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Airbnb Profitability Calculator

Short vs Long-Term ROI

Inputs

Short-Term (Airbnb)

$
%
nights
$

Operating Costs

$
%
%
$

Long-Term Rental

$
$

Investment & Financing

$
$
%
years
%
$
$

Results

Short-Term Wins by

$849

Monthly Difference: +$849

Short-Term vs Long-Term

$484
-$364
ST Net / mo
LT Net / mo

Cash-on-Cash

7.7%

Total Cash Needed: $75,500

Cap Rate

8.4%

ST NOI: $1,749 / mo

DSCR

1.38

Monthly Debt Service: $1,264

Break-Even Occupancy

58.1%

Booked Nights: 21.0 / Bookings: 6.0

ST Gross Revenue
$3,810
ST NOI
$1,749
ST Total Expenses
$3,326
ST Net / mo
$484
LT Gross Revenue
$1,800
LT NOI
$900
LT Total Expenses
$2,164
LT Net / mo
$-364
Monthly Difference
$+849
Annual Difference
$+10,182

* Planning model only. Verify local rules, taxes, insurance, platform terms, and financing before buying.

Expert Guide

Maximizing Your Rental Strategy

Choosing between short-term and long-term rental depends on more than just the nightly price. Local laws, management time, and wear-and-tear are critical factors.

"Short-term rentals often yield 2-3x more gross revenue, but require professional management to remain profitable after all expenses."

Platform Fees

Airbnb typically takes ~3% host fee, but guest service fees can impact your pricing strategy.

Dynamic Pricing

Use tools to raise prices on weekends and events to boost ROI by up to 20%.

Hidden Costs

High turnover means more repairs and constant replenishment of consumables.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • It estimates booked nights from occupancy, multiplies them by the nightly rate, adds cleaning fees, then subtracts platform fees, management fees, cleaning costs, monthly operating expenses, owner fixed costs, and debt service.
  • Because the fee charged to guests and the amount you pay cleaners are often different. Separating them shows whether turnover is a profit center, a wash, or a drag on monthly cash flow.
  • Cap rate uses annual NOI divided by purchase price. Cash-on-cash uses annual cash flow after debt divided by cash invested. DSCR compares NOI with monthly debt service to show whether income comfortably covers the loan.
  • Break-even occupancy estimates the booked-night percentage needed to cover monthly short-term expenses, owner fixed costs, and mortgage debt service. If it is higher than your expected occupancy, the deal is fragile.
  • This model applies the host platform fee to booking revenue, including nightly revenue and cleaning fees. Airbnb notes that host fees are calculated from the booking subtotal, which can include host-charged fees.
  • The long-term side uses monthly rent minus long-term expenses, owner fixed costs, and the same debt service. This keeps the comparison focused on which rental strategy produces better monthly cash flow.
  • It uses one average occupancy and nightly rate. For serious underwriting, run conservative, base, and peak-season scenarios manually, then compare cash-on-cash and break-even occupancy across them.

Airbnb income by nightly rate

Nightly rates

$75/night$100/night$125/night$150/night$175/night$200/night$250/night

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