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Kentucky Short-Term Rental Revenue Calculator

Estimate your Airbnb or VRBO revenue using Kentucky market data. Property tax, insurance, and vacancy defaults are pre-filled with current Kentucky averages. Cash-on-cash return separates a profitable STR from an expensive hobby.

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Revenue Assumptions

Investment & Financing

Operating Expenses(Kentucky defaults)

Total Annual Operating Expenses$29,240

Kentucky Market Context

Avg Cap Rate

6.8%

Median Price

$263K

Property Tax

0.72%

Vacancy Rate

6.9%

Local Factors

  • -Louisville and Lexington are the primary rental markets with steady demand
  • -High insurance costs relative to home values due to storm exposure
  • -Affordable entry prices with moderate cash flow potential

How to Analyze a Short-Term Rental

Nightly rate × occupancy determines your top line, but the real story is in what's left after expenses. STRs carry higher operating costs than long-term rentals — cleaning, furnishing, platform fees, utilities, and guest supplies all eat into revenue.

RevPAN (Revenue Per Available Night) accounts for vacancy — it's your gross revenue divided by 365. This metric lets you compare properties regardless of how they're marketed or how stay lengths differ.

Management costs are the biggest variable. Self-managing saves 20–30% but costs you time. Full-service STR management typically runs 20–25% of gross revenue. Factor in your time honestly.

Always stress-test with lower occupancy — markets shift, regulations change, and new supply comes online. A deal that only works at 80% occupancy is a deal that's one bad season from going underwater.

Annual Cash Flow

$-16,458

Negative

Cash-on-Cash Return

-24.3%

Gross Revenue$29,580
Rental Income$16,830
Cleaning Fee Income$12,750
Operating Expenses$29,240
NOI$340
Annual Debt Service$16,798
Monthly Mortgage$1,400
RevPAN$81/night
Monthly Cash Flow$-1,371
Total Cash Invested$67,600
CASH FLOW$-16,458
Cash Flow$0
Mortgage$16,798
Management$5,916
Cleaning$8,500
Platform Fees$887
Property Tax$1,894
Insurance$3,643
Utilities$3,600
Maintenance$3,000
Supplies & Other$1,800

What does this mean?

This STR is losing money at these numbers. Either the nightly rate needs to increase, occupancy needs to improve, or expenses need to come down. Many hosts underestimate cleaning, furnishing, and platform fees.

Want to analyze a full deal with comps, rehab estimates, and flip projections?

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