Updated November 2026
The claim
Host Carolina's own homes out-earn comparable homes by 30% or more. That is the number on the home page and the number behind the high end of every range on the revenue check. It deserves a definition, because "above market" can mean almost anything.
What we compare
Revenue, not occupancy. Occupancy alone is a trap: a home at 90% occupancy priced at half the market rate is losing money. Average rate alone is the opposite trap. We compare annual booking revenue, which is the two multiplied, and which is the number that lands in an owner's account.
Including guest-paid cleaning fees, on both sides. Every revenue number an owner sees on this site includes the cleaning fees guests paid, and so do the market figures it is compared with. Comparing a home's rate-only revenue to a market figure that includes cleaning fees, or the other way round, moves the result by several points and is the most common way these comparisons go wrong.
Trailing twelve months. Not a calendar year, not a season. The last twelve months as of the data pull, refreshed when we refresh the market data. A home's December-to-February cannot be compared to a market's June-to-August.
Who we compare it with
Entire-home listings with the same bedroom count, inside the same town boundary. For the High Country towns the boundary is the town itself (Blowing Rock, Boone, Banner Elk, Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain), because a listing ten miles down the mountain is a different product at a different price. For the Charlotte-area markets the boundary is the market area the revenue check uses (Charlotte, Lake Norman, Union County and so on). Bedroom count is the first cut because it is the strongest single driver of revenue and the one guests filter on.
The median, and the percentiles around it. The median is the listing in the middle: half earned more, half earned less. We also keep the 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles, so "above the market" can be placed: a home at the 75th percentile beat three quarters of its comps; a home above the 90th is in the top tenth. The medians by bedroom count for every market are published on the revenue check and the market pages for Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Charlotte and the rest.
Comp sets for specific homes. For our own homes we also track a hand-picked set of five to eight direct competitors, the listings a guest would actually be choosing between, and watch how many of their nights are booked and at what asking price over the next 30 and 90 days. That is what "reviewed daily" means in practice: an owner of the company looks at those sets every day and moves prices.
What "30% above comps" means, precisely
Across our own homes, trailing-twelve-month booking revenue including cleaning fees is at least 30% above the median for entire-home listings with the same bedroom count inside the same market. Some homes are much further above; the 30% is the floor we are comfortable stating. It is the figure the revenue check uses for the high end of a range: the low end is what the market data supports for a home like yours today, and the high end adds 30%.
The caveats, stated plainly
- These are our own homes. The 30% figure is the performance of homes the owners of the company bought, designed, furnished and run. It is not a client portfolio statistic, because the management company is new and the client homes do not yet have twelve months under our management. We say this because a figure that sounds like a client result and is not would be the kind of claim we tell owners to be suspicious of.
- Our homes were chosen and built to perform. Some of the gap is the house: hot tubs, views, design, capacity. The pricing and operations are the rest, and they are what transfer to your home. The revenue check adjusts for amenities and finish so the comparison starts from a home like yours, not from ours.
- Medians move. New supply in a market pushes the median down; a strong season pushes it up. We refresh the data and the medians move with it, which is why every figure carries its data date (currently trailing twelve months to October 2026).
- Small samples. Where a bedroom count in a town has fewer than five listings, we show a dash rather than a number, and the estimator steps down to the nearest size with enough data. A median of two listings is not a median.
- Revenue is before costs. A home that out-earns the median by 30% and spends it on a manager's markups has not gained. The cost side is in operating costs and Is a higher management fee worth it?
How to use this on your own home
- Pull your last twelve months of booking revenue, including cleaning fees, from your platform payouts or your manager's statements.
- Find your town and bedroom count on the median table.
- Divide. Above 1.0 you are beating the median; above about 1.3 you are where our homes sit; below 1.0 you are leaving money on the table and the question is whether it is the house or the operation.
- Run the revenue check on your address for the range a home with your amenities and finish supports.
If you want us to do the comparison for you, send the statements. An owner of the company reads every one.
Questions owners ask
What does it mean that Host Carolina's homes out-earn comps by 30%?
Across the owners' own homes, trailing-twelve-month booking revenue including guest-paid cleaning fees is at least 30% above the median for entire-home listings with the same bedroom count inside the same market. It is the owners' own portfolio, not a client statistic, and the revenue check uses it as the high end of a range.
How is 'the market' defined when comparing a vacation rental?
Entire-home listings with the same bedroom count inside the same town boundary (for the High Country towns) or market area (for the Charlotte area), over the trailing twelve months, with the median and the 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles kept so a home can be placed within the spread.
Is occupancy or revenue the better measure of a vacation rental?
Revenue. Occupancy alone rewards underpricing and average rate alone rewards empty nights. Annual booking revenue is the two multiplied and is what reaches the owner's account.
How do I check whether my rental is beating the market?
Divide your last twelve months of booking revenue including cleaning fees by the median for your town and bedroom count on the revenue check's table. Above 1.0 beats the median; around 1.3 is where Host Carolina's own homes sit.
See what your home should earn
Put in your address and you will see your market range in about a minute, no phone number needed. Or call or text (828) 478-8024 and an owner of the company answers.