Vacation Rental Encyclopedia

A Vrbo API integration is a connection that allows you to sync your booking software with Vrbo.

Occupancy-based pricing sets multiple price points for the same property or unit depending on how many people stay there. Typically, the more guests you host, the higher your daily rate is.

An Airbnb API integration is a connection that allows you to sync your booking software with Airbnb.

A Booking.com API integration is a connection that allows you to sync your booking software with Booking.com.

Net operating income, or NOI, is a measurement used to determine the potential profitability of a property. It’s a commonly used tool when deciding if it will be beneficial to invest in a specific rental property or not.

The capitalization rate, also known as cap rate, is the rate of return that you can expect to get from a real estate investment property.

Slow tourism emphasizes the travelers' connection to their destination through culture, people, experiences, and intentionality.

HOA stands for homeowner association, which is a group of homeowners within a certain community or neighborhood that makes and enforces rules and regulations for their community.

Home sitting means having non-paying guests (or guests who will pay under-market value) stay in the vacation rental to look after the property and make sure everything is in working order.

The 7-day rule is a general rule of thumb for vacation rental owners trying to keep the deductible losses to zero for their taxes. If a property is rented for an average of 7 days or less then owners will be eligible for tax-deductible losses.

A holiday home that is near or on the beach. Beach houses are typically constructed with materials that are resistant to the sun, salty air and sea.

An online holiday-home marketplace with over 300,000 vacation rentals worldwide. The company is part of the TUI group.

A housing unit that is found in a shared building. Typically there are several units on each floor, but there are also cases in which each floor is occupied by a single apartment.

A term used to define someone who travels with a backpack. Backpackers are often independent travelers who look for low-cost and long-term experiences.

Tools that make it easy to track the performance of your vacation rental business. You can read important statistics, generate reports and analyze your website traffic.

An experienced host who meets criteria such as a 4.8+ overall rating, 10+ stays, <1% cancellation rate and 90% response rate. The benefits of this badge include attracting more guests, increasing revenue and getting access to exclusive rewards.

A program that recognizes listings and hosts for their outstanding service, design, and maintenance. These verified properties receive benefits such as higher visibility to potential guests, an improved reputation and services like professional photography.

Property owners can invest in Airbnb management services to take care of tasks like check-in and check-out, cleaning and guest communication.

A vacation rental refers to private accommodation rented by tourists for a short-term stay. It is often the preferred alternative to a hotel or hostel for many travelers and usually consists of a furnished apartment, house, cottage, cabin or lodge.

The self check-in option on Airbnb allows guests to enter your vacation rental upon arrival without meeting directly with you or your property manager. Self check-in is especially useful if you own multiple properties and can’t be everywhere at once handing out keys, giving tours, or going over house rules.

An online marketplace for vacation rentals and experiences around the world. On this well-known channel, you can list or rent a variety of unique properties such as treehouses or castles.

Per person sharing is the price each guest pays when sharing a room. PPS ensures that the space is not taken advantage of or overcrowded with more guests than is approved by the owner.

A complete online travel agency that provides luxury and budget options for vacation rentals, hotels, flights and airport transportation. This metasearch engine helps guests find the best rates for their holidays.

A payment gateway is a service that allows merchants to accept payments made by credit card. The term refers to both the card-reader devices we see in retail stores and the payment processing portals used in online stores.

A short-term vacation rental marketplace that allows hosts to rent out their properties while travelers get to choose from affordable rentals around the world.

The Minimum Length of Stay is a policy that is normally used during a period of high demand after a period of low demand.

A tourist board is an official organization that encourages travelers to visit their city, country, or region. They provide information about the area, including transportation, popular attractions, and where to stay.

Yield management is the process of making frequent adjustments in the price of a product in response to specific market factors, such as demand or competition. Businesses use yield management in the travel industry as a pricing strategy.

Shoulder season is the months between the peak season, usually during the summer months, and the offseason in the winter.

RevPAR is a measurement made to calculate the overall performance of your rental properties using the metric system. It works to assess the availability of rentals and the average rate at which they are filled.

An Online Travel Agency is a web-based marketplace designed to help travelers research and plan their vacations. The top OTAs for vacation rentals include Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and Expedia, among others.

Similar to a welcome app, but a physical book for the guests to hold. In a welcome book, hosts can compile all important information into one place, helping to reduce questions from guests while reinforcing their impression of you as an organized owner.

Also known as "bank transfer". Payment method whereby one party (i.e. the guest) sends money to the other (the host) directly via their bank account.

XML is a format for structuring data in communication between systems.

Introduces guests to your property, even when you can’t be there in person. The welcome letter has one main purpose: to give guests a personal, warm reception to your home.

A website or mobile app that is designed to enrich the guest experience. It will provide guests with everything they need to know before and during their stay. In some cases, guests can chat with the host via the digital welcome app, as well as book local activities or add-ons.

The VRMA, or the Vacation Rental Management Association, is an association that caters to vacation rental management companies and professionals in the industry. They aim to promote and advance the vacation rental management industry through education, advocacy, and professional development.

Pricing strategy where you add different rates per night for Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

An online software that builds a website based on the information users have provided.

A pre-designed webpage (or set of webpages) that anyone can use to easily create their own website (even without any design or programming skills).

A set of related webpages located under a specific domain name.

Additional amenities that could increase the occupancy level of a property. For example, high chairs, hot tubs, pool tables, and sofa beds are all value-added items.

A fee that is charged by a vacation rental management company to the owner of the rental. This is usually a percentage of the rental revenue rather than a specific amount.

See guest fee.

Preferred term in Europe, villa rental or villa holiday refers to detached houses in warm climates.

The term vacation rental management refers to the process of renting out properties for short-term vacation stays. This encompasses a variety of activities such as bookings, guest communication, cleaning, maintenance, and marketing to potential clients.

A cloud-based program that allows you to build a website, accept direct bookings with online payments, connect to key third-party distribution sites and manage all your reservations and guest communications from one place.

The arrangement whereby several joint owners have the right to use a property as a holiday home under a time-sharing scheme. Most often this is limited to one or two weeks per year.

An industry term to refer to potential guests.

Websites and companies that show information for a vacation rental. Examples of this include tripping.com and tripping.com’s partner sites, such as Vrbo and HomeAway.

A property which takes on certain motifs either in the entire property or some rooms. For example, depending on the target guests this may be location-based themes like mountain or beach or popular tv shows and Disney movies. Themed properties are rising in popularity and can make a vacation rental stand out from the competition by providing a magical experience.

Tools to simplify the distribution and monitoring of tasks.

Contribution to a venture in labor rather than funding.

Term on Airbnb for experienced hosts who provide a leading example for other hosts and extraordinary experiences for their guests.

Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.

Is evidence that other people have purchased and found value in a product or service offered by a business. In the case of vacation rentals, social proof can be found in the form of reviews from past guests, social media posts from them, social shares, or even badges showing media mentions in local or national newspapers, blogs and other publications.

Significantly Not As Described – a term used in disputes for properties that do not look anything like they appeared online.

A property equipped with smart home devices and can be remotely managed.

An accommodation for one family.

Properties and accommodations that are rented to guests for a short period of time.

The term used to describe the industry that uses non-traditional peer-to-peer business models.

A serviced apartment is a type of accommodation that combines a hotel's amenities with the space and privacy of a traditional apartment. They are typically furnished and equipped with a kitchen and other home-like amenities, such as a living room and bedroom.

An amount of money (usually equivalent to one night’s stay) collected at the time of booking which validates the rental contract. The purpose of the advance deposit is to guarantee a reservation, and the full amount is applied to the guest’s bill upon check-out.

Final price displayed to the guest, including all fees.

Self-catering accommodation is a type of vacation rental that provides guests with the necessary kitchen and cooking facilities to prepare their meals. This accommodation type can take many forms, such as a vacation rental home, apartment, villa, cottage, cabin, or even a houseboat.

See damage deposit.

A precautionary action taken by property owners wishing to escape loss and fraud.

Increased lodging costs during popular times to travel. Rates are typically higher because the particular destination is desirable. Often, this is because of the climate, attractions, or events that are happening in the area.

A fraudulent scheme to gain money. As the industry grows, scams are becoming more and more popular. Warning signs to look out for are: a lack of basic language skills, strange email addresses, unwillingness to pay via your preferred method, last-minute or same-day bookings, and uncertainty or too much flexibility on travel dates.

Most states in the US require people who rent out their vacation homes to charge and collect state sales or lodging taxes on the income they earn from these short-term rentals. These taxes are collected by the state, county and/or city, and like all sales taxes, they are paid by the guest, not the host.

Different categories of rooms are available at a property or properties. Images and descriptions of main features and amenities applying to each room category will usually be included on the property website and across its distribution channels. Prices tend to vary for different room types.

Feedback from previous guests about a property. Reviews are a powerful tool for attracting new bookings and encouraging loyal guests.

Also known as “income”. It’s the total amount of money generated.

The use of analytics to track a vacation rental (or group of rentals) and their performance over time. This helps the owner or distribution channel to maximize revenue and growth.

A performance measure used to evaluate the profitability of the company based on the amount of revenue generated. It compares the amount of net income generated for each dollar of revenue.

A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment (or compare the efficiency of a number of different investments). To calculate the ROI of a vacation rental, the benefit (or return) of the property is divided by the cost of the property.

Message sent from the vacation rental owner or property manager to guests to verify that the booking was made successfully.

The process of identifying what other people are saying about your business and taking steps to make sure that the general opinion is in line with your company goals.

Also known as “booking”. It refers to the lease of a property for a given period of time.

Business performance data presented in an organized and comprehensible format.

Loyal guests who return to a property after having stayed there previously.

A legally binding document between homeowner and guest which clarifies in writing any arrangements that have been made between the two parties, including house rules and repercussions if broken.

Also known as “Preparation Time Before Arrival (PTBA)”. The minimum number of days in advance a booking has to be made, e.g minimum of two days before arrival. This allows property managers to gain better control of last-minute bookings and gives them time to prepare for the guest’s arrival.

Location-specific restrictions that are applicable to short-term rentals with respect to the total amount of days they rent out each year and other requirements.

A reservation or booking that qualifies for a refund under specific circumstances.

Property consisting of land or buildings.

A sum of money beyond the total rental rate which covers the stay of any pet and costs associated with it (i.e. cleaning). Pet fees are non-refundable, but pet deposits should be refunded if no damage has incurred during the stay.

A reservation that was made due to a recommendation from another guest.

The official or advertised price of a room or property per night, on which a discount is usually negotiable.

The price for a reservation offered to a potential guest and customer.

A legal agreement between a property and an OTA, providing the same rates for the same room on all the distribution channels – including the property website.

Specified hours during which guests are expected to keep noise to a minimum at a vacation rental or short-term rental property.

A request from a prospective guest asking for more information about a listing or vacation rental business.

A rate that the guest must qualify for, such as a corporate rate or a promotional package rate with specific booking conditions.

A specialist employed to execute real estate management for long-term or short-term rental housing.

Software that facilitates the management of rental properties. this includes reservations and booking calendar, guest communication, rates, listings on other channels, property information, and more.

The total amount of expenses involved in managing a rental property.

A legally binding document between a property manager and property owner which clarifies in writing any arrangements that have been made between the two parties, including house rules and repercussions if broken.

A group of vacation rental properties that have very similar qualities and amenities. Often, rental managers will price these properties together.

A vacation rental or short-term rental home.