How to calculate Airbnb occupancy rate (and the month-split mistake that skews it)

Occupancy rate is the first number most hosts track, and it's simple: nights booked divided by nights available. Most spreadsheets get it slightly wrong anyway, because of the stays that cross a month boundary.

The formula

occupancy = nights booked ÷ nights available
nights available = days in the month × number of listings

With two listings in January there are 31 × 2 = 62 nights available. In a real two-listing year (a lake cabin and a city studio), January had 37 booked nights: 59.7% occupancy. February had 38 of 56: 67.9%. Across the year it was 65.6%.

The mistake: counting a stay in the month it starts

A guest checks in on January 29 and out on February 3. That's five nights: January 29, 30 and 31, and February 1 and 2. The checkout day isn't a night. If your sheet puts the whole stay, and its whole payout, in January:

• January's occupancy and income are overstated.
• February's are understated.
• Your "best month" and pricing decisions shift toward whichever month stays tend to start in.

The fix is to count only the nights inside each month:

nights in month = MAX(0, MIN(check-out, first day of next month) − MAX(check-in, first day of month))

For the Jan 29 to Feb 3 stay, that's 3 nights in January and 2 in February. Spread the payout the same way: a $1,014 payout (after the platform's fee) is $608.40 in January and $405.60 in February.

Payout per night, not list price

Track what actually reaches you (the guest's total minus the platform's fee) divided by nights. It's a truer "nightly rate" than your listed price, because it includes cleaning fees and discounts. Across the two sample listings, it averaged $175.01 a night.

The same rule at year end

A stay from December 27 to January 2 has 5 nights in December and 1 in January. If you track by calendar year, which you need for taxes, only this year's nights and their share of the payout should count.