What a Bali Villa Really Earns: Yield, Occupancy and Running Costs

Almost every Bali listing quotes a yield. Almost none of them say what was subtracted to get there. The gap between the advertised figure and what actually reaches an owner's account is usually the difference between a good investment and an average one — and it is entirely knowable in advance.

This is the arithmetic we run for clients before an offer, and the questions worth asking of any yield you are shown.

Start with occupancy, not with rate

A nightly rate is an aspiration; occupancy is the constraint. Bali's high season (roughly July–August and the December holidays) fills easily, and the shoulder months do not. An annual average is the only figure worth modelling, and it should come from the property's own booking history where one exists — not from what similar villas claim.

If a projection assumes a rate the villa has never achieved at an occupancy it has never held, it is not a projection. Ask for the last twelve months of actual bookings, and treat a refusal as an answer.

What comes out of gross revenue

• Platform commission: Airbnb, Booking.com and the OTAs take a percentage of every booking.
• Management: a professional villa manager typically takes a share of revenue, and the cheap ones cost more in the end.
• Staff: villa staff, gardener, pool maintenance — recurring whether or not the villa is booked.
• Utilities and consumables: electricity is the big one, for air conditioning and pool pumps.
• Maintenance and refresh: Bali's climate is hard on buildings; budget for annual upkeep and a periodic refurbishment, not just repairs.
• Tax: rental income carries a final withholding tax (see our taxes guide), and it applies to gross rent.

The number that actually matters

Net yield is revenue after all of the above, divided by total acquisition cost — and total acquisition cost includes transfer tax, notary, legal review, and any furnishing or works needed before the first guest arrives, not just the headline price.

Run the same calculation on two properties and the ranking often reverses. A villa with a lower nightly rate, lower staffing needs and a manager who fills the shoulder season frequently beats a more glamorous one that sits empty for four months a year.

Leasehold changes the maths entirely

On a leasehold villa, part of what looks like yield is really the return of your own capital: the asset is worth less every year, and worth nothing at the end of the term unless the extension is exercised. A leasehold yield should always be read alongside the remaining years and the extension terms.

The honest comparison is against the price per remaining year, and against what you would need to earn annually to recover the purchase before the lease runs out. Our ROI calculator does this both ways — amortising a lease, or carrying freehold appreciation.

Questions to ask before you believe a yield

• What occupancy is this based on, and over what period?
• Is the figure gross or net, and net of exactly what?
• Does it include management, staff, utilities, and maintenance?
• Is tax deducted, and at which rate?
• Does the acquisition cost include transfer tax, notary, legal, and furnishing?
• For leasehold: how many years remain, and what does the extension clause actually say?