Short Term Rental Pricing

[Steve Nafziger]

Hey everyone! I need some insights on how you price your vacation rentals. I am looking in the Blue Ridge Georgia area and for my formulas I find my average nightly prices based on other similar airbnbs in the vicinity figured at about 60% occupancy to be conservative, but can't seem to figure out how to price each week or month accordingly. Any tips for a rookie?

[Alex S.]

Oh ok.  Like most of what I type on here..."it depends."

My STRs have all been in suburban metro markets (i.e. not vacation hotspot rentals).  I have to price Fri/Sat nights 25% higher than other nights.  If I don't, all my weekends will book immediately and I'll struggle to fill the Sun-Thurs nights in between.  If I jack up the Fri/Sat night prices, it slows down the "weekenders" and other people will book 4-5 night stays.  I maintain ~82% occupancy in the winter and ~94% in summer.

With that said, I don't know if the philosophy is exactly the same in the vacation markets...especially in places where the minimum stay is 5 nights or more.

In any case, you definitely should not price all nights the same all year.