Short Term Rental Glossary

Popular Vacation Rental Terms

Airbnb Superhost

A designation created by Airbnb for hosts who meet criteria of a 4.8+ overall rating, 10+ stays, and low cancellation rate over time.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

Annual percentage rate (APR) refers to the yearly interest generated by a sum that’s charged to borrowers or paid to investors.
Average Daily Rate (ADR)

The average rental revenue earned for an occupied rental property per day. Owners can use this metric to evaluate the operating performance of a property.
Average Rate Index (ARI)

Measure the performance of a property’s average daily rate over a time period in comparison to others. For similar properties (size, amenities, etc), a property’s ARI is expected to be 100. The index can be helpful in determining whether to raise, lower or hold rates.
Back-to-back booking

Bookings for a property where guests check out and another set check-in on the same day.
Dynamic pricing

Adjusting the price for a property to reflect differences in demand for a rental. Dynamic pricing would charge a higher nightly rate during peak tourist season, and less during periods where demand is lower.
Gaps

Dates in which a rental property has no reservations.
Length of Stay pricing

A pricing policy that offers guests a lower rate for longer duration stays, for example offering a lower nightly rate for 7 days vs 3 days.
Lockbox

A lockbox, a key safe or key storage box, is a secure device that allows property owners to store a key or access code for their rental property. Guests can then access the property using the code or key stored in the lockbox, eliminating the need for property owners to meet guests in person to hand over keys.
Orphan days

Empty nights in between bookings, for example when guests depart from a weekend stay, but next guests do not arrive till the following weekend.
Overbooking

Overbooking refers to the practice of accepting more reservations for a property than it has available rooms or units.
Pool heating fee

An additional fee on top of the property rate charged to guests who wish to heat a pool or hot tub. This is usually to cover the costs associated with fuel or electricity.
Return On Investment (ROI)

A performance measure that evaluates the profitability of an investment. To calculate the ROI of a vacation rental, the profit of the property is divided by the cost of the property.
RevPAR

Revenue per available room (RevPAR) is a metric used to measure the performance of a vacation rental. It is calculated by multiplying a property’s average daily room rate (ADR) by its occupancy rate.
Security deposit

A refundable amount of money that a property owner collects from their guests in addition to the total rental amount at the time of booking. The deposit is to cover any guest damages to the property. The deposit is returned at the completion of a visit if the property in the same condition they found it. Also referred to as a damage or breakage deposit.
Significantly Not As Described (SNAD)

When a property has significant differences when compared to the photos or description used in the original listing.
Transient Use

A transient use is the temporary rental of a residential property, typically for less than a year. The most common types of transient use are vacation rentals and short-term rentals.

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