How it works
For each season, the calculator estimates booked nights as months × the average days per month (365 ÷ 12) × the occupancy you enter. Multiplying by the average nightly rate gives that season’s revenue. The three seasons are added together for gross annual revenue, then reduced by the operating cost share you enter — platform fees, cleaning, supplies and management. Dividing by 12 gives an average monthly income, which is compared with the monthly housing expense of the loan you describe.
Worked example
The figures below are illustrative inputs for a hypothetical property, not market data.
| Season | Months | Nightly rate | Occupancy | Nights | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak | 4 | $250 | 80% | ≈ 97 | ≈ $24,333 |
| Shoulder | 4 | $180 | 55% | ≈ 67 | ≈ $12,045 |
| Off-season | 4 | $130 | 35% | ≈ 43 | ≈ $5,536 |
| Gross annual revenue | ≈ $41,914 | ||||
If operating costs consume a quarter of gross revenue, net annual income is about $31,436, or roughly $2,620 a month. Against a monthly housing expense of $2,300 (principal and interest at your quoted terms, plus taxes, insurance and HOA), the ratio is $2,620 ÷ $2,300 ≈ 1.14. Run it again with no cost reduction and the ratio rises to about 1.52 — that gap is why it matters which method a lender uses.
Stress-test the off-season
The example earns well over half its revenue in four months. Lower peak occupancy a little and watch the ratio move; then ask whether your reserves could carry the property through a slow winter. Programs that accept short-term rental income may rely on booking history, a third-party projection or an appraiser’s analysis, and each can produce a different number than your own model. See our guide to STR income and the short-term rental DSCR loan page for how that works.