A short-term rental lives or dies on a handful of numbers. Learn what they mean and how they interact, and you can sanity-check any property in minutes — and avoid the classic mistake of underwriting a deal on the best week of the year.
The revenue side: ADR, occupancy, and RevPAR
- ADR (average daily rate) — your average nightly price across booked nights.
- Occupancy — booked nights ÷ available nights.
- RevPAR (revenue per available night) — ADR × occupancy. This is the single best summary of revenue performance because it captures both price and how full you are.
Why RevPAR beats ADR alone
A listing with a high ADR but low occupancy can earn less than a modestly priced one that stays full. RevPAR tells you which is actually making money.
The cost stack: everything that eats the revenue
| Cost | Typical basis | Easy to forget? |
|---|---|---|
| Platform / channel fees | % of booking | No |
| Cleaning & turnover | Per stay | No |
| Consumables & restocking | Per stay / monthly | Yes |
| Utilities & internet | Monthly | Sometimes |
| Management / co-host | % of revenue | No |
| Maintenance & repairs | % of revenue (reserve) | Yes |
| Insurance | Monthly / annual | Sometimes |
| Occupancy / lodging taxes | % of booking | Yes |
| Mortgage / rent (if leveraged) | Monthly | No |
Maintenance and consumables are the costs new hosts most often leave out — and the ones that quietly turn a 'profitable' listing into a break-even one. Always reserve for them.
Break-even occupancy: the number that tells you the risk
Break-even occupancy is the occupancy you need just to cover your fixed costs at your expected ADR. The lower it is, the more cushion you have when the market softens. If a deal only works at 85% occupancy, it's fragile; if it works at 45%, it's resilient.
Model your revenue, costs, and break-even in one place.
Open the profitability calculatorSanity-check any deal in four steps
- 1
Estimate conservative ADR and occupancy
Use comparable listings and market data, then shade both down. Optimism is not a strategy.
- 2
Build the full cost stack
Include the easy-to-forget lines: consumables, maintenance reserve, and taxes.
- 3
Compute RevPAR, annual revenue, and net
Revenue = RevPAR × 365 × units. Subtract the cost stack for net operating income.
- 4
Find break-even and stress-test it
Ask what happens in a soft year at 15% lower occupancy. If it still works, the deal is robust.
Estimates are not guarantees. Market data tools and calculators give you a defensible starting point — your actual results depend on execution, seasonality, and factors outside any model.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good occupancy rate for a short-term rental?+
It's market-dependent — a resort market and a year-round city market look very different — so compare against local comparable listings rather than a universal target. What matters more is your break-even occupancy: the lower your costs push it, the healthier the property.
What's the difference between ADR and RevPAR?+
ADR (average daily rate) is your average price per booked night. RevPAR (revenue per available night) is ADR multiplied by occupancy, so it reflects both your pricing and how full you stay. RevPAR is the better single measure of revenue performance.
Run the numbers on your property before you commit.
Open the calculator