary

Short-term rental glossary

The vocabulary of hosting, defined in plain language — with links to go deeper.

ADRAverage Daily Rate

The average price charged per booked night over a period.

Booking window

How far in advance guests book, on average.

Channel manager

Software that syncs availability, rates, and bookings across booking platforms.

Cleaning fee

A per-stay fee that helps cover turnover costs.

Co-host

A partner who helps manage a listing, often for a share of revenue.

Damage waiver

A small per-stay fee that covers accidental damage instead of a deposit.

Direct booking

A reservation made through your own site rather than an OTA.

Dynamic pricing

Automatically adjusting nightly rates by demand, season, and events.

Guest screening

Vetting guests to reduce fraud, parties, and damage risk.

Instant Book

A setting that lets qualified guests book without host pre-approval.

Lead time

The gap between booking and check-in.

Length-of-stay discount

A discount for weekly or monthly bookings.

Mid-term rental

A furnished stay of roughly one to several months.

Minimum night stay

The fewest nights a guest can book.

Occupancy rate

The share of available nights that are booked.

Orphan gap

A short, hard-to-book gap between two reservations.

OTAOnline Travel Agency

A booking marketplace like Airbnb, Vrbo, or Booking.com.

Owner statement

A periodic report of revenue and expenses for a managed property.

PMSProperty Management System

A hub that manages listings, calendars, messaging, automation, and reporting.

Property management

Running rentals on behalf of owners for a fee or revenue share.

RevPARRevenue Per Available Night

Average daily rate multiplied by occupancy — revenue per available night.

Security deposit

A held amount to cover potential guest-caused damage.

Smart pricing

Automated rate suggestions, often a platform's built-in pricing feature.

Turnover

The cleaning and reset of a property between guests.