Break-even occupancy
How full does this have to be before it stops costing me money?
Break-even is the number that decides whether a quiet season is uncomfortable or fatal. It is not the same as your average occupancy, and hosts who only track the average find out the difference in January.
Two of the answers here are not percentages. If a turnover costs more than a stay earns, no occupancy rescues the listing. If break-even needs more nights than the month contains, the numbers do not close. Both cases are stated in words rather than printed as a large figure, because a large figure reads like something you could work towards.
What this assumes
- Contribution per night = rate − (turnover cost ÷ average stay). Turnover is spent once per stay, so longer stays carry less of it per night.
- Nights needed = fixed costs ÷ contribution per night, rounded up.
- Break-even occupancy = nights needed ÷ nights available.
- Excludes platform commission and tax. Both push the real figure higher.
- Treats every night as worth the same. If your weekends carry the month, the true break-even is lower than this and more fragile.
An estimate, not advice. It cannot know your market, your local rules or your tax position. Check the figures against your own booking data before acting on them.