Short-Term Rental Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the short-term rental, hosting, and property management terms that matter to Airbnb and VRBO operators.
- Average Daily Rate (ADR)
- The average revenue earned per booked night, before fees — a key indicator of pricing performance.
- Channel Fees
- The commissions and service fees an OTA charges hosts (and guests) for each booking made through its platform.
- Channel Manager
- Software that syncs a listing's calendar, rates, and availability across multiple booking platforms to prevent double bookings.
- Cleaning Fee
- A one-time charge added to a booking to cover the cost of preparing the property between guests.
- Co-Hosting
- An arrangement where a second person helps manage a short-term rental — handling guests, cleaning, or logistics — often for a share of revenue.
- Damage Waiver
- A small non-refundable fee guests pay in place of a deposit, covering accidental damage up to a set limit.
- Direct Booking
- A reservation made directly with the operator — through their own website or repeat guest relationship — rather than through an OTA.
- Dynamic Pricing
- Automatically adjusting nightly rates based on demand, seasonality, events, and competition to maximize revenue and occupancy.
- Gap Night
- A single empty night (or short run) stranded between two bookings, too short to sell under the usual minimum stay.
- Guest Communication Automation
- Using software to send timely, accurate messages to guests — answers, check-in details, and updates — without a human typing each one.
- Guest Screening
- Vetting prospective guests — through verification, reviews, and pre-booking questions — to reduce the risk of problem stays.
- Instant Book
- A booking setting that lets guests reserve immediately without waiting for host approval of each request.
- Listing Optimization
- Improving a property's title, photos, description, and reviews so it ranks well and converts browsers into bookings.
- Minimum Night Stay
- The fewest nights a guest must book to reserve a property, used to balance occupancy against turnover costs.
- Occupancy Rate
- The share of available nights that are actually booked over a period — a core measure of how well a listing fills its calendar.
- Online Travel Agency (OTA)
- A platform like Airbnb, VRBO, or Booking.com where travelers discover and book accommodations.
- Property Management System (PMS)
- The central software hub a rental operator uses to manage reservations, guests, payments, and day-to-day operations.
- Revenue Per Available Night (RevPAR)
- A blended performance metric that combines occupancy and nightly rate into a single revenue-per-available-night figure.
- Security Deposit
- A held or authorized sum that covers potential damage during a stay, refunded or released once the property is confirmed intact.
- Self Check-In
- Letting guests access a property on their own — via smart lock, lockbox, or keypad — without meeting a host in person.
- Short-Term Rental (STR)
- A furnished property rented to guests for short stays — typically under 30 nights — through platforms like Airbnb and VRBO.
- Smart Home Technology
- Connected devices — locks, thermostats, sensors, cameras — that automate access, comfort, and monitoring in a rental.
- Superhost
- An Airbnb recognition tier for hosts who consistently meet high standards for rating, response, reliability, and experience.
- Turnover
- The full reset between a checkout and the next check-in — cleaning, restocking, and inspecting the property.
- Upselling
- Offering guests paid extras — early check-in, mid-stay cleans, experiences — to lift revenue per stay beyond the nightly rate.