VRBO holiday let profit.

VRBO/Vrbo (Vacation Rentals By Owner) hosting economics: nightly rate × occupancy × (1 - VRBO fee 8%) - cleaning - mortgage - utilities. Typical holiday let: 100-250/night, 50-70% occupancy in season. Average net margin 25-40% after all costs. Mortgage typically the biggest cost line for hosts who carry property debt.

150/night × 60% × 30 days = 2,700 gross. - 8% VRBO fee (216) - 400 cleaning (8 stays × 50) - 1,200 mortgage - 200 utilities = 684 net. 8,200/year. Modest - many holiday lets struggle to cover mortgage in low-demand areas. Premium locations or unique properties (treehouses, glamping) can earn 5-10x average.

VRBO vs Airbnb: VRBO charges 8% per booking (vs Airbnb's 14-16% combined fees). VRBO better for full-property whole-week rentals (their core market). Airbnb better for short city stays. Most successful hosts list on both for maximum exposure - manage via channel manager (Hostaway, Lodgify) to avoid double-booking.

Run it with sensible defaults

Using nightly rate of 150, occupancy of 60%, vrbo fee of 8%, cleaning per stay of 50, the calculation works out to 684.00. Nudge the inputs toward your own situation and the output recalculates instantly. The defaults are meant as a starting point, not a recommendation.

The levers in this calculation

The inputs — Nightly Rate, Occupancy %, VRBO Fee %, Cleaning per Stay, and Stays per Month — do not pull with equal force. Not every input has equal weight. Flip one at a time toward extreme values to feel which ones move the needle most for your situation.

How the math works

Gross = nights × rate. After fees - cleaning - mortgage - utilities = profit. The working is transparent — you can verify every step yourself in the formula section below. No black box, no opaque "proprietary model".

Why small rate shifts add up

A 3% pay rise looks modest. Apply it over a 30-year career with modest promotions and the lifetime difference runs to six figures. This calculator makes that invisible compounding visible in a way spreadsheets usually don't.

What this doesn't capture

Tax bands, pension contributions, student-loan deductions, and benefits-in-kind sit outside this calculation. The figure is the headline; your actual position depends on local tax rules and personal circumstances. Pair with a dedicated take-home calculator for the full picture.