ADR, occupancy rate and RevPAR explained: which figures should you track?

ADR, occupancy rate and RevPAR are the three hotel metrics that are enough to run a short-term rental: average price per night sold, share of nights sold, revenue per available night. RevPAR (ADR × occupancy rate) is the only one of the three that cannot be inflated by cutting the price or by leaving the calendar empty.

ADR, occupancy rate and RevPAR explained: the hotel definitions

All three metrics come from the hotel industry. STR, the reference provider of hotel data (now part of CoStar), defines them in the guide to its STAR report:

• Occupancy: rooms sold divided by rooms available.
• ADR (Average Daily Rate): room revenue divided by rooms sold.
• RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room): room revenue divided by rooms available. STR notes that occupancy times average room rate closely approximates RevPAR.

For a short-term rental apartment or villa, the "room" becomes the whole property and the unit of measure becomes the night. Airbnb data providers use the same formulas, with calculation differences that change the results.

How to calculate ADR, occupancy and RevPAR step by step

A fictional example of a Dubai Marina apartment over a 30-night month. The owner blocks 4 nights for a personal stay. 18 nights are booked. Guests paid AED 15,000 in total, nights and cleaning fees included, excluding platform service fees and taxes.

1. Available nights: 30 nights minus 4 blocked nights, or 26 nights open for rent.
2. ADR: AED 15,000 ÷ 18 booked nights = AED 833.
3. Occupancy, blocked nights excluded: 18 ÷ 26 = 69.2%.
4. Occupancy, blocked nights counted as empty: 18 ÷ 30 = 60%.
5. RevPAR on open nights: AED 15,000 ÷ 26 = AED 577. Check: 833 × 69.2% = AED 577.
6. RevPAR on every night of the month: AED 15,000 ÷ 30 = AED 500. Check: 833 × 60% = AED 500.

The same month, with the same revenue, therefore shows 69% or 60% occupancy, and AED 577 or AED 500 RevPAR, depending on the convention used. Pick one convention, write it down and apply it every month. For an owner who uses the property for several weeks a year, RevPAR calculated on every night of the year is the measure closest to actual income.

Why Airbnb occupancy rate in Dubai ranges from 40% to 69% depending on the source

For Dubai as a whole, AirDNA measures 69% occupancy over the 12 months to end August 2026, and AirROI 39.9% from August 2025 to July 2026. Both sources publish the same formula, with a different denominator:

• AirDNA divides booked nights by active nights. An active night is not blocked, and the listing must have had a reservation in the last 28 days. Host-blocked nights and listings with no recent booking drop out of the calculation.
• AirROI divides booked nights by every night in the period. Nights blocked for personal use or maintenance stay in the denominator, counted as empty.

ADR follows the same logic. AirDNA includes the cleaning fee set by the host and excludes Airbnb service fees: 5 nights at $250 with a $200 cleaning fee give an ADR of $290. On the hotel side, STR excludes taxes from room revenue. Before comparing your ADR with a published figure, check what each one contains.

Published figures by neighbourhood are set out, source by source, in the yield comparison of Marina, JBR and Dubai Harbour.

RevPAR for Dubai short-term rentals: checking that a published figure adds up

The three metrics are linked. A published figure can be checked with one multiplication:

• AirDNA, Dubai city (12 months to end August 2026, 18,902 listings): ADR of AED 654 × 69% = AED 451, the published RevPAR.
• GuestFavorites, Dubai Marina (updated 2 October 2026, 3,787 listings): AED 833 × 69% = AED 575 per available night. Over 365 nights, about AED 209,800, against a published median annual revenue of AED 209,519.
• AirROI, Dubai Marina (August 2025 to July 2026, 24 listings): $252 × 41.1% = $103.6, against a published RevPAR of $112. The published annual revenue, $24,486, comes to $67 per night of the year.

When a source's three figures do not add up, the source has to explain how it averages: mean across listings, median, active nights or calendar nights. Without that, the figure cannot serve as a benchmark for your property. Amounts stay in the currency each source publishes.

RevPAR vs ADR: high occupancy or high nightly rate, which earns more?

Two settings for the same apartment, over a 30-night month with no blocked nights:

Setting A earns AED 600 more gross, with 6 extra nights to service: more check-ins, cleans, linen and wear. The right setting is judged on net revenue, after those costs. RevPAR shows which setting fills the calendar best in value; the cost statement shows which one leaves you better off. The net calculation for a one-bedroom is set out in the net income of a Marina one-bedroom.

RevPAR also guides the price night by night. A night sold cheaper still pays if it would otherwise have stayed empty; a high-demand night sold at the average rate loses RevPAR. That is the principle behind dynamic pricing in Dubai.

Tracking these three metrics across one or several properties

1. Every month: ADR, occupancy rate and RevPAR, with the same convention for blocked nights.
2. The same month last year: in Dubai, seasonality makes a month-on-month comparison misleading.
3. One market benchmark: one source, one period, properties of the same layout.
4. Net revenue next to RevPAR: management fee, platform fees, cleaning, service charges.

With several properties, consolidated RevPAR is calculated on the totals: total portfolio revenue ÷ total available nights. Averaging each property's RevPAR gives a different result as soon as the properties do not have the same number of open nights. RevPAR per property shows which unit is pulling the portfolio down.

What Flatlab does

Since 2019, we have applied hotel methods to 17 properties in Dubai, Nice, Paris and Tunisia. Prices are adjusted in real time based on demand, seasonality, events and local competition. Every owner receives a monthly line-by-line statement and sees their property's detail in the reporting. The fee is 20% all-inclusive, cleaning included, and the mandate can be cancelled with 3 months' notice. Details of our management are on our Dubai management page.

FAQ

How do you calculate RevPAR for an Airbnb?

Divide the period's revenue by the number of available nights, or multiply ADR by the occupancy rate. Both calculations give the same result if they use the same number of available nights.

What is the Airbnb occupancy rate in Dubai?

69% according to AirDNA over the 12 months to end August 2026, with blocked nights excluded, and 39.9% according to AirROI from August 2025 to July 2026, with blocked nights counted as empty. Part of the gap comes from that difference in calculation.

Does ADR include cleaning fees?

At AirDNA, yes: ADR includes the cleaning fee set by the host and excludes Airbnb service fees. In hotels, STR excludes taxes from room revenue. Check each source's definition before comparing.

What is a good RevPAR or occupancy rate for an Airbnb?

No single figure applies to every property. Occupancy alone does not set a target: a lower rate with a higher ADR can earn as much or more. The useful target is a RevPAR above that of comparable properties over the same period, and rising net revenue. As a reference point, AirDNA publishes a RevPAR of AED 451 for Dubai city over the 12 months to end August 2026, all property types combined.

The market figures quoted are measurements published by third parties, as of the date shown. The worked examples are fictional and are not a revenue projection for your property.