Availability

Availability is the number of nights your short-term rental is open to book in a given period. It shapes your occupancy rate, revenue potential and compliance footprint, and can be influenced by host actions (like calendar blocks and minimum stays) as well as state-based regulations and registration requirements.

Definition and scope

In short-term rentals, availability is the count of nights a listing is open to book, excluding nights already booked or blocked by the host. It is the denominator used to calculate occupancy rate, so how you manage availability directly affects performance metrics.

Regulations also set hard limits on availability. In NSW, non-hosted letting is capped at 180 days per year in Greater Sydney and selected regional LGAs, and most of Byron Shire has a 60-night cap from 23 September 2024. NSW also requires STRA registration and a displayed Property ID; booking platforms must refuse or remove unregistered properties, reducing availability to zero until compliant.

What counts as available nights?

Available nights are calendar days when a listing is active and open to book on the platform. Booked nights and host-blocked dates are excluded, as are dates set aside for owner use, maintenance, or compliance holds, and any period when a listing is snoozed or unlisted. Nights that cannot be booked because of minimum-stay rules are treated as unavailable by industry data providers such as AirDNA.

Where caps apply, remaining nights may be visible on your calendar but are not actually available to sell. For example, in NSW non-hosted STRA in Greater Sydney is capped at 180 booked nights per year; once that limit is reached, platforms must prevent further bookings, so the remaining dates cannot be offered.

Availability versus occupancy

Occupancy is typically measured as booked nights divided by available nights, excluding owner or maintenance blocks. Because availability sits in the denominator, reducing open nights can lift occupancy percentage without increasing total booked nights, while expanding availability can soften occupancy if bookings don’t keep pace.

Regulatory caps directly limit availability regardless of demand, setting an upper bound on both occupancy and revenue days. In 2024, industry sources such as AirDNA noted Australia’s supply expanded at a double‑digit pace, and occupancy eased as available nights outpaced booked nights.

Drivers: blocks, minimum stays, caps

Host actions shape availability: calendar blocks, longer minimum stays and snoozing a listing all reduce nights open to book. In NSW, non-hosted STRA is capped at 180 days per year in Greater Sydney and parts of regional NSW, and most of Byron Shire moved to a 60‑night cap from 23 September 2024; hosted stays are exempt. Stays of 21 or more consecutive days are also exempt from the NSW caps, so setting longer minimums can change how your nights are counted.

Compliance can also switch availability off. Platforms integrate with the NSW STRA Register and automatically block calendars for unregistered or non‑compliant listings until safety declarations and registration are current. Western Australia will introduce mandatory state registration from 1 July 2025 and limit unhosted stays in metropolitan Perth to 90 nights per year without approval, with platforms required to prevent bookings where rules are not met.

Australian regulatory limits

NSW caps non‑hosted short‑term rental in Greater Sydney at 180 nights per year, while hosted stays are unrestricted. Byron Shire introduced a 60‑night annual cap for most non‑hosted stays from 23 September 2024, with a 12‑month transition period to assist operators.

Western Australia’s 2024 reforms set a 90‑night annual cap for unhosted short stays in metropolitan Perth unless development approval is obtained, supported by a mandatory statewide registration scheme commencing in 2025. In Tasmania, a principal residence can be let as an entire home for up to 42 nights per year without a permit; above this requires planning approval, and non‑principal residences generally need a permit and may be restricted by zone.

Effects on ADR, RevPAR, and revenue

Caps and calendar blocks reduce sellable nights, placing a ceiling on annual revenue and RevPAR regardless of how high you set your ADR. In Greater Sydney, the 180‑night limit constrains revenue days, while Byron Shire’s 60‑night cap reduces the maximum to roughly 16% of a full‑year calendar, often concentrating earnings into peak, higher‑ADR periods.

Market dynamics matter too. Recent commentary for Australia shows ADR has risen while occupancy softened as available supply expanded; higher availability diluted RevPAR growth even as rates increased. Managing availability strategically—balancing minimum stays, seasonality and compliance—helps protect both occupancy and revenue.

Conclusion

Availability is the foundation of your booking performance: it’s what you’re legally and practically able to sell. Keep registrations current, understand local caps, and use calendar settings thoughtfully to align availability with demand while maintaining compliance.

Thinking about listing your property? Get a free short-term rental income estimate with MadeComfy today.