Long-term rent prefills from Census ACS 2024 5-year table B25031, as of 2024-07-01 (https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25031), when that ZIP and bedroom are in the sample, and from HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rents, as of 2025-10-01 (https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html), when only the FMR sample has that ZIP.
The form opens on these inputs. Change any of them and compare again. Nightly rate $175, occupancy 60%, platform fee 3%, cleaning $120 per stay, average stay 3 nights, short-term management 20%. ZIP 78704 and 2 bedrooms prefill long-term rent at $2,069 from ACS 2024 5-year B25031 (margin of error $136). Vacancy 5%, long-term management 8%, taxes $4,500, insurance $1,800, HOA $0, other $1,200.
Booked nights are 365 times 0.60, or 219. Lodging is 175 times 219, or $38,325. Platform fees are 3% of $38,325, or $1,149.75. Stays are 219 / 3, or 73. Cleaning is 73 times $120, or $8,760. Management is 20% of lodging after fees, or $7,435.05. Short-term income after those items is $20,980.20.
Long-term gross rent is $2,069 times 12, or $24,828. After 5% vacancy it is $23,586.60. After 8% management it is $21,699.67.
Shared costs are $7,500. The short-term remainder is $13,480.20. The long-term remainder is $14,199.67. The long-term remainder is larger by $719.47 on these inputs.
When the ZIP and bedroom count are in the Census ACS 2024 5-year B25031 sample, the monthly rent field fills with that median gross rent. If ACS has no cell and the HUD FY2026 FMR sample has the ZIP, the field fills with that Fair Market Rent and the note says it is the 40th-percentile voucher figure. You can edit the field. A ZIP in neither file stays blank.
Booked nights equal 365 times the occupancy percent you enter. Lodging revenue is the nightly rate times booked nights. Platform fees are that lodging times your fee percent. Stays equal booked nights divided by average nights per stay. Cleaning is stays times the cleaning cost you pay. Management is your management percent times lodging after platform fees. Occupancy and the nightly rate are the numbers you type.
Taxes, insurance, HOA, and other annual costs you enter are subtracted from both sides. Vacancy and long-term management apply only to the long-term side. Platform fees, cleaning, and short-term management apply only to the short-term side.
The comparison uses the monthly rent in the field. Looking up a different ZIP or bedroom count replaces the field with the sample cell. After that, your edits stay until the next lookup.
Look up the same ZIP in the Rent Estimator. Run the long-term case through the Cap Rate Calculator and the Cash Flow Analyzer.
Loan coverage is in the DSCR calculator. The payment schedule is in the amortization calculator.