Short-term rentals5 min read
Revenue and expenses in vacation rentals: which metrics to track
Monthly revenue on its own says little about how well a property performs. One apartment can bring in a lot of money and still lose it on expenses, while another looks modest but delivers a better result. Here are the metrics that show how profitable a vacation rental really is, with formulas and a worked example.
Occupancy
Occupancy shows what share of available nights the property was booked.
Occupancy = occupied nights / available nights × 100%
If a month has 30 nights and the apartment was booked for 24 of them, occupancy is 80%. Nights blocked for maintenance or personal use are usually not counted as available, otherwise occupancy looks worse than it is.
High occupancy is not always good: if it stays near 100%, the price is probably too low.
Average nightly rate
The average rate shows how much one sold night brings in on average.
Average nightly rate = accommodation revenue / occupied nights
With 72,000 RUB of revenue over 24 nights, the average rate is 3,000 RUB. This metric helps compare seasons and see how the rate changes after a price rise or discounts.
Revenue per available night
This metric combines occupancy and price. In the hotel industry it is called RevPAR.
Revenue per available night = accommodation revenue / available nights
In our example, 72,000 RUB / 30 nights = 2,400 RUB. If you lower the price and raise occupancy, revenue per available night shows whether things actually improved.
Average length of stay and vacant nights
Average length of stay shows how many nights a booking lasts on average. Short stays mean more cleaning and changeovers; long stays lower servicing costs.
Vacant nights are the free nights between bookings. Single free nights between two bookings are hard to sell, so track them and fill them with special offers or a different minimum stay.
Expenses
Split expenses into fixed and variable, and always track them by property.
- Fixed: rent if the property is sublet, utilities and internet.
- Variable: cleaning, supplies, laundry and minor repairs.
- Channel commissions: the share of the booking price the channel keeps.
Without tracking expenses by property, you cannot tell which apartment makes a profit and which only generates turnover.
Result and profitability
Result = revenue − expenses
Profitability = result / revenue × 100%
An example month for one apartment:
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Accommodation revenue | 72,000 RUB |
| Cleaning | 9,000 RUB |
| Utilities and internet | 6,500 RUB |
| Supplies | 3,000 RUB |
| Channel commissions | 7,000 RUB |
| Result | 46,500 RUB |
| Profitability | 65% |
The figures are illustrative, but the calculation is the same for any property.
Sublet break-even
If you rent a property to sublet it, the key question is how many nights you need to sell to cover the rent.
Nights to cover the rent = monthly rent / average nightly rate
With rent of 42,000 RUB and an average rate of 3,000 RUB, the rent is covered after 14 nights. Everything sold beyond that goes to margin.
Booking sources
The share of bookings and revenue for each channel and for direct bookings shows which sales channels work best. Compare them net of commission: a channel with fewer bookings can bring in more net revenue.
How often to measure
- Every week: occupancy for the coming month and free gaps.
- Every month: revenue, expenses, result and average rate for each property.
- Every season and year: a comparison with the previous period and decisions on prices and properties.
Management metrics do not replace accounting and tax records, but they are what drives decisions on pricing, sales channels and growth.
How it works in Glavbook
- Analytics shows revenue, expenses, result and profitability, occupancy, average booking value, average length of stay, vacant nights, occupied nights and booking sources.
- You can choose any period up to a year, grouped by day, week or month and compared with the previous period.
- Revenue includes bookings with a check-in. It is spread across the nights of the stay, so a long booking is split correctly between months.
- The property table shows revenue, expenses, occupancy and average booking value for every apartment, room and house.
- For sublet properties, it calculates revenue, rent for the period, margin after rent and rent break-even.
- Expenses are tracked for every property, one-off and recurring, under cleaning, supplies, repairs, utilities, internet and rent.
- An operational overview is available in the mobile app.
More on the pages “Reports” and“Finances”. How to track prepayments and deposits is explained in the article “Prepayments and deposits in vacation rentals”.
FAQ
What counts as good occupancy?
It depends on the city, the season and the type of property. It is more useful to look at occupancy together with the average rate and revenue per available night: high occupancy at too low a price can bring in less money.
Should channel commissions count as expenses?
Yes. Commission reduces the actual revenue from a booking, and without it, comparisons of channels and properties will be inaccurate.
How is management accounting different from bookkeeping?
Management accounting supports decisions: which apartment is more profitable, what price to set, which channel to grow. Bookkeeping and tax accounting are kept separately under the law.