Putting up price due to adding wifi and covering riding costs due to inflation?

[Kylie-Ann1]

Hi. Two part question. We are thinking about putting up our price 10% to cover the rising cost of inflation and a smaller cost of to off set connecting  wifi. 1. Have other hosts put up prices to cover wifi? and 2. How are hosts responding to inflation? Would love to hear your experiences. 

[M199]

@Kylie-Ann1 

From Canada, it's hard to answer your questions.  Although the global world is becoming smaller,  IMHO, you would be better served to look at your local markets and Facebook pages for more insightful comments.

[Kylie-Ann1]

Thankyou . 

[Margaret1145]

I got this advice from a friend who has short term vacation rented for a long period of time. You can adjust your prices as you see fit. Do it incrementally over a few months. If your booking rate goes down without explanation. Then you know you need to adjust your price downward. 

In the beginning I looked at what it cost for a decent hotel room in my state. I looked at other short term rentals in my county that were comparable to mine. Number of bedrooms, bathrooms, water front location and amenities. I priced mine at the average. Over the last 6 months I have increased the nightly price 20% and have actually noticed I have more bookings! Hope this insight helps

[Kylie-Ann1]

Thankyou.  I like the idea of bringing  in price changes in stages to test the reaction of guests.

My husband has a spread sheet where he compares like properties with similar amenities, accomodation and location and we aim for the average price. Out of the group of 21 listing's 15 have wifi so we will go ahead. 

Thanks for your feedback.

[Sarah977]

@Kylie-Ann1  It seems obvious to me that if your expenses increase you need to either raise your prices or be okay with less profit. Doesn't every business run that way? 

[Kylie-Ann1]

Thankyou that's reassuring. 

[Robin4]

@Kylie-Ann1 

I have never been outrageous with my listing pricing....I try to offer good value for money.

I started out in 2015 at $75 pr night and the bookings came. In 2017 I raised my price to $85 pr night and the bookings kept coming! In 2018 I raised my price again to $95 per night and introduced a $15 cleaning fee.....all raising my price did was increase my number of bookings!

Across the two platforms I use of which the lions share come from Airbnb here is my current March/April Booking calendar......

From the 6th February to the end of April I have a total of 3 nights without a booking.

Although I am improving my listing all the time I think it's about time I raised the price again.....if guests are willing to pay it I might as well have it in my pocket!

Where my issue comes in, my $95 per night + $15 cleaning fee turns into $128 pr night once Airbnb put their service charge on and a number of guests are now giving me a 3-4 star for value! That 20% is not ending up in my pocket, it is ending up in Airbnb's.....but I am the one being penalised for it!

Kylie-Ann, prospective guests will not react negatively to a modest increase in rental price.....what they will react to is exorbitant cleaning fees. Don't be tempted to suddenly up your cleaning fee from $30 to $100 to offset a cheap listing nightly rental.

Cheers........Rob

[Kylie-Ann1]

Thankyou everyone for your support. We are looking to only add a $10 extra per night to our nightly rate at this stage. Give it three months to see if there is any impact.  Good to know we are on thr right track. Kylie