Airbnb & homestay · break-even occupancy · free
Short-Term Rental ROI Calculator India
Indian long-term yields sit at 2–4%, so short-term letting is an obvious temptation. Model it properly — nightly rate, occupancy, platform and management fees, furnishing, and your break-even.
Educational calculators — always consult a licensed professional before making financial decisions.
The acquisition price of the property.
What you charge per night, averaged across the year.
US short-term rentals averaged roughly 50–54% in 2025.
Typically 20%+ for a non-owner-occupied property.
Investment property rate.
One-time. Counts toward your invested cash.
Airbnb's host-only fee has been 15.5% since October 2025.
Full-service STR managers typically charge 20–25% of revenue.
What cleaning costs you AFTER the cleaning fee you charge guests.
Shorter stays mean more turnovers and more cleaning cost.
Hosts pay these on an STR — tenants pay them on a long-term rental.
Toiletries, coffee, paper goods, linen replacement.
Annual. Note STR insurance costs more than a standard landlord policy.
What this property would fetch as a normal rental — for comparison.
Adds to your invested cash.
20-year terms are typical.
Break-Even Occupancy
64%
You modelled 55% · annual revenue ₹11,04,125
Revenue & Expense Stack
Pre-tax. Excludes local lodging/occupancy taxes, which vary by city — check your local rules, as many municipalities also restrict or permit-gate short-term rentals. LTR comparison assumes tenant-paid utilities and 6% management. Estimate only; consult a licensed professional.
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Why Indian investors look at short-term letting
Long-term gross rental yields in Indian metros run about 2–4% — roughly 2–3% in Mumbai, 2.5–3.5% in Delhi/NCR, and around 3–3.6% citywide in Bengaluru. Against home-loan rates well above that, financed rentals bleed cash monthly. Short-term letting through Airbnb or a homestay platform can lift gross revenue substantially, which is why it draws attention in tourist and IT-corridor micro-markets.
The catch is that short-term letting is an operating business. Revenue is nightly rate × 365 × occupancy, and much of the cost scales per booking: the platform fee (Airbnb's host-only fee has been about 15.5% since 27 October 2025), management at 20-odd percent if you don't self-manage, cleaning on every turnover, plus the utilities and internet a long-term tenant would otherwise pay. Furnishing a unit to guest standard is a large one-time outlay and belongs in your invested capital.
Use break-even occupancy as your reality check, and compare against the same flat let conventionally. Also confirm your society bylaws and local rules permit short-term guests — many housing societies restrict it. For the long-term view, see the rental property calculator and rental yield calculator.
How it works
Enter rate and occupancy
Nightly rate and expected share of nights booked.
Add STR-specific costs
Platform fee, management, cleaning, utilities, supplies, furnishing.
Check break-even
See break-even occupancy and how it compares to letting long-term.
Why short-term letting tempts Indian investors
| Factor | Detail |
|---|---|
| Long-term gross yield | 2–4% in metros (Mumbai 2–3%, Bengaluru ~3–3.6%) |
| Home-loan rate | Typically well above the rental yield |
| Airbnb host fee | ~15.5% since Oct 2025 |
| Society bylaws | Many restrict short-term guests — check first |
Short-term letting can lift gross revenue but is an operating business with per-booking costs, furnishing outlay, and society/regulatory risk.
Frequently asked questions
What is break-even occupancy and why does it matter?+
Break-even occupancy is the percentage of nights you must book for the property to cover all its costs — mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, supplies, plus the variable platform, management, and cleaning costs. It's the most useful number in short-term rental analysis because it converts a pile of assumptions into a single testable threshold. If your break-even is 62% and comparable listings in your area run 50–55% occupancy, the deal doesn't work no matter how attractive the ADR looks.
What does Airbnb charge hosts?+
Airbnb moved to a single host-only fee model on 27 October 2025. Hosts now pay approximately 15.5%, deducted from payouts, and guests are no longer charged a separate platform service fee. This replaced the older split model where hosts paid roughly 3% and guests paid the rest. Because the fee is now a much larger share of host revenue, it materially affects short-term rental returns — older calculators using a 3% assumption will significantly overstate your income.
Why does furnishing cost belong in the return calculation?+
Furnishing is real cash out of your pocket before a single guest arrives — furniture, linens, kitchenware, electronics, photography, smart locks. It's the cost long-term-rental investors never face. Because cash-on-cash return divides annual cash flow by total cash invested, leaving furnishing out of the denominator inflates your apparent return. This calculator includes it alongside your down payment and closing costs.
What occupancy should I assume?+
US short-term rentals averaged roughly 50–54% occupancy in 2025, down from about 57% in 2024 as supply grew; mature markets typically run 50–70%. But citywide averages hide huge variation — occupancy depends on your specific neighbourhood, property type, and how actively you manage pricing. Use comparable active listings near you rather than a national number, and remember ADR and occupancy trade off against each other.
Why is short-term rental management so much more expensive?+
Full-service short-term rental managers typically charge 20–25% of revenue, versus 8–12% for a long-term rental. The work is genuinely different: guest communication, dynamic pricing, turnover coordination, restocking, and round-the-clock support. Even if you plan to self-manage, it's worth modelling a management fee — a deal that only works because you do the labour yourself is more fragile than it appears, and it caps how far you can scale.
Is a short-term rental always better than a long-term rental?+
No. Short-term rentals can generate more gross revenue, but they carry higher costs (platform fees, management, cleaning, utilities, furnishing), far more workload, more income volatility, and real regulatory risk — many cities restrict, permit-gate, or ban short-term rentals, and rules change. This calculator compares your projected short-term cash flow directly against the same property as a conventional rental so you can see whether the premium actually justifies the extra risk and effort.
Run your next deal through the numbers.
Back to the calculator ↑Cost ranges and rates here are checked against contractor quotes and published industry data. If a number still looks off, email Support@RealCostIQ.com and we'll review and fix it.