Short-Term Rental (Airbnb) Calculator
Estimate short-term rental revenue, operating expenses, NOI, and cap rate from nightly rate and occupancy — before you buy, not after.
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Quick Answer
Short-Term Rental (Airbnb) Calculator estimates net operating income (annual) of $24,436 and noi per month of $2,036 for this scenario.
Key Takeaways
- Short-Term Rental (Airbnb) Calculator estimates net operating income (annual) of $24,436 and noi per month of $2,036 for this scenario.
- At $180 a night and 65% occupancy, the property books about 237 nights across roughly 79 stays a year. Nightly revenue contributes $42,705 and cleaning fees add $7,908, for gross booking revenue of $50,613 — a RevPAR of $117 per available night.
- About 17.5% occupancy covers the operating costs at this nightly rate — roughly 64 booked nights a year. Note what that break-even excludes: the mortgage payment. Debt service needs a separate check, which is what DSCR and cash-flow calculators are for.
Calculation Output
Net Operating Income (annual)
$24,436
NOI per Month
$2,036
Cap Rate (before financing)
6.11%
Revenue per Available Night (RevPAR)
$117
Gross Booking Revenue
$50,613
Total Operating Expenses
$26,177
Booked Nights per Year
237
Break-Even Occupancy
17.5%
Result Chart
Net Operating Income (annual)
$24,436
NOI per Month
$2,036
Cap Rate (before financing)
6.11%
Revenue per Available Night (RevPAR)
$117
Gross Booking Revenue
$50,613
Key Facts
| Net Operating Income (annual) | $24,436 |
|---|---|
| NOI per Month | $2,036 |
| Cap Rate (before financing) | 6.11% |
| Revenue per Available Night (RevPAR) | $117 |
| Gross Booking Revenue | $50,613 |
| Total Operating Expenses | $26,177 |
How This Estimate Works
- At $180 a night and 65% occupancy, the property books about 237 nights across roughly 79 stays a year. Nightly revenue contributes $42,705 and cleaning fees add $7,908, for gross booking revenue of $50,613 — a RevPAR of $117 per available night.
- Expenses are where STR underwriting usually goes wrong. Here they total $26,177: platform fees $1,518, turnover cleaning $7,118, management $8,541, and fixed taxes, insurance, utilities, and HOA of $9,000. That leaves NOI of $24,436 a year, or $2,036 a month, before any mortgage payment.
- On a $400,000 purchase price that is a 6.11% cap rate — between 6% and 8% — a solid STR return on paper; the question becomes whether the occupancy holds outside peak season. The definition matches a long-term rental's cap rate exactly (NOI before debt service), so the two uses of the same property can be compared head-to-head; what differs is the work, the variance, and how much of the revenue survives a slow season.
- Every 10 points of occupancy is worth about $5,144 of NOI a year at this nightly rate — so the gap between a 55% year and a 65% year is roughly $5,144, before any rate changes.
- The cleaning line is nearly a wash in this scenario: $7,908 collected against $7,118 of cleaning cost, a spread of about $791 a year. Hosts who price the fee below their true turnover cost quietly donate the difference on every stay.
- One warning the annual average hides: short-term demand is seasonal almost everywhere. A property that averages 65% might run 85% in peak months and 35% in the trough, and the mortgage, taxes, and insurance arrive in the trough too. Underwrite the slow months honestly, treat the peak as upside, and sanity-check your occupancy against the market — AirDNA's 2026 outlook put average US occupancy near 57%, so a 65% assumption needs a reason: location, amenities, or pricing discipline.
FAQ
What occupancy do I need to break even?
About 17.5% occupancy covers the operating costs at this nightly rate — roughly 64 booked nights a year. Note what that break-even excludes: the mortgage payment. Debt service needs a separate check, which is what DSCR and cash-flow calculators are for.
How does an STR cap rate compare to a long-term rental's?
It is the same formula — NOI divided by price, before financing — so a 6.11% STR cap rate here is directly comparable to a long-term cap rate on the same $400,000. The real differences sit underneath: STR revenue swings with seasons and reviews, and its expense load (turnover cleaning, platform fees, management, utilities, restocking) is far heavier than a long-term lease's.
Does the nightly rate include the cleaning fee?
No. Platforms quote the nightly rate and the cleaning fee separately, and this calculator keeps them separate for a reason: the fee is per stay, not per night, so short stays make cleaning a much bigger share of revenue. Compare the fee you charge against your true turnover cost — here that spread is about $791 a year.
What expenses do new hosts most often undercount?
Turnover cleaning (priced per stay, incurred every stay), platform service fees on the full booking total, management if you will not self-manage forever, utilities that spike with guests, and restocking/consumables. This scenario's expense stack — $26,177 against $50,613 of gross bookings — is a realistic shape: roughly half of gross revenue gone before the mortgage.
Do I need a license to operate a short-term rental?
In a growing number of cities, yes — and the trend is toward registration, caps, and platform enforcement rather than honor-system rules. In Austin, for example, a two-year STR license costs $736.60, platforms have had to remove ads within 10 days of a city delist notice since July 1, 2026, and operating unlicensed can draw fines up to $500 a day; AirROI's August 2026 analysis found about 54% of Austin short-stay listings showed no license, with the city's first delist notices paused until mid-November. Rules vary sharply by city and sometimes by neighborhood — check your local ordinance before you underwrite, because a property you cannot legally rent nightly has no STR income to model. Educational summary only, not legal advice.