Data & methodology
Where BNBCalc's numbers come from and how each one is calculated.
BNBCalc data and methodology updates
A dated log of changes to where BNBCalc's data comes from and how its numbers are calculated, newest first. The latest, from October 2026: new property analyses take comps from BNBCalc's own nearby-listing data, open at the 70th percentile of those comps, and start with 8% cleaning and a 15.5% host platform fee.
How accurate are BNBCalc's estimates?
BNBCalc's estimates are built from what comparable homes nearby actually earned, so they're only as good as those comps. They're strongest for common home sizes in active markets, and weakest for very large or unusual homes, rural areas with few listings, and properties unlike anything nearby. Check the comps before you rely on any figure.
How does BNBCalc Markets calculate occupancy, ADR and annual revenue?
In BNBCalc Markets, annual revenue is the market's total short-term rental revenue over the last 12 months divided by its average number of active listings, cleaning fees included, for the selected tier. Occupancy averages 12 monthly occupancy rates with host-blocked nights left out, and the average daily rate averages 12 monthly rates.
How does BNBCalc calculate cash flow and returns?
BNBCalc subtracts operating expenses from revenue to get operating income, then subtracts the mortgage payment and property tax to get cash flow. From there, cash-on-cash return is year-one cash flow, plus one year of revenue growth, divided by the cash you put in, while cap rate is operating income divided by the purchase price.
How does BNBCalc choose comparable listings?
BNBCalc picks comps from Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com listings near your property: entire homes with your bedroom count, or one bedroom either side when it needs more. It looks within 5 km (about 3 miles) first, widens to 16 km (about 10 miles) in quieter areas, and keeps between 10 and 50 comps.
How does BNBCalc estimate operating expenses?
BNBCalc starts a new US analysis with default operating expenses: $440 a month for utilities, $700 of fixed maintenance costs, cleaning at 8% of revenue and a 15.5% host platform fee. You can edit every line, save your own numbers as presets, or have AI suggest costs for the specific property.
How does BNBCalc estimate revenue for a property?
BNBCalc estimates a property's annual revenue from up to 50 comparable Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com homes nearby, using what each could earn if it were bookable all year. The estimate benchmarks a well-run listing rather than the average, landing around the comps' 70th to 75th percentile, and it's gross revenue with cleaning fees included.
How often is BNBCalc's data updated?
BNBCalc refreshes its market data once a month, adding the most recently completed month, so the newest month on a market page is usually last month or the one before. A property analysis keeps the comps it was created with: they don't refresh with new data, and only a bedroom-count change fetches new ones.
What areas and countries does BNBCalc cover?
BNBCalc Markets covers 2,369 short-term rental markets in 157 countries, and the Calculator can analyze an address anywhere BNBCalc finds enough comparable Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com listings nearby, in the US or abroad. A handful of features, including gross yield, home values and prefilled property details, need US data, so they only work for US properties.
Where does BNBCalc's data come from?
BNBCalc's short-term rental numbers come from listing data on Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com. BNBCalc tracks each listing's details, nightly rates, booked and blocked nights, and past 12 months of earnings as BNBCalc market data. Home values come from Zillow, US for-sale market data from Redfin, and long-term rent estimates from Zillow and RentRange.