How the model works
Booked nights per month equal 30.4 nights times your occupancy. Stays per month equal booked nights divided by your average stay length. Gross income is nightly revenue plus the cleaning fees you collect. Platform fees apply to the whole subtotal, including cleaning fees, because that is how the major platforms compute them. Cleaning costs are paid once per turnover, so shorter average stays quietly increase your costs even at identical occupancy.
Three numbers hosts underestimate
- Turnover frequency. Two-night stays at the same occupancy mean far more cleanings than week-long stays. If your cleaning fee does not cover your cleaning cost, each extra turnover eats margin.
- Platform fees on cleaning. The fee percentage applies to your cleaning fee too. A $100 cleaning fee on a 15 percent host-only plan quietly costs you $15 per stay.
- Breakeven occupancy. Knowing the occupancy where your listing covers its own fixed costs turns a slow month from a panic into a data point.