Glossary
ADR, RevPAR, OTA, booking pace — 124 industry terms explained in plain English.
Running two versions of a listing element (title, hero image, description) to different audiences and measuring which one produces more clicks or bookings. Standard in ecommerce, almost nonexistent in vacation rental management — which is why it works so well when applied.
The core optimization methodology behind ROAM's 1.7X revenue improvement.
Features that make a rental usable by all guests, including those with disabilities — ramps, wide doorways, roll-in showers, grab bars. Some platforms let guests filter for accessible properties.
Expanding your guest pool and meeting ADA awareness standards.
A local county or municipal tax charged on top of state taxes. Varies by jurisdiction in Michigan — Emmet County charges 5%, Grand Traverse County has a local assessment, Ottawa County has its own rate. Not universal.
An additional compliance requirement that varies town by town in Michigan.
The average price per night across all booked nights in a period. Calculated by dividing total rental revenue by the number of booked nights. A property that earned $12,000 from 60 booked nights has a $200 ADR.
Core revenue metric used to benchmark pricing performance.
The largest online travel agency for vacation rentals worldwide. Uses a split-fee model (typically 3% host fee plus 14-16% guest service fee) or a host-only model (14-16% host fee, no guest fee). Primary booking channel for most STR properties.
Primary distribution channel for most Michigan vacation rentals.
Airbnb's built-in insurance program offering hosts up to $1 million in damage protection and $1 million in liability coverage. Covers guest-caused damage, cleaning costs, and certain liability claims. Does not replace standalone STR insurance.
A baseline safety net — but not a substitute for proper insurance coverage.
The platform's ranking system that determines which listings appear first in search results. Factors include review score, response time, pricing competitiveness, booking history, listing completeness, and cancellation rate. Each platform's algorithm is different.
Understanding the algorithm drives more impressions and bookings.
The average number of nights per booking across a period. Longer stays mean fewer turnovers and lower per-booking operating costs. A property with 80 bookings totaling 320 nights has a 4.0 ALOS.
Directly affects operational costs and net profitability.
An additional charge guests pay to access specific property amenities like a pool, hot tub, or gym. Can be included in the nightly rate or listed separately. Separate fees add transparency but increase total guest-facing cost.
Affects total price competitiveness and booking conversion.
A direct data connection between your property management system and booking platforms that syncs availability, pricing, and bookings in real time. More reliable and faster than iCal sync.
Essential infrastructure for professional multi-channel management.
Leasing a property long-term and subletting it as a short-term rental on platforms like Airbnb. The profit comes from the difference between the long-term lease cost and the short-term rental income. Legal in most areas but may violate lease terms or local regulations.
An investment strategy distinct from property ownership — carries unique risks.
The dates a property is open and bookable for guests. Managed through your PMS calendar. Blocked dates (owner use, maintenance, holds) reduce availability and affect occupancy calculations.
The denominator in every occupancy and RevPAN calculation.
Two reservations where one guest checks out and another checks in on the same day. Requires a same-day turnover — cleaning, inspection, restocking, and staging between guests. Tests cleaning team capacity.
Maximizes calendar efficiency but requires reliable operations.
The starting nightly price before dynamic pricing adjustments, discounts, or surcharges. Sets the floor for each seasonal pricing tier. Your base rate in July will be different from your base rate in January.
Foundation of your seasonal pricing architecture.
The percentage of properties in a portfolio that exceed their prior-period revenue or prior-management revenue. Used by managers to measure how consistently they improve performance across all managed properties.
A portfolio-level accountability metric.
When a listing's presence on an OTA drives guests to search for the property or management company directly, resulting in a direct booking that bypasses platform commissions. The OTA exposure acts as advertising.
One reason multi-channel distribution can reduce overall commission costs.
A night removed from availability — owner use, maintenance, seasonal closure, or strategic hold. Blocked nights are excluded from occupancy calculations but not from RevPAN calculations, which measure revenue across all calendar nights.
Affects how performance metrics are calculated and interpreted.
Software that allows guests to book directly from a property's own website, bypassing OTA platforms and their commissions. Typically integrated with your PMS.
Enables direct bookings that save 15-20% in platform fees.
How far in advance guests are booking compared to the same period last year or compared to the market. A forward-looking metric — the only one that tells you what's coming rather than what already happened. If pace is ahead, rates can go up. If behind, adjustments are needed.
Early indicator of demand trends and the basis for proactive pricing decisions.
A guest's inquiry or application to book a property that requires host approval before confirmation. Contrast with Instant Book, where the reservation is confirmed immediately.
Gives hosts more control but may reduce booking conversion rate.
The average number of days between when a guest makes a reservation and their actual check-in date. Varies by market and season — peak summer in Michigan books 60-120 days out; off-season books 3-14 days out.
Informs pricing timing and promotional strategy.
A global OTA owned by Booking Holdings. Primarily known for hotels but growing rapidly in vacation rentals. Higher commission (15-18%) but reaches international travelers that Airbnb and VRBO don't.
Captures demand from travelers who don't use Airbnb or VRBO.
The revenue level at which total income equals total expenses — no profit, no loss. Knowing your break-even helps determine minimum acceptable occupancy and pricing.
The baseline financial target every property must exceed.
The cost of damaged or missing items caused by guests during their stay. Typically covered by security deposits, damage waivers, or platform protection programs like AirCover.
An operational cost that proper screening and documentation can minimize.
Net operating income divided by property purchase price or current market value. Used to compare investment returns across different properties and markets. A property generating $30,000 NOI on a $400,000 value has a 7.5% cap rate.
Key metric for evaluating whether a property purchase makes financial sense.
Annual pre-tax cash flow divided by total cash invested in the property (down payment, closing costs, renovations). The primary ROI metric for STR investors. Different from cap rate because it accounts for financing.
Measures actual return on the money you put in, not just property value.
Software that manages your listings across multiple booking platforms (Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com) from one dashboard. Syncs availability, pricing, and content to prevent double bookings and maintain consistency.
Essential tool for multi-platform listing management.
A flat charge added to each booking to cover turnover costs — cleaning labor, supplies, laundry. Visible to guests as part of the total price. On short stays, a high cleaning fee can make your total price uncompetitive.
Directly affects booking competitiveness, especially on 1-3 night stays.
The percentage of travelers who see your listing in search results and click on it. Determined by four elements visible in the search grid: hero image, title, price, and review score. Industry average is 1.5-3%.
Measures how compelling your listing appears before anyone sees the inside.
A person or company given management access to an Airbnb listing while the primary host retains ownership and review history. The standard arrangement for professional management on Airbnb.
Allows professional management while keeping the listing under the owner's account.
The percentage fee charged by OTAs on each booking. Ranges from 3% (Airbnb host-only model) to 18% (Booking.com). A major cost factor that affects net revenue per booking.
Understanding commission structures is essential for channel strategy.
The specific 10-15 listings your guests are most likely to compare your property against — similar location, size, amenities, and price point. Benchmarking against your comp set is more useful than benchmarking against the entire market average.
The right comparison group for pricing and performance evaluation.
A permit allowing a property use (like short-term rental) that isn't allowed by default in a zoning district. Requires a public hearing process and may include conditions like occupancy limits, parking requirements, or operational restrictions.
Required in some Michigan municipalities before operating an STR.
The percentage of travelers who click into your listing and complete a booking. Affected by photos, description, total price, amenity list, reviews, and cancellation policy. The difference between a 2% and 4% conversion rate is double the bookings from the same traffic.
Measures how persuasive your listing is once someone clicks in.
A thorough cleaning beyond standard turnover — baseboards, windows, appliance interiors, grout, upholstery, HVAC filters. Typically scheduled quarterly or between seasons. Maintains long-term property condition.
Prevents gradual quality decline that erodes review scores over time.
Any data point indicating increased or decreased booking demand — search volume, competitor pricing changes, event calendars, weather forecasts, booking pace trends. Used to make proactive pricing adjustments.
The inputs that drive smart pricing decisions.
A tax deduction that allows property owners to recover the cost of their rental property over time (typically 27.5 years for residential). Reduces taxable income without reducing actual cash flow. Consult your CPA for specifics.
A significant tax benefit for STR property owners.
A reservation made directly with the property owner or manager through their own website or communication, bypassing OTA platforms and their commissions. Saves 15-20% in platform fees per booking.
Building a direct booking channel improves net revenue over time.
Net operating income divided by total debt payments (principal, interest, taxes, insurance). Lenders use this to determine whether a property generates enough income to cover its mortgage. A DSCR above 1.0 means the property covers its debt.
Key metric for STR property financing and loan qualification.
Automated pricing that adjusts nightly rates based on demand, seasonality, competitor pricing, local events, and booking pace. Better than a flat rate — but not a substitute for human oversight and strategic pricing architecture.
The baseline pricing tool that revenue optimization builds upon.
A small discount (5-10%) offered for bookings made 60-90+ days in advance. Used to build booking pace momentum during slow periods. Creates baseline occupancy that improves ranking.
A pace-management tool for jumpstarting calendar filling.
Manually set rate surges for known local events — Cherry Festival, Tulip Time, ArtPrize, ski weekends, holiday periods. Algorithms often underweight local events because they don't have historical data. Human-set event pricing captures 1.5-3X normal rates.
Captures thousands in additional revenue that algorithms miss.
Total operating expenses divided by gross revenue. Shows what percentage of your income goes to operating costs. A property grossing $80,000 with $32,000 in expenses has a 40% expense ratio.
Helps evaluate operational efficiency and identify cost reduction opportunities.
An additional per-night charge for guests beyond a base occupancy number. Can feel punitive to guests — a family of 6 booking a 3-bedroom expects the price to cover 6 people. Consider building capacity into the base rate instead.
Can reduce booking conversion if it inflates total price unexpectedly.
The geographic areas where your guests primarily travel from. For most Michigan STRs: Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland. Understanding your feeder market shapes listing language, amenity emphasis, and marketing timing.
Knowing who your guests are changes how you position your listing.
The minimum nightly price below which a booking isn't worth the operational cost (cleaning, supplies, wear). Your floor rate should cover at least the variable cost of hosting a guest.
Protects against unprofitable bookings in low-demand periods.
An unbooked night (or 2-3 nights) between two existing reservations. Caused by minimum stay rules, pricing, or booking patterns. A property with 25 gap nights per year at $175/night potential is losing $4,375. Filling gap nights requires flexible minimums and targeted pricing.
The most common source of recoverable lost revenue.
A booking intentionally held back to block dates for property maintenance, owner use, deep cleaning, or strategic pricing adjustments. Not a real guest booking — a management tool.
Used to manage property condition and pricing strategy.
Google's metasearch listing that shows vacation rental results from multiple platforms directly in Google Search and Maps. Growing distribution channel that can drive bookings with zero commission for direct listings.
An increasingly important discovery channel for travelers.
An exemption allowing existing STR operators to continue under previous rules when new, more restrictive regulations are enacted. If your municipality tightens STR rules, grandfathered status may protect your operation.
Can preserve your right to operate if regulations change.
The total value of bookings in a period including host earnings, service fees, cleaning fees, and taxes, net of cancellations. A platform-level metric that represents total transaction value.
The complete picture of what a booking generates before any deductions.
Total rental income before management fees, cleaning costs, platform commissions, maintenance, and other expenses are deducted. The top-line number on your owner statement.
Important to track — but net revenue is what matters for your return.
Evaluating booking requests for red flags — last-minute local bookings, mismatched guest counts, new accounts with no reviews, evasive responses. Not about exclusion — about recognizing patterns that correlate with property damage or violations.
Prevention is cheaper than damage claims and bad reviews.
The first photo in your listing — the one that appears in search results and determines whether travelers click or scroll past. In our testing, hero image changes produce 40-60% improvements in click-through rate.
The single highest-impact element of your listing.
A private governing body that may restrict or prohibit short-term rentals through deed covenants and community rules, regardless of what local government allows. Always check HOA bylaws before listing.
HOA restrictions override favorable local STR regulations.
The platform-specific interface where hosts manage listings, view bookings, respond to messages, and track performance metrics. Each OTA has its own dashboard with different features and data.
Where day-to-day listing management happens on each platform.
Property-specific rules guests agree to before booking — noise limits, pet policies, occupancy caps, parking instructions, smoking restrictions, quiet hours. Provide the framework for enforcement if issues arise.
Sets expectations and provides grounds for handling violations.
A calendar synchronization protocol that shares availability between different booking platforms to prevent double bookings. Simpler than API integration but less reliable — sync delays can cause brief windows of double-booking risk.
The basic method for multi-channel calendar management.
The number of times your listing appears in search results. The very top of the booking funnel — without impressions, nothing else happens. Driven by search ranking, which is influenced by reviews, response time, pricing, and listing freshness.
The starting point for every booking your property will ever receive.
A booking method where guests can reserve without host approval. Faster booking process that platforms reward with higher search ranking. Increases conversion rate but reduces the ability to screen guests before confirming.
Affects both conversion rate and algorithm ranking on platforms.
A measurable value used to evaluate how effectively a property or portfolio is achieving its objectives. Core STR KPIs include ADR, occupancy rate, RevPAR/RevPAN, CTR, conversion rate, and review score.
The metrics that tell you whether your property is improving or declining.
A rate reduction (typically 25-35%) applied to unbooked nights within 3-5 days of the date. Recovers revenue that would otherwise be zero. Applied automatically when a night is unlikely to book at standard rate.
Turns $0 nights into $120-175 nights.
The number of days between when a booking is made and the check-in date. Short lead times (under 7 days) indicate last-minute demand. Long lead times (60+ days) indicate planning-ahead travelers. Understanding lead time patterns helps with pricing timing.
Informs when to apply early-bird vs. last-minute pricing strategies.
A percentage discount offered for longer bookings — 10% off for 5+ nights, 15% off for 7+ nights, 20% off for 14+ nights. Designed so the discount is always less than the turnover cost it eliminates.
Encourages longer stays that produce more net revenue per turnover.
Insurance coverage protecting the property owner against guest injuries, property damage claims, and legal expenses. Standard homeowners insurance typically does not cover short-term rental activity — you need specific STR coverage.
Essential risk management that most self-managers overlook.
A periodic update to your listing's title, photos, description, and amenities to maintain freshness, match seasonal search behavior, and signal activity to the algorithm. Should happen quarterly at minimum.
Algorithms reward recently updated listings with ranking boosts.
A platform-specific quality rating that considers photo quality, description completeness, pricing competitiveness, response time, review score, and amenity accuracy. Higher scores improve search ranking.
A composite metric that directly affects your visibility.
The mean performance metrics (ADR, occupancy, RevPAR) across all listings in your market — including top performers and underperformers. Useful as a baseline, but optimized properties should consistently perform above it.
If you're at market average, you're being averaged with every bad listing in your area.
Platforms like Google Vacation Rentals and Trivago that aggregate listings from multiple OTAs, allowing travelers to compare prices across platforms in one place. An additional distribution and discovery channel.
Increases visibility beyond individual OTA search results.
Michigan's 6% tax on short-term accommodations for stays under 30 consecutive days. Airbnb collects and remits this automatically. VRBO and direct bookings require the owner or manager to collect and remit to the Michigan Department of Treasury.
Mandatory compliance — failure to collect creates back-tax liability.
A brief message sent on day 2 of a guest's stay asking how everything is going. Catches problems before they become complaints. Also opens the door to stay extensions — "Want to add a night or two?"
Prevents bad reviews and creates upselling opportunities.
The fewest number of nights a guest can book. Should vary by season, day of week, and demand conditions — not stay static year-round. A 3-night minimum in November blocks the 2-night weekend getaway that represents most off-season demand.
Static minimums are the primary cause of gap nights and lost revenue.
Gross rental income minus all operating expenses (cleaning, maintenance, management fees, insurance, taxes, supplies) but before mortgage payments. The income your property actually generates from operations.
The number used to calculate cap rate and evaluate property performance.
What you actually keep after all fees, commissions, cleaning, maintenance, management costs, and platform charges are deducted. The number that determines your actual return on investment.
The only revenue number that matters for your bottom line.
An exterior device that measures ambient decibel levels and alerts the manager when sustained noise exceeds a preset threshold (typically 80+ dB). Does not record audio or conversations — privacy-compliant. Catches parties before neighbors call.
Protects neighbor relationships, prevents complaints, and preserves permits.
The percentage of available nights that were booked in a period. 21 booked nights out of 30 available = 70% occupancy. Important but not sufficient alone — 100% occupancy at low rates produces less revenue than 80% at optimized rates.
Primary performance indicator, but must be read alongside ADR.
The lowest-demand period — November through April for most Michigan lake markets, with exceptions for ski properties and holiday periods. Strategic pricing and listing adjustments during off-season can capture $8,000-15,000 in revenue most owners write off.
Where smart management creates the biggest relative advantage.
A single unbooked night between two reservations — a specific type of gap night. Difficult to fill because minimum stay rules block 1-night bookings. Targeted orphan night pricing (30-40% below standard) and dropped minimums recover this revenue.
Every orphan night at $0 could be $120-175 with the right strategy.
Platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com that connect property owners with travelers. OTAs charge commissions on bookings but provide massive distribution reach and traveler trust.
The distribution channels that generate most STR bookings.
A special zoning district placed over existing base zones with additional provisions — sometimes used to regulate STRs in specific areas while leaving surrounding zones unchanged.
Can affect STR permissibility at your specific address.
A monthly financial report showing gross revenue, itemized expenses (cleaning, maintenance, supplies, management fee, platform commissions), and net payout for each managed property.
Your primary visibility into property financial performance.
The net amount deposited to the owner's bank account after all platform fees, management fees, cleaning costs, and expenses are deducted from gross revenue. The actual cash you receive.
The bottom-line number on every owner statement.
The highest-demand period when rates and occupancy are at their maximum. Late June through Labor Day for most Michigan lake markets. Where 55-65% of annual revenue is earned in a 10-14 week window.
Peak season execution determines whether your property is profitable for the year.
A flat charge (typically $50-100) for guests bringing pets. Can be structured as a per-stay flat fee or per-night charge — flat fees are less friction. Pet-friendly listings generate 5-15% more bookings than non-pet listings.
Affects both revenue and booking volume — test whether to charge or include free.
The order your listing photos appear, designed to tell a story and guide the guest through the property experience. Hero → promise delivery → key amenity → bedrooms → spaces → neighborhood. Not random.
A curated photo sequence converts better than a random photo dump.
A cleaning quality control process where the cleaning team submits timestamped photos of every room after each turnover. Creates accountability, catches issues before guests arrive, and provides documentation.
The difference between hoping your property is clean and knowing it.
Software that manages bookings, guest communication, channel distribution, owner reporting, pricing, and operational workflows from one central platform. Examples: OwnerRez, Hostaway, Guesty, Lodgify.
The central hub of professional STR management operations.
Communication sent 2-3 days before check-in with detailed instructions — entry codes, parking, WiFi, local recommendations. Sets expectations and prevents the confusion that leads to lower reviews.
The most important message in the guest communication sequence.
When a higher level of government (state) enacts a law that overrides or prohibits a lower level (city/township) from regulating STRs. Some states have preempted local STR bans; Michigan has not.
Determines whether local governments can restrict STRs in their jurisdiction.
Status badges on VRBO and Booking.com equivalent to Airbnb's Superhost. Earned through performance metrics — review scores, response times, booking volume. Improves visibility and guest trust.
Platform-specific recognition that boosts search ranking.
Scheduled servicing of HVAC, plumbing, appliances, water heaters, and property systems on a regular calendar to prevent breakdowns during guest stays. The $200 annual tune-up that prevents the $2,000 emergency repair in August.
Protects your asset and your reviews simultaneously.
Designated hours (typically 10pm-8am) during which outdoor noise must be minimized. Often required by local STR ordinances and enforced through house rules. Noise monitors can alert management to violations automatically.
Protects neighbor relationships and maintains permit compliance.
The published or advertised nightly rate before any discounts — length-of-stay, early-bird, last-minute, or promotional. Your starting price point from which all discounts are calculated.
The reference price that frames all discount strategies.
Maintaining consistent pricing across all booking platforms to avoid channel conflicts. OTA terms of service often require rate parity — meaning your Airbnb rate should match your VRBO rate and your direct booking rate.
Violating rate parity can result in listing suppression or removal.
How quickly you reply to guest messages. Tracked by platforms as a ranking factor. Airbnb measures response rate (percentage of messages responded to within 24 hours) and penalizes slow responses.
Under 5 minutes is the standard for top-performing properties.
How quickly new reviews accumulate on your listing. Platforms reward consistent review accumulation with ranking benefits. A property that gets 3 reviews per month ranks better than one that gets 3 per quarter.
Drives ranking improvements that compound into more bookings.
Total revenue divided by total available nights — the STR-specific version of RevPAR. Unlike ADR, RevPAN accounts for empty nights. Unlike RevPAR, it includes all revenue sources (cleaning fees, pet fees, not just nightly rate). The most comprehensive single performance metric.
The one metric that captures the complete revenue picture.
ADR multiplied by occupancy rate. Originally a hotel metric adapted for STRs. Captures the tradeoff between rate and occupancy in one number. A $220 ADR at 80% occupancy ($176 RevPAR) outperforms a $300 ADR at 55% occupancy ($165 RevPAR).
Combined occupancy and rate metric for overall performance comparison.
Your listing's position in platform search results, determined by review score, response time, pricing competitiveness, booking history, listing completeness, cancellation rate, and listing freshness. Higher ranking = more impressions = more bookings.
The single biggest driver of how many travelers see your property.
Regular, predictable patterns in demand based on time of year. Michigan has extreme seasonality — peak summer (June-August), fall color (September-October), ski season (December-March), and quiet spring (March-May). Each season requires different pricing, minimum stays, and listing emphasis.
Drives every pricing, marketing, and operational decision.
Keyless entry that allows guests to arrive and access the property independently, without coordinating a key handoff. Standard practice — eliminates scheduling logistics and improves guest flexibility.
Expected by guests and operationally essential for professional management.
Optimizing your listing title, description, amenities, and content to rank higher in platform search results and Google. Includes keyword placement, completeness, and relevance signals.
Drives more impressions, which is the top of the booking funnel.
The fee charged by OTAs to guests on top of the nightly rate and cleaning fee. Set by the platform, not the host. On Airbnb, guest service fees are typically 14-16% of the booking subtotal.
Increases the total price guests compare — beyond your control but affects conversions.
The process of resolving a guest complaint in a way that turns a negative experience into a positive review. Research shows well-handled problems often produce better reviews than flawless stays.
Turns operational failures into review-building opportunities.
The transitional periods between peak and off-season when demand is moderate. In Michigan, typically May and September-October. Capturing shoulder revenue separates top performers from average — most competitors give up on these months.
Where smart management creates the biggest competitive advantage.
An electronic door lock that accepts unique codes per reservation, can be changed remotely between guests, and logs entry/exit times. Eliminates key management, improves security, and enables self check-in.
Non-negotiable infrastructure for modern STR operations.
Airbnb's built-in dynamic pricing tool that automatically adjusts rates based on demand. Better than a flat rate but lacks the granularity and human oversight of dedicated pricing platforms with revenue management strategy.
A starting point — not a substitute for real revenue optimization.
A conditional approval required in some zones to operate an STR, often involving public hearings, neighbor notification, and specific conditions. More restrictive and uncertain than by-right zoning.
Required in some Michigan townships — adds time and cost to getting started.
A property-specific document showing exactly how each room should be set up after cleaning — pillow placement, towel folding, coffee station arrangement, furniture positions. Ensures every guest arrives to a consistent, photo-ready property.
Consistency in presentation drives consistent 5-star reviews.
The guest review score (1-5 stars) that directly affects search ranking, conversion rate, and pricing power. The difference between a 4.7 and 4.9 can be 15-25% in annual revenue.
Small rating differences create large revenue differences.
A furnished property rented to guests for stays under 30 consecutive days, typically for vacation or short-term business travel. Distinct from long-term rentals (30+ day leases) in regulation, taxation, and management approach.
The fundamental category for vacation rental properties.
Specialized coverage designed for vacation rental properties that fills gaps standard homeowners and landlord policies don't cover — guest injuries, commercial use exclusions, and short-term rental-specific liability.
Standard homeowners insurance won't protect you when renting to guests.
A local government license required to operate a short-term rental. Requirements vary dramatically by municipality in Michigan — some require simple registration, others require inspections, safety plans, and annual renewals.
Operating without a required permit can result in fines and forced closure.
An Airbnb designation for hosts who maintain a 4.8+ overall rating, 90%+ response rate, fewer than 1% cancellations, and at least 10 stays per year. Superhost status improves search ranking, adds a badge to listings, and signals quality to potential guests.
A performance badge that directly impacts visibility and booking conversion.
A local tax collected from guests staying in short-term accommodations. The term used in some Michigan municipalities for their local accommodation tax. Usually 5-6% on top of the state use tax.
Mandatory compliance in municipalities that impose it.
The complete process between guest stays — checkout verification, cleaning, inspection, restocking supplies, laundry, staging, and preparation for the next guest. Turnover quality directly affects reviews. Turnover costs ($150-350 per event) are the largest variable operating expense.
The most frequent and impactful operational task in STR management.
The total expense of preparing a property between guests — cleaning labor, supplies, laundry service, and restocking. On a property with 80 turnovers per year at $200 each, that's $16,000 annually.
Directly affects net profitability, especially on short stays.
Offering guests additional services or extended stays during their booking. A mid-stay check-in that offers to extend the stay by 1-2 nights at a discount generates incremental revenue with zero additional turnover cost.
Low-effort revenue that adds $1,500-3,000 annually to well-managed properties.
The revenue lost from each empty night — not just $0 earned, but the $150-200 that could have been earned with better pricing, flexible minimums, or gap night strategy. Most owners don't calculate vacancy cost. It's a core metric for revenue optimization.
Making vacancy visible and measurable is the first step to reducing it.
Vacation Rentals by Owner, a major OTA owned by Expedia Group. Historically focused on whole-home vacation rentals (vs. Airbnb's room-sharing roots). Commission model varies — typically 5% host fee plus 6-12% guest fee.
Second-largest vacation rental platform in most US markets.
Physical or digital information provided to guests including house manual, WiFi details, appliance instructions, local restaurant recommendations, activity suggestions, emergency contacts, and house rules.
Reduces guest questions and enhances the arrival experience.
The broader practice of adjusting prices and availability to maximize total revenue — borrowed from the airline and hotel industries. Dynamic pricing is one component. Revenue optimization encompasses yield management plus listing optimization, distribution strategy, and operational efficiency.
The strategic framework behind every pricing decision.
Local land-use regulations that determine whether short-term rentals are allowed at a specific property address. The most common way Michigan municipalities regulate STRs. Some zones allow STRs by right, others require special use permits, and some prohibit them entirely.
The first thing to verify before purchasing or listing any property as an STR.
A municipal law that defines how property in specific geographic zones can be used. STR-specific zoning ordinances may set density limits, require owner-occupancy, cap the number of permits, or restrict operations to certain property types.
The legal foundation for STR regulation in most Michigan municipalities.
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