“My listing brought in €22,000 last year!” The owner who throws this figure at me thinks he’s talking about yield. He’s talking about gross revenue, which is something else entirely. As a holiday-rental manager based on the island, I see projects where the gap between gross income collected and net income kept tops 40%, simply because the costs specific to the French overseas departments (DROM) were never priced in. Calculating Airbnb yield in Martinique properly isn’t about dividing income by a purchase price: it means factoring in the sea tax (octroi de mer) on furniture, freight, hurricane insurance and property management. Here’s the method, line by line, with a worked example.
Why the classic calculation goes wrong in Martinique
Martinique is a French overseas department (DROM) of roughly 360,000 inhabitants, using the euro and French tax rules. On paper, calculating the yield of a furnished rental looks just like mainland France. In practice, three differences throw off any calculation imported straight from the mainland:
- a higher fit-out cost, driven up by the sea tax (octroi de mer) and maritime shipping, which hit furniture that is almost entirely imported;
- heavier recurring expenses (hurricane insurance, air conditioning, accelerated wear from salt and humidity);
- strong seasonality: the dry season, known as the Carême, from December to April, fills well (with Carnival in February–March), while the summer hurricane season hollows out occupancy.
A sound overseas rental yield calculation therefore starts from the same skeleton as elsewhere, but with honest local coefficients.
The step-by-step method for calculating net yield
Forget gross yield (rents ÷ purchase price × 100): it only serves to reassure yourself. Pre-tax net yield is built in three steps.
Step 1: real income, not theoretical income
You never multiply a nightly rate by 365:
Annual income = average nightly rate × nights actually rented (occupancy rate).
A realistic occupancy rate for a Martinique holiday rental sits between 55 and 70% over the year for a well-located, well-managed property, with sharp month-to-month swings. Aiming for 85% “because it’s Martinique” is the first trap.
Step 2: total investment, furnishing included
The denominator isn’t the listed price, but the total acquisition cost: purchase price + notary fees (7 to 8% on existing property) + any renovation + full furnishing, the latter weighing heavier than on the mainland (more on that below).
Step 3: the final formula
The holiday-rental running costs in Martinique (detailed below, overseas extra costs included) then feed into the calculation:
Net yield (%) = (real income − annual costs) ÷ total acquisition cost × 100.
The next step is to go further with the “net-net” yield after tax, which depends on your tax regime (micro-BIC or the actual-expenses LMNP regime): more on that after the example.
The overseas extra costs you absolutely must include
This is the part mainland simulators ignore, and the one that makes the difference to your net.
The sea tax (octroi de mer) on furnishing
The sea tax (octroi de mer) is a levy specific to the overseas territories that hits imported goods. Sofa, bed, washing machine, air conditioning: everything arrives marked up by this tax, already passed on in the prices of local retailers. Furnishing a property therefore costs more than on the mainland for the same equipment. Rough orders of magnitude for a full, rental-grade fit-out:
- Studio / one-room flat: €6,000 to €9,000.
- Two-room flat: €9,000 to €14,000.
- Three-room flat / small villa: €14,000 to €22,000.
This extra cost inflates the denominator of the calculation and lowers the headline yield. Ignoring it means overestimating your yield by 0.3 to 0.6 points from the outset.
Freight and import logistics
If you order furniture unavailable on the island, add maritime freight (container or groupage) and its lead times: 4 to 8 weeks are not unusual. A property unrentable for two months because a piece of furniture is stuck at the port is lost yield. Same logic with maintenance: an imported spare part lengthens downtime in the event of a breakdown.
Hurricane and overseas multi-risk insurance
Martinique lies in the Atlantic hurricane zone. Non-occupant owner (PNO) policies there are 15 to 30% higher than on the mainland, due to the storm-hurricane guarantee. Budget a PNO of €200 to €350/year for a furnished holiday rental, ideally topped up with a loss-of-revenue guarantee should a weather event make the property uninhabitable in peak season. A non-negotiable cost line.
Property management fees
Managing an Airbnb remotely in an overseas department is rarely realistic, if only because of the time difference (−5h in winter, −6h in summer relative to Paris). A full-service property manager generally charges 18 to 25% of rents collected, with cleaning sometimes re-billed to the guest. It’s a cost, but also a revenue driver: better occupancy and better reviews often pay for this line. Our owners page sets out our approach.
Other recurring costs
- Property tax: €800 to €1,600/year depending on the municipality.
- Non-recoverable service charges: €60 to €150/month in a residence with a pool or on-site security.
- Electricity and internet (your responsibility in holiday rental): air conditioning weighs heavily, €90 to €140/month for a two-room flat.
- Air conditioning servicing: €120 to €200/year.
- Wear-and-tear provision: 1% of the property’s value per year; salt and humidity are unforgiving by the sea.
- Tourist tax: collected from the guest and paid over to the municipality; neutral for your net, but something to manage.
Worked example: a two-room flat in Sainte-Anne let as a holiday rental
Take a case representative of the seaside south: a 45 m² air-conditioned two-room flat, 15 minutes from Les Salines, in Sainte-Anne, one of the island’s most sought-after municipalities.
Total investment:
- Purchase price: €215,000.
- Notary fees (≈ 7.5%): €16,100.
- Full furnishing (sea tax included): €12,000.
- Total acquisition cost: €243,100.
Real income:
- Average rate: €135/night (with peaks during the Carême and Carnival, summer lows).
- Realistic occupancy: 62%, i.e. around 226 nights.
- Gross income: around €30,500.
Annual costs:
- Property management 22% (cleaning re-billed to guest): −€6,710.
- Property tax: −€1,300. Non-recoverable service charges: −€1,080.
- Hurricane-loaded PNO: −€300. Electricity + internet: −€1,440.
- Air conditioning servicing: −€180. Wear-and-tear provision (1%): −€2,150.
- Total costs: around −€13,160.
Result:
- Net income before tax: 30,500 − 13,160 = around €17,340.
- Net yield: 17,340 ÷ 243,100 × 100 ≈ 7.1%.
A solid figure, but a long way from the “gross yield” one might have trumpeted (30,500 ÷ 243,100 ≈ 12.5%). Those 5.4 points of difference are the reality of overseas extra costs and operations. Under the actual-expenses LMNP regime, depreciation also often brings tax down to zero for 8 to 12 years, pulling the net-net close to that 7.1%. To position your property among comparable ones, browse our rentals in Martinique.
The levers to improve your net yield
Once the honest calculation is in place, three levers tip the result.
- Dynamic pricing: setting prices around the Carême, Carnival and events (the Tour des Yoles in late July) captures high-rate nights that static listings let slip away.
- Filling the troughs: the hurricane summer can be worked (long stays, regional clientele, adjusted rates). Going from 50 to 62% occupancy is several thousand euros a year.
- Direct booking: platform commissions eat into your margin; developing direct bookings, once the first stay has gone well, improves your net without cutting service.
This is the ecosystem a local team knows, where a calculation done from the mainland stays theoretical. To set your project in the island’s tourism context (the southern beaches, Mount Pelée, the Rum Route), our complete guide to Martinique brings together the essentials.
Calculate, then put your property to work with Hostel Toucan
A net yield isn’t observed, it’s built. At Hostel Toucan, a property management and holiday-rental company established in the French overseas departments, our team lives here, in the right time zone. We set pricing to Martinique’s seasonality, handle check-ins and cleaning, and push direct booking with no platform fees, with free cancellation up to 7 days before arrival and WhatsApp support 7 days a week for your guests, which boosts reviews and therefore occupancy.
If you’re hesitating over a purchase or want to firm up the numbers on an existing property, let’s talk figures with our owners team: we produce a personalized net-yield simulation, overseas extra costs included, municipality by municipality.
FAQ
What is a good net yield for an Airbnb in Martinique?
In a well-run holiday rental, a pre-tax net yield of 5 to 7.5% is a good target in the sought-after municipalities (Sainte-Anne, Les Trois-Îlets, Le Diamant). Be wary of promises above 9% net: they almost always ignore the overseas extra costs or overestimate the occupancy rate. Under the actual-expenses regime, depreciation then pulls the net-net close to the net for several years.
Why are costs higher in Martinique than on the mainland?
Three combined reasons: the sea tax (octroi de mer) and freight push up imported furniture and spare parts; overseas insurance is loaded by 15 to 30% for hurricane risk; the tropical climate accelerates wear and inflates the electricity bill. In total, expect 35 to 45% of gross rents to be absorbed by costs in a managed holiday rental.
Should the sea tax be included in the yield calculation?
Yes, indirectly but clearly. The sea tax isn’t paid as a separate line: it’s already built into the price of the furniture and appliances bought on the island. Because this fit-out cost goes into the total acquisition cost (the denominator of the calculation), it lowers the headline yield by 0.3 to 0.6 points compared with an equivalent mainland project.
Is the occupancy rate really lower in summer in Martinique?
Yes. The dry season, from December to April, concentrates demand, with a peak at Carnival (February–March), while the summer hurricane season hollows out occupancy. A purely “holiday” property then plateaus. The remedy is to work the troughs (longer stays, regional clientele, adjusted rates) to aim for 60 to 65% occupancy smoothed over the year.
