Undergrad Junior · Lesson 54 of 66
Building a Real P&L
Every line between gross booking revenue and the money that is actually yours, in order.
5 min read +10 XP
Every line between the number a projection tool shows you and the money that is actually yours. In order, with nothing left out.
Start at the top and go down
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross booking revenue | $72,000 |
| Pass-throughs — never yours | |
| Cleaning fees paid to cleaner (64 × $150) | −$9,600 |
| Collected tax remitted | not income at all |
| Variable costs | |
| Platform fees | −$2,160 |
| Consumables and supplies | −$1,800 |
| Fixed costs | |
| Management or co-hosting | −$3,300 |
| HOA dues | −$4,200 |
| Utilities, internet, cable | −$4,800 |
| Pool, lawn, pest | −$2,400 |
| Repairs + maintenance reserve | −$3,600 |
| STR insurance | −$2,600 |
| Property tax (non-homestead) | −$6,300 |
| Software and listing tools | −$700 |
| Net operating income | ≈ $30,540 |
| Mortgage P&I ($336K @ 7%) | −$26,800 |
| Actual annual cash flow | ≈ $3,740 |
The three categories, and why they matter
Pass-throughs inflate every top-line number you look at and none of it is yours. Cleaning fees and collected tax together can be $16,000 inside a $72,000 “revenue” figure — 22% of the number people quote.
Variable costs scale with bookings. More nights sold means more of these, which is why they belong in your break-even calculation and the fixed ones do not.
Fixed costs happen whether anyone stays or not. They are the number you must cover before you earn anything.
NOI is how you compare two houses honestly, because it ignores how each was financed. Two buyers — one paying cash, one at 20% down — have the same NOI and completely different cash flow.
Got it? Here is the line people delete.
The reserve