Short-Term Rental Glossary for New England Homeowners

A

ADR (Average Daily Rate)

Your rental income divided by the number of nights booked. If you earned $6,000 from 20 booked nights, your ADR is $300. See occupancy, ADR and RevPAR.

AirCover for Hosts

Airbnb's free, built-in host protection. As of October 2026, Airbnb lists up to $3 million in damage protection and $1 million in liability insurance, with exclusions. It covers Airbnb bookings only and does not replace your own policy.

B

Base Price

The nightly rate you start from before seasonal changes, discounts or a pricing tool adjust it.

Blocked Dates

Nights you close on the calendar for owner stays, repairs or opening the lake house.

Break-Even Occupancy

The share of nights you must book to cover your costs: fixed costs divided by (nightly rate minus per-night variable costs), then by nights available.

C

Cancellation Policy

What a guest gets back if they cancel. On Airbnb, choices for stays under 28 nights include Flexible, Moderate, Limited and Firm (Strict and Super strict by invitation), with separate policies for 28 nights or more.

Channel Manager

Software that syncs one property's calendar, prices and bookings across sites such as Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com, so no night is sold twice.

Cleaning Fee

A one-time charge per booking for the turnover clean. A high one makes short stays look expensive.

Co-host

A person the listing owner adds to an Airbnb listing to help run it. The owner chooses their permission level (full access, calendar and messaging, or calendar only) and sets their payout. Airbnb allows up to 10 co-hosts per listing. Read more on our co-hosting page.

Co-Host Network

Airbnb's directory, available in the United States, where owners can search for local co-hosts offering full or custom support.

Co-Host Payout

The share of booking earnings a co-host receives through Airbnb. The owner picks one of four options: the cleaning fee, the cleaning fee plus a percentage, a percentage, or a fixed amount per booking.

Community Impact Fee

In Massachusetts, an optional local fee of up to 3% that cities and towns can add for short-term rentals only, on certain types of property, such as one of two or more units in the same town with the same operator, or an owner-occupied 2 or 3 family house.

Comps (Comparable Listings)

Nearby listings similar to yours in size, sleeps and amenities, the starting point for any honest revenue estimate.

D

Direct Booking

A reservation made with you, not through a platform. Platform tax collection and AirCover do not cover it.

Dynamic Pricing

Changing nightly rates with demand, season, day of week and local events. Tools such as Airbnb Smart Pricing and PriceLabs automate it. See seasonal pricing.

F

Form 1099-K

An IRS information return that payment platforms file. As of October 2026, the IRS says third-party settlement organizations must report when your payments for goods or services exceed $20,000 in more than 200 transactions.

Fourteen-Day Rule

The IRS rule for a home you also use personally: if you rent it for fewer than 15 days in the year, you do not report the rent as income and do not deduct rental expenses. Details in Airbnb tax basics.

G

Guest Service Fee

On Airbnb's split-fee structure, the part of the platform fee the guest pays at booking. Airbnb says it is phasing split fees out in favor of a single host-only fee.

H

Host-Only Fee (Single Fee)

Airbnb's fee structure where the host pays the whole service fee. As of October 2026, Airbnb says most hosts on it pay 15.5%, and it is mandatory for most hosts, including those using property management software.

House Rules

The rules guests agree to when they book: maximum guests, pets, parties, quiet hours, parking, check-in and check-out.

I

Instant Book

An Airbnb setting that lets guests book immediately without sending you a request for approval.

Intermediary

In Massachusetts tax terms, a platform, broker or other agent that collects rent for an operator. Since July 1, 2019, intermediaries must file and pay room occupancy excise to the Department of Revenue.

L

Length of Stay

The number of nights in a booking. The average matters for federal tax treatment (see seven-day rule).

Listing Owner

The account that owns an Airbnb listing. Only the listing owner can set up or edit co-host payouts, and co-hosts cannot see the owner's payout method or taxpayer information.

Local Option Tax

An extra tax a town can choose to add. In Massachusetts it sits on top of the 5.7% state room occupancy excise; in Vermont some towns add a 1% local option rooms tax.

M

Meals and Rooms Tax

The tax on lodging in New Hampshire and Vermont. In New Hampshire it is the Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax, which Airbnb collects at 8.5% on NH reservations of 184 nights and shorter. In Vermont the rooms tax is 9%.

Mid-Term Rental

A furnished stay of about 30 nights or more, often for travel nurses or relocations. Read mid-term rentals in New England.

Minimum Stay

The fewest nights a guest can book, often raised for holidays and lowered midweek.

Monthly Stay

On Airbnb, a reservation of 28 or more consecutive nights, which uses its own long-term cancellation policies.

O

Occupancy Rate

Booked nights divided by available nights. On its own it misleads: a cheap rate fills the calendar without earning more.

Operator

In New Hampshire law, anyone operating a hotel, charging for a taxable meal, or receiving gross rental receipts. Short-term rental owners usually fit this definition.

Operator License

In New Hampshire, the Meals and Rooms license. State law says no person shall rent rooms without first obtaining it, even if a platform collects tax on some of your bookings.

Orphan Night

A single open night between two bookings that your minimum stay makes unsellable.

Owner Stay

Time you or your family use the house yourselves. Owner stays count as personal use days for federal tax purposes.

P

Passive Activity

An IRS category for most rental activities, with limits on deducting losses. A short average stay can take a rental out of this category (see seven-day rule).

Personal Use Days

Days the home is used by you, or by anyone who does not pay a fair rental price (family use has its own rules in IRS Publication 527). A home counts as a residence for tax purposes if personal use exceeds the greater of 14 days or 10% of the days it is rented.

Platform Service Fee

The fee a booking site charges per reservation, taken from your payout, the guest's total or both.

R

Response Rate

The share of guest messages and booking requests you answer within 24 hours.

RevPAR (Revenue per Available Night)

Rental revenue divided by all nights available, booked or not. It combines occupancy and ADR into one number.

Room Occupancy Excise

The Massachusetts tax on lodging: 5.7% state rate on short-term rentals of 31 days or less, plus local options. All operators and intermediaries must register with DOR on MassTaxConnect.

Rooms Tax

A general term for a lodging tax collected from guests. Each state runs its own.

S

Schedule C vs Schedule E

The two IRS forms rental income usually goes on. Schedule E is the usual form for rental income; Schedule C applies when you provide substantial services to guests, as described in IRS Publication 527.

Seven-Day Rule

Under IRS passive activity rules, an activity is not a rental activity if the average period of customer use is 7 days or less, which changes how losses are treated.

Short-Term Rental

Defined differently in each place. New Hampshire law uses less than 185 consecutive days; Massachusetts tax applies to 31 days or less; Vermont's surcharge uses fewer than 30 consecutive days. Your town's zoning may define it differently again.

Short-Term Rental Surcharge

Vermont's 3% charge on short-term rental rents collected on or after August 1, 2024, on top of the 9% rooms tax.

Smart Pricing

Airbnb's built-in tool that adjusts your nightly price based on demand, within a minimum and maximum you set.

Split Fee

Airbnb's older fee structure where host and guest share the service fee. Airbnb says most hosts on it pay 3% and that it is being phased out.

T

Turnover

Everything between one guest leaving and the next arriving: cleaning, laundry, restocking and inspection. Ski-season Saturdays are the hardest.

Z

Zoning

Your town's rules on how land and buildings may be used. In New England, zoning is usually where short-term rental limits live, so start with the permits and licenses overview.

Putting the Terms to Work

If you would rather someone else handle pricing, turnovers and guest messaging, New England Host Co manages short-term rentals in southern and central New Hampshire, central Massachusetts and southern Vermont. For the bigger picture, start with Renting Out Your Home on Airbnb in New England.

FAQ

What Is the Difference Between ADR and RevPAR?

ADR divides revenue by booked nights; RevPAR divides it by all available nights, so it shows whether a high rate is costing you empty nights.

Is AirCover the Same as Insurance?

No. AirCover for Hosts includes damage protection and liability insurance for Airbnb bookings, with limits and exclusions. It does not replace a homeowners or short-term rental policy.

Do I Need an Operator License If Airbnb Collects New Hampshire Tax?

New Hampshire law requires anyone renting rooms to obtain a Meals and Rooms license first. Confirm your situation with the NH Department of Revenue Administration.