Glossary
Hosting terms in plain language
Short definitions with a worked example for each, written by people who host.
Average daily rate (ADR) Average daily rate is what you earned per booked night, on average. Divide your nightly revenue by the number of nights booked. Base price The base price is the starting nightly rate that all your other prices are built from. Weekend, seasonal and event prices are set as amounts above or below it, so if the base is wrong, every night is wrong. Booking lead time Booking lead time is the number of days between the day a guest books and the day they check in. It tells you how far ahead your guests plan, which decides when to raise or lower prices. Booking window The booking window, also called the availability window, is how far into the future guests can book your calendar. If it is set to 3 months, a guest planning 5 months ahead cannot book you. Channel manager A channel manager is software that connects your listings on several booking platforms and keeps calendars, and often prices, in sync through direct connections rather than iCal links. Cleaning fee A cleaning fee is a one-time charge added to each booking to cover the turnover between guests. Guests see it as part of the total price, so a high fee makes short stays look expensive. Comp set A comp set, short for competitive set, is the group of nearby listings a guest would realistically choose between along with yours. You compare your price, photos and reviews against this group, not the whole market. Conversion rate For a listing, conversion rate is the share of people who view it and then book. Low views point to a visibility problem. Plenty of views with few bookings points to price, photos or reviews. Dynamic pricing Dynamic pricing means your nightly rate changes by date, based on demand, season, day of week and how close the date is. It can be done by a tool, by hand, or both. Gap night A gap night, also called an orphan night, is a free night stuck between two bookings that is shorter than your minimum stay. Nobody can book it unless you change a rule. iCal sync iCal sync links the calendars of two booking platforms. Each platform exports a calendar link, and the other imports it, so a booking on one blocks the same dates on the other. Length-of-stay discount A length-of-stay discount lowers the nightly rate when a guest books more nights, most often as a weekly or monthly discount. It trades a lower rate for fewer turnovers and fewer empty nights. Minimum stay Minimum stay is the fewest nights a guest must book. Platforms leave your listing out of any search that is shorter than your minimum, so the setting controls visibility as well as bookings. Occupancy rate Occupancy rate is the share of available nights that were booked. Divide booked nights by the nights your calendar was open, then multiply by 100. RevPAR RevPAR is revenue per available night. It combines price and occupancy into one number, so it shows whether a pricing change actually earned you more. Superhost Superhost is Airbnb's status for hosts who meet its targets for rating, response rate, completed stays and cancellations. Airbnb checks it every three months and shows a badge on the host's listings.
Ready to go hands-free?
Send us your listing and get a written co-hosting proposal. Nothing to pay upfront: Airbnb pays our share only when you are booked.