In our 2023 example, a Tiny D guest cabin cost about €40,000 installed, including the foundation, crane and delivery. Let at €150 a night for 250 nights a year, with a third of revenue spent on cleaning, maintenance and electricity, it earns about €25,000 a year. The installed cost is covered after about 400 occupied nights. Less than two seasons.

Net income per night = nightly rate × (1 − operating share)
Payback in nights = installed cost ÷ net income per night

With the example figures: €150 × 2/3 = €100 net per night, and €40,000 ÷ €100 = 400 nights.

Installed cost (cabin, foundation, crane and delivery): about €40,000
Nightly rate: €150
Occupied nights per year: 250
Running costs (cleaning, maintenance, electricity): one third of revenue, €50 a night
Net income: €100 a night, €25,000 a year
Payback: 400 nights, about 1.6 seasons at 250 nights a year

Three numbers drive it: the nightly rate, the number of occupied nights and the share of revenue spent on running the cabin. The table keeps the installed cost at €40,000 and running costs at a third of revenue.

€120 a night: pays back after 500 nights. That is 3.3 years at 150 nights a year, 2.5 at 200 and 2.0 at 250.
€150 a night: pays back after 400 nights. That is 2.7 years at 150 nights a year, 2.0 at 200 and 1.6 at 250.
€180 a night: pays back after 333 nights. That is 2.2 years at 150 nights a year, 1.7 at 200 and 1.3 at 250.

Treat 250 nights a year as an example, not a forecast. Use your own booking data or figures for your region. If guests book through a platform, its commission is a running cost too: if your third does not include it, lower the net figure.

Land, permits and site works beyond the foundation; VAT and income tax; financing; furniture and linen; marketing; long-term repairs and depreciation. They weigh differently in every project, so add your own.

1. Find the nightly rate of comparable cabins near your site, for the season you plan to open.
2. Estimate occupied nights from your own bookings or local tourism statistics.
3. List running costs per night: cleaning, linen, electricity, maintenance, booking commissions.
4. Get a delivery and installation quote for your site. The cost depends on distance, access for the truck and crane, and ground conditions.

Send us your site location and the rate you expect, and we will run the numbers with delivery and installation for your site. See Tiny D.