Pricing and calendar

[Lori2546]

Hi everyone,

I'm a relatively new host (since June of this year).  I was fully booked from June through most of December.  I lowered my rates when my bookings slowed down and I'm fully booked now through mid-February.

What is the best way to unblock my calendar and still get the best rates for peak dates?  I don't want to open up all of 2022 because I don't have the hosting experience to know what rates I could get for certain months and now I also have positive reviews.  I'm wondering if there is information about how early most people book for summer months?

Thank you in advance for advice and suggestions.

[Normen0 · Accepted solution]

@Lori2546 @Welcome to AIRBNB! 

I would go to the traveling side of AIRBNB and select random dates in the summer for places which have many of the same qualities as yours and see the prices and try to gauge your prices accordingly. You might not  want to be the most expensive and definitely not the least expensive.  

Summer is a busy time, so you may want to ensure you have a day between bookings for cleaning. Of course this may depend on your group size. There is an option to change your settings to block a day before and after each stay but it’s not seasonal so if you don’t want that on all year just wait until you get a booking and do it manually. 
Also, if you want to enjoy your summer and not be cleaning every day (if you do it yourself) think about a minimum length of stay during your busiest months.  Some of the places I manage are three night minimum stays year round, all are definitely three night minimums on holiday weekends and mostly summer and then we may open up shorter stays to fill in the gaps in we can manage them. You can set specific dates to make that a rule under trip length and seasonal requirement.  
I would not use Smart pricing. It has suggested renting a $325 house for $41 during low times. Would rather stay empty than rent to ladies of the night!!!  

Good luck!

[Lori2546]

Thank you so much Normen your suggestions are very helpful!  There is so much to learn as a new host. I appreciate your support and the support this forum provides.

Happy New Year!

[Kerry410]

How can I put in one rate for the high season ( our Australian Snow season) in 4 months time and have a different rate now?You seem to know what you are talking about!

Don’t use smart pricing as if I put in the minimum, people can book high season at that price.

Thanks

[Raisa34]

how do I make a post for help on a listing? Im so lost! 

[Sarah977]

@Raisa34  To start a new post, look for the "Start a Conversation" bar (it's red) on the first page of this forum section. Click on that and you will get fields to fill out.

[Raisa34]

Thank You! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Lori2546 Very good advice from @Normen0 . We have a 3 night min stay except for high season on our 3 bed listing where we have a 7 night minimum with a Saturday changeover which works really well for us to maximise revenues over our summer.

[Lori2546]

Thank you so very much Mike and Jane!  Happy New Year!

[Laurelle3]

@Lori2546 when I first started I  had 6 months open and manually put in prices after shopping around my local area to get a guide for prices.  I chose to come in under price by $10 to the nearest Airbnb accommodation closest to me of similar style of accommodation.

Now I manually put in the prices and change it for long weekends,  public holidays, school holidays and any festivals or triathlons in the area. I check again on our local market prices for Airbnb and hotels. 

I have now reduced open booking time for 3 months so I can have more control of my life. 

I do have instant booking on but I am considering taking it off.

As @Normen0 suggests to use the block off day when guests leave and before the next booking. As I do my own cleaning and it takes about 5 hrs to do a proper covid clean and I try to do a 24hr airing.  I also wash and iron the linen. Sometimes I have removed the block off day if a guests asks. But I find sometimes you please others end up rushing and is it really worth it in the end. I am trying to protect myself against covid.

My idea is  of presenting an up market quality cottage that is not over priced and not underpriced.

The bottom line is I am happy with what I provide and have full bookings until the end of April and I am enjoying what I do with Airbnb.