Occupancy rate of Niagara Falls have drop, what should I do?

[Nian1]

Hello my fellow hosts,

I'm new to Airbnb hosting in Niagara Falls region on the Canadian side, and I just had a very good December. However, my Jan is brutally underbooked (about 7 days of booking) even though I lowered my prices to an insanly low level...

I am wondering if you have the same issue? Specifically, how much occupancy rate do you have or generally in the region? when does this low season end? and for Apr to Oct, do we generally all achieve 100%?

Thanks,

Ben

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Nian1 when I want to see how are others in my area booked  and at what prices I make a research as a guest. This is the fastes and simplest way. 

[Matthew285]

@Nian1, I don't work for them, but I think AirDNA has information about Niagara Falls, CA listings.

The really good stuff costs money (of course), but there is some free data:

https://www.airdna.co/market-data/app/ca/ontario/niagara-falls/overview

[Nian1]

This really helps. Thanks Matthew!

[Gerald105]

How did your occupancy go for the rest of the year?

[Henry223]

Occupancy rate is a function of seasonality and pricing, so occupancy rate differs a lot by person. That being said, given my consistent pricing strategy (i.e. price at the 75 percentile highest among comparables), my occupancy ratewas straight up 100% during the summer (July + August) and 65-75% for the rest of the year. Now looking back I should have priced summer price about 20% higher. 

Overall, July + August acounts for about 50% of all my revenue last year given the prices were ridiculously high (e.g. Aug long weekend I priced my 2 bd house at 600+ CAD per night while a winter weekday would be as low as 85 CAD per night). 

[Isabel621]

what do the levels refer to under ur name? ty

[Alexandra316]

@Gerald105I'm down in Vineland, so pretty close by, and  May through September I'm close to 100% occupancy. October and November, January and February, and April are at about 70%, and December and March are around 50%. 

I'd definitely agree with not being afraid of increasing pricing in the summer. It really is your opportunity to make money. October through April, the rates are substantially lower for me. 

[Gerald105]

Thank you so very much Alexandra, it looks like you are probably happy with that!? How long have you been hosting, if I may ask? Ger

[Alexandra316]

@Gerald105I'm way busier than I ever thought I would be, for sure: I'm pretty surprised and delighted at how it's worked out. My original plan was to do a third of the business that we're doing now. 

I've been hosting for a year and a half. My first day was September 1, 2017. I host the bottom floor of my family home, which is a self-contained apartment. 

One really interesting thing I've noticed is how much turnover there is in hosts locally. I'm not sure if it's the same everywhere, but out of the direct competition (Vineland, Grimsby, Beamsville, Jordan, Campden), only about 30% of the hosts that were there when I started are sticking with it. I couldn't tell you why, because again, business is great for me. Both of my direct competitors in Vineland closed up shop last year. 

[Gerald105]

Thats interesting about the turnover rate. You must be doing everything right, then. 

[Henry223]

I am one of the person who only hosted for a year then sold the property. Don't get me wrong, I totally agree it was a great great business generating amazing revenue. But there is a lot of tedious and trivial work that requires constant attention, e.g. bugs, broken furniture, not cooled/heated enough, TV language setting changed to Spanish etc. Mostly nothing major, but when you have to constantly keep an eye out on Airbnb msg, it adds up. 

It's probably a more feasible business if you renting out part of the property you live in or a house that is close to your own home. I personally work and live in Toronto, and have a cohost plus a "professional" cleaner locally at Niagara Falls. One would have thought it was a good business model but I was amazed at how logistics can be an issue even when there are only three people in the game... Anyways, I would recommend hosting your Airbnb by yourself in these area given lack of professional cohost. But if you come to Toronto you might be able to get away with professional cohost companies.

[Alexandra316]

@Henry223My cousin rents out a place in NOTL and lives in Toronto, with the help of a co-host and cleaner. He's been doing it successfully for 10 years. I do agree it relies on your willingness and tolerace to deal with minutae though: the calls about small things do wear you down. We've also been in the position of having to drive home at midnight from the cottage to fix something. I can see how it would wear people down over time. Having a reliable team is key: I can only take all the bookings I do because I have a reliable cleaner, and the logistics of that are even sometimes challenging.

@Gerald105Yes, I thought so too. Maybe it's just burnout. Are you planning on hosting a space in your home, or elsewhere?

[Melissa-And-Rachel0]

Hi @Alexandra316  I was reading through the comment and noticed you advised you have a reliable cleaner. We are currently looking for a new one as ours is making alot of mistakes. Are you able to reccomend one to us?

[Alexandra316]

@Melissa-And-Rachel0Unfortunately not. Mine has more business than she knows what to do with, and she only cleans in Vineland, Beamsville, and west St. Catharines. Sorry! Finding a reliable and thorough cleaner really is challenging.