The first Business Analysis produced 10 main numbers and 49 supporting numbers for Vacation Rental Business. All 59 are measured again every three months against the values dated 30 September 2026.
Gross bookings means the rent guests paid for all 16 homes, before platform fees and lodging tax. Own revenue means what the business itself earned.
How the list works
- The owner reads ten. The main numbers are the scorecard. They appear in the quarterly Business Analysis and the Monday report.
- We track the other 49. The supporting numbers explain why a main number moved. They appear in the quarterly analysis only where they matter.
- Every number has a dated starting value agreed with the owner at the first readout.
- Seasonal numbers are compared with the same months a year earlier. A vacation rental's winter cannot be judged against its summer. Those numbers are marked "seasonal" below.
- No outside "in range" figures are used. There is no benchmark column and no industry average. A home on this coast is not a home on another one. Each number is judged against this business's own dated history and nothing else.
- Each number gets one of three readings every quarter:
- Working: it moved the right way, and the records show our change is the likely reason.
- Watch: it has not moved, or it is too early to tell.
- Adjust: it moved the wrong way, or the change we made is not producing the effect. The approach changes next quarter.
The ten main numbers
| Main number | 30 September 2026 | Better is | Where it comes from | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross bookings, last 12 months | $1,480,000 | Higher | OwnerRez | All |
| Occupancy, last 12 months (seasonal) | 60.7% | Higher | OwnerRez | 2 |
| Average nightly rate, last 12 months (seasonal) | $435 | Higher | OwnerRez | 2 |
| Unsold gap nights, last 12 months | 318 | Lower | OwnerRez and PriceLabs | 2 |
| Inquiries answered within one hour | 42% | Higher | OwnerRez | 1 |
| Inquiries that became a booking (seasonal) | 25.0% | Higher | OwnerRez | 1 |
| Direct bookings, share of gross bookings | 21% | Higher | OwnerRez | 2 |
| Turnovers finished after check in time (seasonal) | 5.5% | Lower | Cleaner scheduling app | 3 |
| Owner statements sent on time | 62% | Higher | OwnerRez | 3 |
| Owner's hours a week on guest messages | 26 | Lower | Owner's estimate | 1 |
Supporting numbers
Answering
| Number | 30 September 2026 | Better is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time to first reply, all inquiries | 1 hour 50 minutes | Lower | OwnerRez |
| Median time to first reply, 8 in the evening to 8 in the morning | 9 hours 20 minutes | Lower | OwnerRez |
| Inquiries arriving 8 in the evening to 8 in the morning | 223 of 620, or 36% | Neither. It is a fact to plan around. | OwnerRez |
| Inquiries never answered | 40 a year | Lower | OwnerRez |
| Share booked when answered within one hour | 35.0% | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Share booked when answered late or never | 21 of 190, or 11% | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Inbound calls missed | 236 of 1,180, or 20% | Lower | Quo |
| New callers never called back | 61 a year | Lower | Quo and OwnerRez |
| Owner's guest messages sent 8 in the evening to 8 in the morning | 1,460 a year | Lower | OwnerRez |
| Guest messages that are one of twelve common questions | 61% | Neither. It shows what can be answered at once. | OwnerRez |
Nights and prices
| Number | 30 September 2026 | Better is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty nights, last 12 months | 2,200 | Lower | OwnerRez |
| Occupancy, summer (seasonal) | 86.0%, and 88.1% a year earlier | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Occupancy, spring and fall (seasonal) | 60.0%, and 63.2% a year earlier | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Occupancy, winter (seasonal) | 42.9%, and 41.5% a year earlier | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Average nightly rate, summer (seasonal) | $560, and $548 a year earlier | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Homes with a gap night rule switched on | 6 of 16 | Higher | PriceLabs |
| Homes with a base price unchanged for 18 months | 9 of 16 | Lower | PriceLabs |
| Average booking value | $1,741 | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Summer nights at homes 1, 6 and 7 booked more than 90 days ahead | 74% | Lower. Too high means the price is too low. | OwnerRez |
Guests and where they book
| Number | 30 September 2026 | Better is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct bookings, share of stays | 170 of 850, or 20% | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Fees paid to Airbnb and Vrbo | $151,256 | Lower | OwnerRez and QuickBooks |
| Stays by a returning guest | 102 of 850, or 12.0% | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Returning guests who booked through a platform | 44 of 102 | Lower | OwnerRez |
| First time guests who returned within two years | 63 of 702, or 9.0% | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Past guests with an email address on file | 1,240 of 2,210 | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Invitations sent to past guests | None | Higher | OwnerRez |
Reviews
| Number | 30 September 2026 | Better is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average review score, all homes | 4.71 | Higher | Airbnb |
| Homes with a score below 4.6 | 3 of 16 | Lower | Airbnb |
| Reviews of four stars or lower, last 12 months | 44 of 382 | Lower | Airbnb and Vrbo |
| Lower reviews that name cleanliness | 19 of 44 | Lower | Airbnb and Vrbo |
| Google reviews and rating | 46 at 4.8 | Higher | Google Business Profile |
Turnovers and maintenance
| Number | 30 September 2026 | Better is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stays that began with a cleaning complaint (seasonal) | 62 of 850, or 7.3% | Lower | OwnerRez |
| Same day turnovers (seasonal) | 323 of 850, or 38% | Neither. It causes late finishes. | OwnerRez and cleaner scheduling app |
| Turnovers with no cleaner assigned 24 hours ahead | 29 a year | Lower | Cleaner scheduling app |
| Turnovers with photos uploaded | 255 of 850, or 30% | Higher | Cleaner scheduling app |
| Refunds and credits to guests (seasonal) | $14,280 a year | Lower | OwnerRez and QuickBooks |
| Maintenance items open | 38 | Lower | Maintenance spreadsheet |
| Maintenance items open more than 30 days | 17 | Lower | Maintenance spreadsheet |
| Guest complaints about an item already logged | 23 a year | Lower | Maintenance spreadsheet and OwnerRez |
Owners and money
| Number | 30 September 2026 | Better is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes managed for owners | 11 | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Owners who left, last 12 months | 2 | Lower | OwnerRez |
| Largest owner's share of commission | 39.2% | Lower | OwnerRez and QuickBooks |
| Owner departures with a recorded reason | None | Higher | OwnerRez |
| Own revenue, last 12 months | $888,450 | Higher | QuickBooks |
| Operating profit before the owner's pay | $93,000, or 10.5% | Higher | QuickBooks |
| Homes that earn less than they cost | 2 of 16 | Lower | QuickBooks and OwnerRez |
| Software cost a year | $14,640 | Lower | QuickBooks |
Records and access
| Number | 30 September 2026 | Better is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office hours a week entering expenses twice | 6 | Lower | Office manager's estimate |
| Working logins held by people who have left | 5 | Lower | Every program |
How the first retest would read
This is an invented example of the main numbers at the first retest, dated 31 December 2026. It matches the sample six month Business Analysis.
| Main number | 30 September | 31 December | Reading | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross bookings, last 12 months | $1,480,000 | $1,498,500 | Watch | One quarter is too short to judge a yearly figure. |
| Occupancy, October to December | 49.3% a year earlier | 53.0% | Working | Gap night rules went on for all 16 homes in October. |
| Average nightly rate, October to December | $371 a year earlier | $370 | Watch | Flat. Gap nights sell below the usual rate. |
| Unsold gap nights, last 12 months | 318 | 291 | Working | 21 gap nights sold under the new rules this quarter. |
| Inquiries answered within one hour | 42% | 93% | Working | 123 of 132 inquiries. The median reply took 4 minutes. |
| Inquiries that became a booking | 25.0% | 24.2% | Adjust | Faster answers did not bring more bookings. 53 of 132 inquiries asked about price, and those still waited for a person. Next quarter: every reply ends with a quote for the dates asked, and price questions are answered within limits the owner sets. |
| Direct bookings, share of gross bookings | 21% | 22% | Watch | The first invitation went to past guests in October. |
| Turnovers finished after check in time | 5.5% | 4.7% | Watch | 10 of 214. Winter is the easy season for this number. |
| Owner statements sent on time | 62% | 100% | Working | 33 of 33. Expenses are entered once. |
| Owner's hours a week on guest messages | 26 | 14 | Working | Owner's estimate. Night messages from the owner fell from about 365 a quarter to 58. |
The "Adjust" row is the most useful part of the retest. It shows the owner what did not work and what changes because of it.