The mistake most owners make
They compare a nightly rate times 30 to a monthly rent. $55 a night is $1,650 a month, so a $750 monthly guest looks like a loss. Often it isn't. That math assumes you fill every night of the month, and it ignores what each stay costs you to turn over.
The honest comparison is net per site per year: what the site brings in under each plan, minus the costs that change with the guest type.
What goes into the comparison
- Season. A Southeast mountain or lake park can be full June through October and quiet the rest of the year. Peak and off-season occupancy are separate inputs for that reason.
- Turnover. Every nightly stay means a check-in, a site check, sometimes a cleaning, plus booking commissions and card fees. A monthly guest checks in once.
- Electric. Nightly rates usually include power. Monthly sites often do too, and a monthly guest running heat in January can eat a big share of the rent.
- Gaps. Monthly sites sit empty between guests too. Enter how many months a year a monthly site is actually rented.
Why the hybrid usually wins
For a seasonal park, the strongest answer is often neither. Run the site nightly while demand is there, then fill it with a monthly guest when nightly occupancy falls off. You keep peak-season rates and stop carrying empty sites through the winter. The calculator shows all three side by side.
The break-even rent tells you the floor: what a full-year monthly guest has to pay to match that site's nightly net. Price at or above it, then check what parks within 20 minutes charge.
What this does to your park's value
A buyer capitalizes NOI. If converting 10 sites adds $20,000 a year of NOI, that's about $222,000 of value at a 9% cap. Steady monthly income also helps with lenders, who look hard at seasonal cash flow. Check your debt coverage.
Before you convert sites
Check zoning for limits on how long an RV can stay, check whether long-term occupancy changes your septic or health permits, use a written month-to-month agreement, and talk to a local attorney about tenant rights in your state. More on running monthly sites.
Guest mix is one of the first things we look at in an NOI Audit. It costs nothing to change and it shows up in NOI within a season.
Questions owners ask
Is it better to rent RV sites monthly or nightly?
It depends on how full your nightly sites really are, month by month. A site that's 80% full all summer and empty all winter usually earns the most as nightly in season and monthly off-season. A site that sits half empty most of the year often earns more as a monthly. Run your own occupancy, not a rule of thumb.
How much should I charge for a monthly RV site?
Start from what the site nets you as a nightly, then work back. The calculator shows the break-even monthly rent: the rent at which a full-year monthly guest nets the same as running that site nightly. Price at or above it, then check what parks within 20 minutes charge.
Why does the calculator subtract turnover costs from nightly revenue?
Because every nightly stay costs you something: check-in time, cleaning, card fees, booking commissions, wear on the pad. A monthly guest checks in once. Owners who compare nightly gross to monthly rent overstate nightly every time.
Should monthly sites include electric?
Not if you can help it. A monthly guest running heat or air on your meter can eat a big share of the rent in January and July. Enter what you absorb per month and see what it does to the answer, then look at the sub-metering calculator.
Are there legal issues with long-term RV guests?
Possibly. Some counties cap RV stays, long-term occupancy can change septic or health permit requirements, and long stays can create tenant rights in some states. Check your zoning and talk to a local attorney before converting sites.
Keep going
- RV Park Sub-Metering Payback Calculator
- Three levers that raise NOI
- RV Park NOI & Expense Ratio Calculator
- RV Park Valuation Calculator
Cap rate options: Newmark Valuation & Advisory North American Market Survey, 1Q 2026. Every other number is yours. Estimates only, not legal or tax advice.