Break-even Occupancy Calculator.

How it works

Break-even occupancy is the floor — the booked-nights or occupancy-rate threshold below which the property loses money each month.

The math:

• Monthly fixed costs = mortgage + insurance + property-tax/12 + HOA + utilities + other fixed
• Net per night = ADR × (1 − platform fee rate) − cleaning per turnover − variable per night
• Break-even nights = monthly costs ÷ net per night
• Break-even occupancy = break-even nights ÷ 30

If net per night ≤ 0 — meaning cleaning + fees + variable costs exceed your nightly rate — the property cannot break even at any occupancy. The calculator flags this as “not feasible at this ADR” instead of showing infinite nights.

This calculator is for the floor. The profit calculator shows the full P&L; the RevPAR calculator shows the comparable trio. Use them together: break-even tells you what you need; profit tells you what you’d make above that.

How to use this calculator

1. Enter monthly fixed costs — every dollar that hits the bank account whether or not anyone books. Mortgage, insurance, HOA, utilities, “other fixed” (subscriptions, software, fixed cleaning retainer if any).
2. Enter property tax annually — the calculator divides by 12 internally. Most counties bill annually or semi-annually.
3. Enter per-night economics — your average daily rate, the platform fee rate (0.03 for Airbnb host-only, 0.05 for Vrbo, 0 if you’re direct booking), cleaning per turnover, and variable per night (supplies, restocks).
4. Read the floor — break-even nights tells you the minimum monthly bookings; break-even occupancy tells you the same number as a percentage.
5. If the result says “not feasible” — the math doesn’t work at your current ADR. Raise nightly rate, raise minimum-night stay (which spreads cleaning across more nights), or rethink the deal.

Frequently asked questions

Why divide by 30? This calculator assumes a 30-day month for simplicity. For seasonal analysis, run it multiple times — your break-even occupancy in low season might be 70% while high season is 40%. Same costs, different “available nights,” different feasibility.

Should I include my own labor in fixed costs? Only if you’re paying yourself. If you self-clean and self-manage, your labor is what the profit calculator’s “management fee rate” handles. For break-even, focus on actual cash outflows.

What if I have multiple properties? Run break-even per property. Portfolio break-even doesn’t generalize cleanly — one property might subsidize another, and you want to know which is which.

My break-even is 35 nights — does that mean I’m broken? Means the deal can’t break even in a 30-day month at your current ADR. The fix is one of: raise ADR, lower fixed costs (refinance, shop insurance), or raise minimum-night stay so cleaning spreads across more nights.

Why is my net per night negative? Because cleaning + fees + variable costs are eating more than 100% of nightly revenue. This happens with very short stays (1-night minimums plus high cleaning fees) or very low ADRs in expensive markets. Raise the minimum-night, raise ADR, or both.