Airbnb & VRBO · break-even occupancy · free
Short-Term Rental ROI Calculator
Long-term rental calculators can't model an Airbnb. This one does: ADR and occupancy, the 15.5% host fee, per-turnover cleaning, furnishing as real invested cash, and the occupancy you need to 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 25%+ 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.
30-year terms are typical.
Break-Even Occupancy
67%
You modelled 55% · annual revenue $45,169
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 9% management. Estimate only; consult a licensed professional.
Your Saved Scenarios
No saved scenarios yet
Why short-term rentals need their own math
A long-term rental has one revenue line and mostly fixed costs. A short-term rental is closer to a small hospitality business: revenue is ADR × 365 × occupancy, and a large share of costs scale with every booking. Running an Airbnb through a standard rental calculator will overstate the return badly, because it misses the platform fee, per-turnover cleaning, host-paid utilities, and the furnishing bill.
The fee change most calculators missed. On 27 October 2025 Airbnb moved to a single host-only fee model: hosts now pay about 15.5%, deducted from payouts, and guests are no longer charged a separate platform fee. The old split model charged hosts roughly 3%. Any tool still assuming 3% will materially overstate your income — this calculator defaults to 15.5% and lets you override it.
Break-even occupancy is the number that matters. Rather than trusting an optimistic ADR, ask what share of nights you must actually book to cover everything. Fixed costs — mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, supplies — divided by the contribution margin left after variable costs gives you a single threshold to test. If break-even lands at 62% and comparable listings in your neighbourhood run 50–55%, the deal fails regardless of how good the headline rate looks. For context, US short-term rentals averaged roughly 50–54% occupancy in 2025, down from about 57% in 2024 as supply grew.
Don't forget furnishing, management, and rules. Furnishing is real cash spent before your first guest, so it belongs in the cash-on-cash denominator alongside the down payment. Full-service STR management runs 20–25% of revenue versus 8–12% for long-term — model it even if you self-manage, so the deal isn't secretly dependent on your unpaid labour. Finally, check local rules: many cities permit-gate, restrict, or ban short-term rentals, and lodging taxes vary. The calculator also compares your STR against the same property as a conventional rental — sometimes the quieter option wins.
How it works
Enter rate and occupancy
Average daily rate (ADR) and the share of nights you expect to book.
Add STR-specific costs
Platform fee, management, cleaning per turnover, utilities, supplies, and furnishing.
Check break-even
See the occupancy you need to cover costs, and how STR compares to a long-term rental.
Short-term vs long-term rental: the cost differences
| Cost | Short-term rental | Long-term rental |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | ~15.5% (Airbnb host fee since Oct 2025) | None |
| Management | 20–25% of revenue | 8–12% of rent |
| Cleaning | Every turnover | Between tenants only |
| Utilities | Host pays | Tenant usually pays |
| Furnishing | Large one-time cost | None (unfurnished) |
US STR occupancy averaged ~50–54% in 2025 (down from ~57% in 2024 on rising supply). Airbnb's single host-only fee replaced the old ~3% host share on 27 Oct 2025.
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.
Find your break-even before you furnish.
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.