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Vacation Rental Seasonality Reserve Calculator

Vacation rentals need liquidity for off-season gaps.

$
$
$

Reserve required

$10,400

Off-season monthly deficit

$2,000

Total off-season deficit

$8,000

How the math works

Monthly deficit = expenses − off-season revenue. Reserve = deficit × months × 1.3 buffer.

$5.5k − $3.5k = $2k deficit × 4 = $8k × 1.3 = $10.4k reserve required.

How to Use

  1. Enter peak month revenue.
  2. Enter off-season month revenue.
  3. Enter fixed monthly expenses.
  4. Enter off-season months.
  5. Read reserve required.

Frequently Asked Questions

Reserve sizing?

3-6 months of expenses standard. For seasonal rentals, sum off-season deficit + 1-2 buffer months. Beach: need 4-6 months. Ski: need 6-8 months. Urban: 2-3 months typical. Match seasonality intensity.

Where to hold?

Money market account (0.1-0.5% liquid). High-yield savings (4-5% 2024). Short-term CDs for portion (2-6 month). Don't invest in stock market (volatility). Liquidity > yield for reserves.

Reserve discipline?

Fund reserves during peak season. Don't dip except for emergencies. Rebuild post-emergency. Review annually based on actual seasonality. Under-funded reserves cause mortgage stress in off-season.

What does competitive benchmarking look like?

Pull 3-5 comparable properties or units in your submarket from CoStar, Yardi, CIM, or your local broker. Normalize by unit type, class, and age. Your outputs should fall within one standard deviation of the comp-set mean. Outliers are either opportunities or warning signs — dig into why. Monthly benchmarking keeps your portfolio on-market and pricing sharp.

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