Hotel break-even calculator: rooms you must sell per night
Find your hotel's break-even point: enter monthly fixed costs, variable cost per occupied room and your average rate, and see how many room-nights — and what occupancy — you need to cover costs. Free, no signup.
Your results
Break-even room-nights / month
474
Break-even rooms / night
15.8
Break-even occupancy
39.5%
With $45,000 in fixed costs and a contribution margin of $95.00 per occupied room, you need 474 room-nights per month — 39.5% occupancy — to cover costs. Everything you sell above that point contributes to profit.
Estimates based on the formulas shown below. Edit the assumptions to match your property.
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The formula
Break-even room-nights = fixed costs ÷ (ADR − variable cost per occupied room). The denominator is the contribution margin: what each sold room contributes to covering payroll, rent, utilities and everything else that doesn't change with occupancy. Dividing by ~30 gives rooms per night; dividing that by your room count gives break-even occupancy.
Using it for decisions
The break-even lens answers practical questions: is a discounted group block above contribution margin? Does staying open in low season cover variable costs? How much does a 10% ADR increase lower your required occupancy? Remember commissions: an OTA booking's effective ADR is 15–25% lower than the posted rate, which raises your true break-even — one more reason the direct mix matters.
FAQ
What counts as a variable cost per room?
Costs that only occur when the room is occupied: housekeeping labor and supplies, laundry, amenities, breakfast if included, utilities attributable to the stay, and payment/commission costs. Typical ranges run $15–40 per occupied room-night for independents, but measure your own.
Is this tool really free?
Yes — every GuruHotel tool is free, with no signup and no usage limit. GuruHotel makes money helping hotels grow commission-free direct bookings, and these tools show you where that opportunity is.