Glossary

The arbitrage glossary.

132 terms every STR and MTR operator should know, in plain English. Core metrics link to full pages with formulas and examples.

Search132 terms

#A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z

#

24/7 support: Guest help available around the clock, so lockouts, leaks and emergencies get handled at any hour.

A

Accessibility compliance: Meeting accessibility rules such as the ADA where they apply, and describing accessible features accurately in listings.
Accounting software: Tools that track income and expenses per unit, so taxes, cashflow and profit are easy to report.
Active days: The number of days a listing was open for booking in a period. Blocked or not-yet-live days are excluded.
Active listing: A listing that is live and bookable on a platform such as Airbnb or Vrbo.
Adjacent-day pricing: Changing the rate on the nights just before and after a booking to fill gaps or protect turnover days.
ADR: Average daily rate. The average price paid per booked night. Formula and example →
Alternative accommodation: Any lodging outside traditional hotels: vacation rentals, aparthotels, B&Bs and furnished apartments.
Amenity fee: An extra charge on top of the nightly rate for things like Wi-Fi, parking or pool access. Also called a resort fee.
Aparthotel: A building of self-contained apartments run with hotel-style services such as cleaning and a front desk.
API: A connection that lets two pieces of software share data, for example a PMS sending bookings to accounting.
Automation tools: Software that handles repeat tasks such as pricing updates, guest messages and cleaning schedules.
Average booking value: Total booking revenue divided by the number of bookings.
Average length of stay: Total nights booked divided by the number of reservations. Shorter stays mean more turnovers and higher costs.

B

Base price: The default nightly rate a pricing strategy starts from before adjustments for demand, season or day of week.
Bedroom category: Grouping listings by bedroom count so you compare a unit only against similar units.
Blackout dates: Dates a unit can't be booked, for owner use, maintenance or events.
Booking channel: Where a reservation comes from: Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Furnished Finder or your own site.
Booking curve: A chart of how reservations for a date accumulate over time. Shows when guests in your market book.
Booking pace: How quickly future dates are filling compared with the same point last year or the market.
Booking window: Days between the booking date and check-in. Also called lead time.
Break-even point: The occupancy or revenue at which a unit covers all its costs, with no profit or loss.
Budgeting: Planning expected income and expenses per unit before you sign a lease.

C

Cancellation policy: The rules for when a guest can cancel and how much they get back. Usually flexible, moderate or strict.
Cancellation rate: Share of reservations cancelled in a period.
Cash flow: Money in minus money out each month. For arbitrage, revenue minus rent and operating costs.
Cash-on-cash return: Annual cashflow divided by the cash you put in up front. Formula and example →
Changeover day: The day one guest checks out and the next checks in.
Channel fee: The commission or service fee a booking platform charges the host, the guest or both.
Channel manager: Software that syncs rates and availability across multiple booking sites to prevent double bookings.
Check-in date: The day a guest's stay starts.
Check-out date: The day a guest's stay ends.
Cleaning fee: A one-time charge per stay to cover turnover cleaning. Often passed straight through to the cleaner.
Comp set: The group of similar nearby rentals used to benchmark your rates and occupancy.
Competitor pricing: Setting rates with reference to what comparable units nearby charge.
Concierge service: Personal help for guests with dining, transport and activities. Also ArbiBase's done-for-you property sourcing.
Corporate housing: Furnished rentals leased to companies for employees on assignment, usually 30+ nights. Formula and example →
Cost of goods sold: Direct per-stay costs such as cleaning supplies, linens and consumables.
Cross-selling: Offering related extras like early check-in, tours or late check-out.
Customer support: Help for guests before, during and after a stay.

D

Damage deposit: A refundable amount held to cover guest damage. Also called a security deposit.
Dashboard: One screen showing a unit's or portfolio's key numbers.
Day-of-week pricing: Different rates for different days, typically higher on weekends.
Demand forecasting: Predicting future bookings from history, events and market trends.
Demand generator: Anything that brings guests to an area: hospitals, universities, offices, stadiums, airports.
Direct booking: A reservation made through your own site or contact, avoiding platform fees.
Distribution channel: Any platform where your unit is listed and bookable.
Dynamic pricing: Changing nightly rates automatically with demand, season and lead time.

E

Event-based pricing: Raising rates around concerts, conferences, games and holidays.
Extra-guest fee: A per-person charge when more guests stay than the base number.

F

Far-out pricing: How you price dates many months ahead. Some hosts charge more, others discount to lock in revenue.
Fire safety: Smoke and CO detectors, extinguishers and clear exits. Often required for STR permits.
Forecasting: Projecting future occupancy and revenue from data.

G

GDPR: EU data privacy law that applies when you handle personal data of EU residents.
Gross booking revenue: Total paid by guests, including cleaning fees and taxes. Not what you keep.
Gross operating profit: Revenue minus operating expenses, before rent or financing. In hotels, GOP.
Guest agreement: The contract a guest accepts: house rules, check-in times, payments and penalties.
Guest experience: Everything a guest feels from booking to checkout. Drives reviews and rank.
Guest turnover: How often guests change. High turnover means more cleaning and wear.

H

Health and safety regulations: Rules on fire safety, sanitation, occupancy limits and habitability for rentals.
High season: The busiest, highest-priced part of the year in a market.
Hotel occupancy tax: A state or local tax on stays under a set length, usually 30 nights. Formula and example →
Housekeeping: Cleaning, laundry and restocking between stays.

I

Instant booking: Guests can book without host approval.
Insurance: Coverage for property, liability and STR-specific risks. Landlords often require STR liability coverage naming them.
Integration: A data connection between two tools, such as PMS and pricing.

K

Keyless entry: Smart locks or keypads that let guests check in without a physical key.

L

Landlord consent: Written permission from the owner to sublet or host guests. Formula and example →
Last-minute pricing: Discounting close-in dates to fill open nights.
Length-of-stay discount: A lower rate for weekly or monthly stays. Key for mid-term rentals.
Liability waiver: A document that limits the operator's liability for injury or loss during a stay.
Licensing: Permits and registrations a city or state requires before you can host.
Linen service: Outsourced laundering and supply of sheets and towels.
Listing: A unit or room that is live and bookable.
Listing site: A platform where rentals are advertised and booked.
Local ordinances: City or county laws on STRs: permits, caps, zoning, taxes and noise.

M

Market demand: How much booking interest an area has for a given period.
Market rate: The typical nightly price for comparable units in a market.
Master lease: A lease where the operator is sole tenant and permitted to sublet or host occupants. Formula and example →
Maximum price: The ceiling you allow dynamic pricing to reach.
Mid-term rental: A furnished stay of 30 nights to about six months. Formula and example →
Minimum price: The floor below which you won't accept a booking.
Minimum stay: The fewest nights a booking can be. A 30-night minimum usually makes a unit MTR.
Multilingual support: Guest communication in more than one language.

N

Net operating income: Revenue minus operating expenses. For arbitrage, include rent as an expense.
Net revenue: What you keep after fees, taxes and pass-through charges are removed from gross bookings.
No-show: A guest who doesn't arrive and doesn't cancel.
Noise ordinance: Local limits on noise, commonly enforced against STRs. Noise monitors help.

O

Occupancy forecast: Expected occupancy for future dates based on current bookings and pace.
Occupancy rate: The share of available nights that were booked. Formula and example →
Occupancy tax: A tax on short stays charged by a city, county or state. Often called hotel or transient occupancy tax.
Occupancy-based pricing: Raising rates as a period fills and lowering them when it doesn't.
Off-peak season: The quietest, lowest-priced part of the year.
Online reviews: Guest ratings and comments that drive ranking and conversion.
Operating expenses: Ongoing costs to run a unit: utilities, cleaning, supplies, software, maintenance.
Orphan night: An unbookable gap between reservations, often caused by minimum-stay rules.
OTA: Online travel agency: Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia.
OTA ranking: Where your listing appears in platform search, driven by photos, reviews, price and conversion.
Overbooking: Accepting more reservations than nights available, usually from unsynced calendars.

P

Payback period: How long cashflow takes to recover setup costs. Formula and example →
Payment gateway: The service that processes card payments securely.
Percentile: Where a value ranks within a market. 75th-percentile ADR means 75% of comps charge less.
Pest control: Preventive treatment for insects and rodents. Bad reviews follow fast without it.
Pricing algorithm: Software that sets nightly rates from demand, season and comps.
Pricing strategy: Your overall approach to setting rates, discounts and minimum stays.
Profit margin: Profit as a percentage of revenue.
Property inspection: A condition check before and after stays or on a set schedule.
Property management system: Software that runs bookings, calendars, messaging and cleaning in one place. Also PMS.

R

Rate parity: Keeping the same price across all booking platforms.
Rate shopping: Checking competitors' prices to set your own.
Refund policy: When and how much a guest gets back after cancelling.
Rent-to-revenue ratio: Net monthly revenue divided by monthly rent. A common screen for whether a lease can cashflow.
Rental arbitrage: Leasing long-term and re-renting short or mid-term, with the landlord's permission. Formula and example →
Request to book: A booking that needs host approval before it's confirmed.
Return on investment: Profit divided by what you invested. See cash-on-cash return for the arbitrage version.
Revenue management: Using pricing, minimum stays and distribution to maximize revenue.
RevPAN: Revenue per available night: total revenue divided by nights the unit was available.
RevPAR: Revenue per available night: ADR × occupancy. Formula and example →

S

Seasonal pricing: Different base rates for high, shoulder and low seasons.
Seasonality: The yearly pattern of demand and price in a market.
Security deposit: A refundable deposit held against damage. Rules on holding and returning it vary by state.
Short-term rental: A furnished stay under 30 nights, usually regulated by city. Formula and example →
Shoulder season: The period between high and low season, with moderate demand and prices.
Smart home technology: Connected locks, thermostats and noise monitors you can manage remotely.
Superhost: Airbnb status for hosts who meet review, response and cancellation standards each quarter.

T

Tax compliance: Collecting and paying occupancy, sales and income taxes correctly.

U

Upselling: Selling paid extras to raise booking value.

V

Vacation rental: A furnished home rented to travelers for short leisure stays.
Virtual tour: A 3D or video walkthrough guests can view online.

W

Welcome guide: House info for guests: Wi-Fi, rules, checkout steps and local tips.

Y

Yield management: Adjusting price and availability to demand to maximize revenue.

Z

Zoning regulations: Rules on where STRs are allowed by district. Often decide whether a non-owner-occupied STR is legal.

Missing a term? Email [email protected]. Run the numbers with the free rental arbitrage calculator.