Is it a mistake to up your nightly price during high demand times?

[Laura5421]

Just wondering when timing is right for increasing nightly rate.

I did once before when I had a couple people booked who caused me to second guess myself regarding the quality of guests I want to attract. I raised my nightly rate and began to communicate far more with instant booked guests, identifying less than ideal matches between their needs and mine.

What have been indicators for you, fellow hosts, which produced positive results in your situation?

Many thanks!

[Quincy]

Hi there @Laura5421! Personally, I don't think it's a wrong thing to increase your prices during high demand times. Having been a Host myself, I've done this every year during certain events that were taking place in my city. 

I did not use Instant Book at the time, so I couldn't exactly tell you what my experience was. Perhaps other Hosts on the Community might be able to share their experience? 

[Laura5421]

Thank you, Quincy, for your time and input. I was second guessing myself mainly because I'm feeling out the proper balance between guests feeling they've "scored" and my business maximizing income. Thanks again.

-L

[Huma0 · Accepted solution]

@Laura5421 

It's been a while since I hosted short term guests, but when I did, I certainly adjusted my prices for peak seasons, including the summer months and Christmas/New Year periods. 

There are a couple of easy ways to determine whether you can raise your prices. One is by checking out the local competition and what they are charging for those dates and the other is to up your prices the more bookings you get. If I find that a listing is getting a lot of interest and bookings, I can raise the price a bit and, if it still continues to get booked, raise it a bit more. It's kind of just testing the waters, because you can always change it back if things start to slow.

However, do also bear in mind other recent developments that could affect your bookings and pricing. You should consider the cost of living and energy crisis and also the recent Airbnb updates to how searches work and how listings are categorised as these seem to be really affecting many listings visibility in the searches and therefore their bookings. I have certainly noticed a massive decline in mine.

That doesn't mean I am automatically going to reduce my prices, but it's something to be aware of, as your competition might just do that to stay afloat and then suddenly your reasonably priced listing is uncompetitive.

As for whether higher prices attract better guests, I am not sure. A lot of hosts believe so. I have had mixed experiences regarding that. What I do find is that people who really push for discounts (rather than ask nicely once or just book at the advertised rates) are likely to be problematic guests.

I have recently turned of instant book because I was getting bookings from people who are just going to end up being trouble and/or leave me poor ratings/reviews. My listings are great value for the location so some people will book on that basis and ignore the parts of the listing that they are not keen on. Then they show up and are unhappy because it's not the 'perfect' place that they would have had to pay twice as much for. So, yes, you have to be careful not to price too low. 

[Laura5421]

@Huna0

Thanks a million for your valuable input and taking time to share it!!!

All the best to you,

L

[Quincy]

Very helpful info @Huma0! @Laura5421, have you seen Huma's reply here?