Short-Term Rental Revenue Estimator
Estimate annual Airbnb / VRBO revenue based on ADR and occupancy rate.
Short-term rental revenue depends on three inputs: nightly rate (ADR), occupancy, and available nights. This calculator builds out a monthly revenue estimate, deducts platform fees (Airbnb/Vrbo/direct), cleaning costs, and operating expenses to show net STR income — then compares it to what the same unit would earn as a traditional long-term rental.
Select your region for jurisdiction-specific rules (deposit caps, rent increase limits, transfer taxes, and more).
Inputs
Airbnb host fee ~3%; Vrbo ~5%
Cleaning, supplies, utilities, insurance, etc.
Results
Annual Gross Revenue
$35,588
Annual Net Revenue
$34,520
RevPAR
$98
Revenue per available night
Annual Net Income (after expenses)
$26,520
Understanding This Calculator
Learn how nightly rate, occupancy, and fees combine into an annual short-term-rental revenue estimate you can sanity-check against your market.
How the math works
Three inputs drive everything: Annual gross revenue = ADR × 365 × occupancy rate, where ADR is your average nightly rate and occupancy is the share of nights actually booked.
From gross revenue the calculator deducts the platform's host fee (net revenue = gross × (1 − platform fee); Airbnb's host-only fee is about 3%, Vrbo around 5%), then your annual operating expenses — cleaning, supplies, utilities, insurance — to reach net income. It also reports RevPAR = ADR × occupancy, revenue per available night, which lets you compare properties with different rates and occupancy levels on one number.
Worked example
Using the defaults: ADR $150, occupancy 65%, platform fee 3%, annual expenses $8,000.
- Gross revenue = 150 × 365 × 0.65 ≈ $35,600
- Net of platform fee = 35,600 × 0.97 ≈ $34,500
- Net income = 34,500 − 8,000 ≈ $26,500
- RevPAR = 150 × 0.65 = $97.50 per available night
Note that $26,500 is before mortgage, property tax, and income tax — it is the STR operation's contribution, comparable to NOI on a long-term rental.
How to read the result
The estimate is only as good as the ADR and occupancy you enter, and both vary enormously: urban markets often run 60–75% occupancy, resort markets 50–80% with strong seasonality, rural areas 30–50%. Pull real comparables from AirDNA or your local listings rather than guessing.
Judge the result against the long-term-rental alternative (the STR vs LTR calculator does this directly) and against your workload — STR income is closer to running a hospitality business than collecting rent. Finally, confirm local rules: many cities license, cap, or ban short-term rentals, and a licensing change can erase the entire revenue model overnight.