How Much Does A Cottage Rental Owner Make With 10–23 Units?
You’re not just asking about booking revenue you’re asking what cash can reach the owner In this five-year cottage rental model, EBITDA rises from $56,000 in Year 1 to $1403 million in Year 5, before debt service, income taxes, reserves, and owner distributions
Owner income$56k to $1.4MNet margin10% to 65%Revenue for target pay$537k to $2.14MBusiness difficultyHard
Want to see what drives cottage profit?
1
Occupancy Seasonality
55%-82%
Filling more nights has the biggest effect on EBITDA because fixed costs stay put while each extra booked night adds cash.
2
Nightly Rates
$180-$540
Midweek and weekend pricing sets cash per stay, and the cabin and weekend mix can lift owner income fast without adding rooms.
3
Scale
10-23 units
Growing from 10 to 23 units raises sellable nights and lets revenue scale faster than the fixed cost base.
4
Var Costs
12.5%-15.5%
Cleaning, booking fees, food, and guest services take a smaller or larger bite of each stay, so cost control flows straight to take-home pay.
5
Fixed Load
$464K-$736K
Property taxes, utilities, insurance, staffing, and maintenance set the break-even floor, so overhead growth can erase gains if demand slips.
6
Channel Mix
3.0%-2.5%
Direct bookings and tighter management cut platform fees, which keeps more of each booking in the owner's pocket.
Want to test your cottage income?
Owner income calculator
Estimate owner take-home and target-pay gap from revenue, margin, costs, reserves, and target pay.
!
Planning note: Research-based planning estimate only. Actual owner income depends on occupancy, rates, costs, taxes, debt, and reserves. It is not guaranteed salary, tax advice, or owner distribution advice.
Want to check Cottage's full model?
The dashboard shows revenue, margin, costs, reserves, and owner take-home assumptions; open the Cottage Financial Model Template.
Owner-income model highlights
Occupancy, ADR, revenue, EBITDA
Cash position, payback, IRR
Rooms, rates, capex scenarios
How many nights does a cottage need to be booked to make money?
Cottage makes money when booked nights cover fixed costs, wages, debt service, reserves, and target owner pay, divided by contribution per booked night. In Year 1, 10 units at 55% occupancy equals about 2,008 booked room-nights, and the model hits breakeven in Month 2. Owner pay still depends on cash left after debt and reserves, so if occupancy falls below plan or onboarding takes too long, cash pressure rises fast.
Booked nights math
10 units drive Year 1 volume.
55% occupancy means steady use.
2,008 booked room-nights is the plan.
Breakeven by Month 2 is the target.
Cash pressure
Owner pay comes after debt.
Owner pay comes after reserves.
Below-plan occupancy cuts cash fast.
Slow onboarding makes breakeven less safe.
How much can you make with one cottage rental?
In the Year 1 Cottage model, one cottage can generate about 201 booked nights at 55% occupancy; if $56,000 EBITDA is spread across 10 units, that is about $5,600 per cottage before debt service and owner taxes. Check What Is The Current Customer Satisfaction Level For Cottage? before pushing rates, because one cottage won’t support a full-time salary without strong occupancy, low debt, and tight cost control.
Cottage profit gets squeezed by cash leakage fast: year 1 variable costs assume 70% food and beverage, 15% cleaning supplies, 40% professional cleaning, and 30% booking platform fees, so margins can thin out before owner pay. For setup context, see What Is The Estimated Cost To Open, Start, And Launch Your Cottage Business? Fixed monthly costs add another $9,000 — including $2,500 property taxes, $2,000 utilities, $1,200 insurance, and $1,500 maintenance — and wages are a major load, starting at $95k for a general manager, $75k for a chef, and $48k for a housekeeping lead. Debt service, reserves, and capex still cut owner distributions.
Occupancy drives booked nights, revenue, and cash timing.
Pricing works only when demand and reviews hold.
Year 1 variable costs are modeled at 155% of revenue.
Payroll and channel fees can erase take-home cash.
Compare ramp, base, and mature cottage rental owner income scenarios
Planning assumptions
Owner income shifts with unit count, occupancy, and staffing. Early years look tight, but cash flow improves fast as the property fills and the room mix scales.
Low, base, and high owner income cases for a cottage rental plan.
Scenario
Low CaseOccupancy risk
Base CasePayroll load
High CaseCapex intensity
Launch model
This is the thin cash case: Year 1 runs 10 units at 55% occupancy, with about $537k revenue and $56k EBITDA.
This is the modeled middle case: Year 3 reaches 16 units at 73% occupancy, with about $1.253M revenue and $591k EBITDA.
This is the stronger case: Year 5 reaches 23 units at 82% occupancy, with about $2.144M revenue and $1.403M EBITDA.
Typical setup
The site is still ramping, so reserves, debt service, and core staff keep owner take-home low.
Volume is higher, but staffing and cleaning costs rise too, so owner cash flow is stronger but not free.
The property is mature, but payroll, maintenance, and reserve needs are also highest.
Cost drivers
55% occupancy
10 units
fixed payroll
reserve need
debt service
73% occupancy
16 units
higher staffing
cleaning load
reserve buildup
82% occupancy
23 units
larger payroll
maintenance load
reserve need
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
≈$56k EBITDAReserve need
≈$591k EBITDAStronger cash flow
≈$1.403M EBITDAUpside case
Best fit
Use this to stress-test the opening year and any delayed ramp.
Use this as the main planning case for lender, investor, and owner draw checks.
Use this to test upside if demand stays strong and costs stay controlled.
!
Planning note: These scenario ranges are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distributions.
Cottage Core Six Income Drivers
Occupancy, Available Nights, And Seasonality
Occupancy and Available Nights
Booked room-nights = available units × 365 × occupancy, so this driver hits revenue first and profit right after. With 10 units at 55%, Year 1 is about 2,008 booked room-nights; with 23 units at 82%, Year 5 is about 6,882 booked room-nights. If local short-term rental rules or owner use cut supply, don’t model all 365 nights.
Track Rentable Nights Closely
Seasonality changes staffing, cleaning flow, utilities, and cash timing, so monthly occupancy matters more than an annual average. One weak shoulder season can raise labor and cleaning cost per stay, while a strong peak can fund slower months. The quick test is simple: if booked nights slip, owner draw usually slips too.
Track rentable nights by unit.
Separate peak and off-peak months.
Model legal and owner-use caps.
Match housekeeping to turnover volume.
Variable Operating Cost Control
Variable Operating Cost Control
Each booking brings variable cost, and that cost can eat the owner’s draw fast. In Year 1, these variable assumptions total 155% of revenue across food and beverage, cleaning supplies, professional cleaning, and booking platform fees; by Year 5, they still run at 125%. That means short stays and heavy channel use can leave little or nothing after each guest leaves.
Here’s the quick math: more turnovers mean more cleaning, and every extra platform booking adds fees before cash reaches the owner. Longer stays usually improve contribution margin because one booking spreads cleaning and service cost over more nights. If average stay length drops, cash flow tightens fast, even if occupancy looks strong on paper.
Track cost per booking
Measure cleaning cost per turnover, food and beverage cost per guest night, and booking fee as a percent of revenue. Also track stay length, because short stays raise turnover cost and can push margins down. The key inputs are bookings, average length of stay, revenue per booking, and fee rates.
Recover cleaning costs carefully so conversion does not drop. Test a separate cleaning fee, minimum-stay rules on peak nights, and direct booking share. If platform fees stay high, cash can drain before it reaches the owner. A cleaner mix of longer stays and direct bookings gives the best shot at owner pay.
Watch cost per booked night.
Split short stays from long stays.
Test cleaning fees against conversion.
Push direct bookings when possible.
Nightly Rate And Revenue Per Night
Nightly Rate and Revenue Per Night
ADR means average daily rate, and it only helps if booked nights hold up. For these cottages, Year 1 pricing runs $180 midweek and $250 weekend for studios, $250/$350 for lofts, and $350/$480 for cabins. If the rate climbs but occupancy slips, revenue per available night can fall and owner pay gets weaker.
By Year 5, rates rise to $200/$280 for studios, $280/$390 for lofts, and $390/$540 for cabins. That helps gross revenue only if reviews stay strong and nights stay full. The real metric is revenue per available night, not price alone, because one empty weekend can erase several high-rate bookings.
Track Rate Against Occupancy
Watch ADR × occupancy by unit type and by day of week. If weekend price rises, check whether booked nights drop or review scores soften. Peak pricing should lift cash flow, but overpricing can slow demand and hurt future pricing power.
Track weekday and weekend ADR
Measure revenue per available night
Compare booked nights by unit type
Watch review trends after rate changes
Location, Demand, And Guest Appeal
Location and Guest Appeal
For a cottage stay, location drives both occupancy and pricing power. Rural and semi-rural sites need a clear draw, like lake access, trails, views, privacy, weekend-getaway demand, or event traffic. When those signals show up in photos and reviews, the stay can support higher rates and more booked nights. If access is poor or the guest experience feels thin, a strong rate just turns into vacant nights.
The income impact is not small: add-on revenue in the model rises from $13k in Year 1 to $47k in Year 5 through dining, spa, and events. That only sticks if the site feels worth the trip. One weak review can cut conversion, and lower conversion hits both room revenue and on-site spend, so owner pay falls fast.
Measure the Draw, Then Price It
Track the demand proof that matches your setting: booking pace, weekend share, guest review themes, and attach rate on dining, spa, and events. Here’s the quick math: if the site’s appeal lifts both occupancy and average rate, it also lifts revenue per available night, not just room rate. That’s the number to watch.
Test the features guests pay for most: views, privacy, access, and event-friendly space. Use stronger photos, clearer listing copy, and better arrival instructions to protect conversion. If guests keep asking about road access or noise, fix that first; a bad arrival kills repeat stays and drags down cash flow.
Fixed Costs, Debt, And Reserves
Fixed Costs That Hit Every Month
Monthly fixed costs hit even when bookings slow. This model has $9,000 a month before payroll for taxes, utilities, insurance, software, maintenance, supplies, and professional fees. Year 1 payroll starts at $3555k and rises as front desk, spa, maintenance, and marketing staff grow, so the owner’s pay depends on filling these costs before any draw.
Track Cash Before Owner Pay
EBITDA means operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Keep it separate from debt service, reserves, and owner distributions; otherwise income looks higher than cash. Track monthly fixed cost, payroll, loan payment, and reserve target. With $423M of capex across land, construction, furnishings, kitchen, spa, IT, grounds, and website, the cash waterfall matters more than reported profit.
Management Model And Booking Channels
Booking Model And Channel Mix
Management choice changes take-home income fast. Self-management can save channel fees, but it adds guest replies, pricing updates, turnover coordination, maintenance dispatch, and review work. Hired staff can support 10 to 23 units, but payroll becomes a major fixed cost, so the owner must compare saved fees against added labor before scaling.
Channel mix also moves margin. Booking platform fees start at 30% and fall to 25% in the model, so direct bookings can keep more cash in house. But weak marketing can cut occupancy, and lost nights usually hurt more than fee savings. Service quality matters because good stays protect rate and repeat demand.
Track Fee Savings Versus Lost Nights
Here’s the quick math: every 5-point fee drop from 30% to 25% keeps $5 more of each $100 in booked revenue. That only helps if direct demand holds. Measure occupancy, direct-booking share, response time, review score, and payroll per unit, then test whether the fee savings beat any drop in booked nights.
Keep the operating model tight. If the owner self-manages, set hard rules for message timing, turnover handoff, and maintenance response so service stays consistent. If staff run the units, cap labor against unit count and watch cash flow weekly. One bad month of weak marketing can erase a lot of channel savings.
