Your highest-earning night might not be your busiest night.

Your highest-earning night might not be your busiest night.

Virtual Assistant · Member since 2026 · 74 posts · 16 votes

It's easy to look at a full calendar and think:

"We're doing great."

But occupancy only tells part of the story.

A property can be nearly full while pricing is too low.

Another property can have fewer occupied nights but generate stronger revenue because its rates are better aligned with demand.

That's why I don't think hosts should look at occupancy alone.

Look at:

• Revenue
• Operating costs
• Average Daily Rate (ADR)
• Booking pace
• Booking patterns

A full calendar isn't automatically a profitable calendar.

The goal isn't simply to fill every available night.

It's to make each available night work harder for the business.

#RevenueManagement #STRManagement #DynamicPricing #AirbnbHost #VacationRental

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Mike GrudzienPro Member
Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
2mo

I agree with the "Look at" list and add: the local market/season

See this reply in the discussion

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  • MD/DC · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    2mo

    I agree 100% although this is coming from someone who isn't living off STR income.

  • Mike GrudzienPro Member
    Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    2mo

    I agree with the "Look at" list and add: the local market/season

  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    2mo

    This has been discussed on here many times before and I think understand by most. 

    That is why setting pricing to balance this is so important. 

  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    2mo

    Economics 101 optimal is where the supply curve meets the demand curve. For most STR's its around 60-70% occupancy. Lower for lux properties and higher for econ properties.

  • Member since 2026 · 47 posts · 21 votes
    2mo

    Andrew's 60 to 70% is a good sanity check, and the way I'd say it to a newer host is that occupancy is only good news if you know what rate you bought it at. One of my properties hit 100% occupancy this month and that number means nothing by itself, it only counts because the rate went up too. Last year was rough for me so instead of dropping price I did soft upgrades to the listings, and I'm charging about 25 to 30% more now than the year before on the same properties. If your calendar fills easy, thats usually not a win, thats the market telling you you're the cheap option.

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