What is a BnBIndex score and how is it calculated?
The BnBIndex score sits at the center of every BnBDetector report. It distills short-term rental activity analysis into a single, easy-to-understand number between 0 and 100, designed to answer one question: how much will short-term rental activity affect your daily life at this address?
How to read the score. The scale is divided into intuitive ranges. Scores in the green zone (0-19, "BnB Free" to "Mostly Residential") indicate minimal short-term rental presence. These are the addresses where you are most likely to find a quiet, stable living environment. The yellow zone (20-39, "Noticeable BnB Activity") signals a moderate presence that may or may not affect you. The orange zone (40-58, "BnB Heavy") means short-term rentals are a large part of the building's character. And the red zone (59-100, "BnB Dominated") warns that the address functions more like a tourist accommodation hub than a residential building.
What goes into the calculation. The BnBIndex is computed using a proprietary algorithm that analyzes multiple data points related to short-term rental activity around the scanned address. The model considers factors such as the number of detected listings, their proximity to the target address, listing types, and other contextual signals. The exact weighting and methodology are proprietary, but the goal is always the same: give you an accurate, at-a-glance understanding of how "residential" a building truly is.
Why a score matters more than a listing count. Raw listing counts are misleading. Five short-term rental listings in a 200-unit high-rise have a very different impact than five listings in a 10-unit walk-up. The BnBIndex accounts for this kind of context, producing a normalized score that is meaningful regardless of building size or neighborhood density.
Every BnBDetector report includes the BnBIndex score alongside supporting details like detected listings, area insights, and more, so you can both see the headline number and dig into the data behind it. It is designed to be the first thing you check when evaluating any address for long-term living.