How to Calculate Break-Even Occupancy on an SA Deal
Step-by-step: turn rent, bills and nightly rate into break-even nights and break-even occupancy, and learn what a safe number looks like.
Break-even occupancy is the single most honest measure of an SA deal. It answers one question: how full does this property have to be before you earn a penny?
Step 1 — Total your monthly costs
Add up everything that leaves your account each month whether or not a guest stays:
- Landlord rent
- Utilities (gas, electric, water)
- Council tax or business rates
- Broadband and TV licence
- Insurance
- Management or co-hosting fee
- Laundry, cleaning and consumables budget
Step 2 — Work out your nightly net revenue
Take your realistic average nightly rate and remove the platform's percentage fee. If your nightly rate is £110 and the platform takes 15%, your nightly net revenue is £93.50. Use the rate you will actually achieve across the year, not your best summer weekend.
Step 3 — Divide
Break-even nights = total monthly costs ÷ nightly net revenue.
If your costs are £2,100 and your nightly net revenue is £93.50, you need 22.5 nights a month. Across a 30-day month that is a break-even occupancy of 75% — too high. That deal needs either a lower rent, lower bills or a higher achievable rate before it is safe.
What a good number looks like
- Under 45% — strong deal with real cushion.
- 45% to 55% — workable, watch your costs.
- Over 60% — fragile; one quiet quarter wipes out the year.
Use it as a negotiating tool
Break-even occupancy converts straight into a maximum rent. Decide the occupancy you are willing to break even at — 50% is the standard benchmark — and work backwards to the highest rent that still hits it. That figure is your ceiling with the landlord, and you should walk if you cannot get there.