Metrics to track when running short-term rental units

The accommodation market is growing: in the first 9 months of 2026, Vietnam received 17.7 million international visitor arrivals, up 14.5% year on year. But the supply of short-term rental units is growing even faster. In this situation, the operators who make a profit are those who read the numbers of each unit correctly, not just total revenue at the end of the month.

The 2025 market picture

According to a report by Airbtics, which tracks public booking calendars on Airbnb:

Area	Occupancy	Average daily rate	Supply growth
Nationwide (9 markets)	45.3%	974,374 VND	+42.8%
Da Nang	64%	1,013,800 VND	+51.9%
Ho Chi Minh City	53%	1,140,525 VND	+37.5%
Hanoi	41%	887,075 VND	+49.6%

Hanoi stands out: supply grew by almost 50% while average revenue per unit fell by about 4.5%. New units entering the market split the guest pool. The figures are estimates from public data, so use them to compare trends, not as absolute numbers.

Six metrics to track for each unit

1. Occupancy rate

Nights sold divided by the nights the unit was available for sale. Calculate it per month and per unit. A unit well below others in the same area usually has a problem with price, photos or reviews.

2. Average daily rate (ADR)

Room revenue divided by nights sold. Track it together with occupancy: cutting the price to raise occupancy only pays off if metric 3 goes up.

3. Revenue per available night (RevPAR)

Room revenue divided by the total number of nights available for sale, or the average daily rate multiplied by occupancy. Example: an average rate of 900,000 VND at 50% occupancy gives a RevPAR of 450,000 VND. This is the fairest metric for comparing units.

4. Revenue after commission by channel

Each sales channel takes a different share: Booking.com usually 10 - 25% (about 15% on average), Agoda about 15%, Airbnb charges hosts about 3 - 15% depending on how the fee is split. At the same rate of 900,000 VND, a night sold through a 15% channel leaves only 765,000 VND. Guests who book directly through Zalo or by phone are the channel with the best margin. The share of returning guests who book directly is worth tracking separately.

5. Turnover time between two stays

From the moment a guest checks out until the unit is cleaned and ready. If this takes long, the unit loses nights on days when guests book at short notice, and cleaners get overloaded on peak days.

6. Cost per occupied night

Power, water, cleaning, laundry and supplies, divided by nights sold. Compare it with the average rate after commission to know the real profit per night. For electricity, separate occupied nights from empty days: power used on empty days is waste you can cut.

Why measure per unit

Total revenue across the portfolio can grow while a few units lose money steadily without anyone noticing. The most common cases:

• Units with a high master lease rent but low occupancy.
• Units sold mainly through high-commission channels.
• Units with abnormal power use from an old air conditioner or guests forgetting to switch it off.

What TingStay does

• A booking calendar for every channel: Zalo guests are created directly, OTA bookings sync in (Channel connections add-on), double bookings are blocked.
• The real status of each unit: whether the guest has left and when cleaning was finished, so turnover time can be measured.
• Power consumption per unit, with occupied and empty days separated.
• The Pro plan includes a profit and loss report per unit: room and service revenue, minus power and water, cleaning and commission costs allocated to the right unit.

Further reading: Saving electricity in rental units: start with air conditioning.