What is What Is a Long Term Rental? Definition, Meaning, and Key Facts?

A long-term property is leased to a single tenant for 30 days or more typically under a formal agreement with a fixed monthly rate rather than a per-night price.

Don't let the big STR numbers fool you. Your Airbnb earning $150/night at 70% occupancy generates a tempting $3,150/month, completely dwarfing the $1,800 a long-term tenant might pay. But that's not the whole story.

With a long-term lease, you've got zero turnovers, zero cleaning fees, and no gap nights to fill, plus, you aren't paying the $75 monthly pest control contract that STR guests in your area demand. It's a completely different business.

Long Term Rental: Bottom Line Basics

A standard Airbnb listing at $150/night with 75% occupancy generates roughly $3,375/month.

A long-term rental on the same property might bring $1,800–$2,200/month, but that number comes with zero turnover costs, no cleaning fees, and no vacancy gaps between bookings.

That profit spread is where the money gets lost. Let's talk turnovers. At a modest $45 per clean and an average stay of just 3.2 nights, you're running roughly 7 cleans a month for that one property.

That's $315 gone, and it doesn't even count restocking the welcome basket with local coffee or accounting for your own time. Suddenly, the STR net advantage doesn't look so hot.

Visual Breakdown: The Numbers at a Glance

Your Airbnb running at $150/night with 75% occupancy generates roughly $3,375 gross per month, but subtract $540 in cleaning fees, and you're closer to $2,835 net before platform fees.

A long-term rental on the same property at $2,200/month fixed clears that amount with zero turnover cost and near-zero management hours. The gap is smaller than most hosts expect.

Where this comparison breaks down: high-demand markets.

• STR gross (75% occ.)

• STR net after cleaning (12 turns × $45): $2,835/month

• Fixed income: $2,200/month

• STR advantage before platform fees (3–15%): $635/month

When Is The Best Time To Rent Long-Term

Your Airbnb doesn't have to run on one model year-round.

Specific situations where switching makes sense for your property:

• Your market has a hard low season (ski towns, beach markets) where STR demand collapses for 10-14 weeks

• Local regulations cap your STR nights at 90-180 annually, leaving dead calendar blocks

• You're carrying a vacant property during a renovation buffer period

How It Affects Other Metrics

Switching a unit from nightly to extended stays changes your numbers in ways that aren't always obvious. RevPAN drops sharply.

A property earning $150/night at 72% occupancy generates roughly $3,942/month. The same unit on a 12-month extended lease at $1,800/month produces less revenue and zero flexibility to reprice when demand spikes.

Occupancy becomes irrelevant as a performance signal. You're at 100% by definition, but that figure masks whether the rate was set correctly at signing.

ADR comparisons also break down. Extended-stay pricing typically runs 30–45% below equivalent nightly rates, so benchmarking against your Airbnb comps will make a long-term arrangement look underperforming.

Find Your Long Term Rental Fit in Minutes

Run your numbers against real STR benchmarks and see whether a nightly listing earns more for your specific property.

Start Free Trial Try the Calculator

No credit card required · Results in under 2 minutes