What is your Airbnb pricing strategy? Have you ever wondered how to set the right price for your Airbnb throughout different seasons? You need to have a full pricing strategy, and that includes pricing for public holidays. And that also means not every public holiday is the same. Let’s face it – if you have a lot of visitors from outside Australia, you might not target the Queen’s birthday the same way you would for New Year’s.
You can learn how to attract more bookings on Airbnb platform here.
Why Adjust Your Prices?
So why should you have variable prices? It isn’t all just about the money, though if you don’t adjust your prices, you are losing money. Your competitors offer flexible pricing, and so should you.
Understand the common rookie mistakes for an Airbnb host by reading this article: “Top 5 Airbnb Hosting Mistakes”.
Choosing the Dates Wisely
You have a number of ways to choose your pricing strategy. Some things like large special events typically have higher prices due to limited demand. And this is where you need to consider which holidays you want to adjust. Many people make their plans to come for holidays months in advance, so think about what you want to charge far sooner than you might think would be prudent. You can set your calendar for next New Year’s just after the current year ends, for instance. However, keep in mind that your Airbnb is available for booking almost a year in advance.
Have a read about “How to Maximize Occupancy on Airbnb during Slow Season?“.
You don’t want to raise your prices too early, however, because that will price you out of the market. This is really important if you are just getting started with Airbnb so you don’t damage your reputation. If you stay priced too low, you will no doubt have plenty of bookings, but you are losing out on revenue. And, if you are priced too low for the market in general, you can end up with clients who do not treat your property with the respect it deserves. Conversely, if you are lower priced than your competitors, you will likely get a wider variety of people who might want to book your rental unit.
Letting the Airbnb Pricing Tool Help You
Airbnb has come up with a pricing tool that helps you strategize your pricing, which helps you make as much as 40% more income. It uses an algorithm that takes into account what others around you are charging, what hotels are charging, how much occupancy space there is in your area, and when the guest is looking to book – both how far out their stay will be and what season of the year it is.
You should think about at least doubling your rate for peak weeks. This is where the tool helps, because it knows what your other renters are charging.
The tool is just that – a tool. You can and should go through other listings in your area to make sure you are competitive.
Changing a Listing Price in Airbnb
It’s easy to set your prices in Airbnb – just go to “Your Listings”, select “Pricing”. There are multiple features that help you to price accordingly. You can turn on the “Smart Pricing” and Airbnb will adjust your price based on demand in your area. You can also charge weekend prices by going to the “Extra Charges” section. If you believe early birds discount and longer stay discount can attract more bookings, you can easily experiment them under this page.