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Whether you’re a first-time vacation rental homeowner or a real estate professional exploring the short-term rental space, the industry can come with its own language. This glossary breaks down the most commonly used terms so you can feel more confident and informed when navigating vacation rental management.
For an even deeper dive into how vacation rentals work—from setup and strategy to marketing and management—explore our complete guide for owners. It’s designed to help you make smart, informed decisions at every step.
Use it as a reference whenever you need clarity—or just want to brush up on your vacation rental vocabulary.
Airbnb: One of the most popular online platforms for listing and booking vacation rentals. Hosts use Airbnb to rent out their homes or rooms to short-term guests.
ADR (Average Daily Rate): The average nightly rate paid by guests over a certain period, excluding taxes and fees.
Booking Window: The time between when a guest books and the date of check-in. A longer booking window can help forecast future occupancy.
Base Rate: The standard nightly rate set for a property before applying discounts, premiums, or dynamic pricing adjustments.
Channel Manager: A tool or software used to sync availability, rates, and bookings across multiple listing platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo, etc.) to prevent double bookings.
Cleaning Fee: A separate charge guests pay to cover the cost of professional cleaning after their stay.
Cancellation Policy: The rules that determine how and when a guest can cancel and whether they’ll receive a refund.
Dynamic Pricing: A pricing strategy that adjusts nightly rates based on demand, local events, seasonality, and booking trends to maximize revenue.
Direct Booking: A reservation made directly through your website or management company—outside of a third-party platform like Airbnb or Vrbo.
Early Check-In / Late Check-Out: Guest requests to adjust standard arrival or departure times. Often offered as a paid add-on.
Guest Experience: The overall quality of a guest’s stay, including cleanliness, communication, check-in process, and amenities. A strong guest experience leads to better reviews and repeat bookings.
Host: The person or company responsible for listing, managing, and maintaining the vacation rental. This could be the homeowner or a property manager.
Instant Booking: A feature on platforms like Airbnb that allows guests to book without needing approval from the host.
Management Fee: The percentage or flat rate charged by a vacation rental management company to handle bookings, communication, cleaning, maintenance, and more.
Minimum Night Stay: The minimum number of nights required to book a property. This can be adjusted by season or event.
Net Revenue: The income earned from a booking after fees, taxes, and expenses are deducted.
Occupancy Rate: The percentage of available nights your property is booked within a certain timeframe. A key metric for evaluating performance.
Owner Portal: A private dashboard where property owners can track reservations, earnings, calendars, and performance data.
Platform Fee: A fee charged by platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo, typically a percentage of the total booking price, which may be paid by the guest, host, or both.
Peak Season: High-demand travel periods when rates and occupancy are typically at their highest (e.g., summer, holidays, local festivals).
Review Score: The average rating your property receives from guests based on their stay, typically on a scale from 1 to 5 stars.
Short-Term Rental (STR): A furnished residential property rented for a short period—typically fewer than 30 days—on platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo, or direct booking sites.
Same-Day Turnover: When one guest checks out and another checks in on the same day—requiring quick, efficient cleaning and prep.
Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT): Also known as lodging tax, hotel tax, or occupancy tax, this is a tax collected on short-term stays and remitted to the local municipality.
Vrbo: A vacation rental booking platform similar to Airbnb, typically used for family travel and full-home rentals.
We’re always here to simplify the process and guide you through industry jargon. Have a term you’d like us to add? Contact us and we’ll keep growing this glossary to better serve homeowners like you.