Minimum night suggestions during peak season

[Maria15631]

Hi there. New Owner here in Panama City Beach, Florida

Help! I know those of us with rental units are competing for renters, but I am just trying to understand the renal behavior in a beach town during peak season. I started with a 7 night (Sat to Sat) rental in the peak season because I didn’t want random pockets of time not booked. But is that expected behavior? As a renter, I am typically a long weekend person so it’s hard for me to figure this out from a different perspective.

Any input about:

*weekday vs weekend pricing strategy

*min night stay during peak season (do you have gaps)

*If you don’t do Sat-Sat then do you restrict check in days?

I know several of you have been doing this for a while and have repeat renters, but try to think about when you were relying on ppl searching for you and booking 🙂

THANKS IN ADVANCE

[Penne8]

Hi, I bought my townhome in PCB last year and i have always had a 2 night minimum which has worked out very well over the past 12 months.  I see there are a number of people who want a 2 night stay vs a 7 day.  I have a friend that owns a home on the beach and they do 7 nights only which i understand with a 2 story home.  Good Luck

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Maria15631 we find sat-sat is ideal in high season. The other model that could work is a mon/fri check in/out. This allows a 3 day weekend and a four day week and should generate more money than a 7 day stay. 

[Maria15631]

Hmm. I like this approach. Should I make the minimum night stay 3?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Maria15631 to do the 3 or 4 night thing you need to switch on pro tools from your account and then, in your listing, apply a ruleset to your calendar saying that check in/check out is only possible on Friday or Monday. This way people can book 3,4,7,10,14 day stays but only arriving/leaving on these days.

[Louise1073]

If you are specifically targeting the family/vacationing crowd and there is enough demand, then sat/sat rentals make sense. This strategy will avoid any 1-2 day gaps. The only risk I see is a whole week going empty if nobody books it.

[Lorna170]

@Maria15631   Until you have a good handle on renting your property via Air, list only for the number of guests you can accommodate in actual beds, and NEVER mention that you have room for additional sleepers.  You do not want to have folks thinking that they can throw a party in your spacious home.   If you initially go with week-long rentals you will be attracting families or small groups of unrelated adults.  Yes, you may miss a week or so here and there, but once you are comfortable with the rental process you can adjust your length of stay to 3 or 4 days to get the long weekenders too.

[Maria15631]

Thank you! Great advice. I just felt like I was competing with so many "sleeps 8" because I don't have a sofa bed.