No bookings then BAM!

[Zacharias0]

They say when it rains it pours! I was plugging along just fine in life with my rooms being booked at a glacial pace and quietly wondering where the bookings have went. Then out of nowhere 2 reservations from different platforms for the same time span. I have the capacity, but I like to stagger the renters because its honestly too many people in my house at once. We all like to think we have family dinner with strangers and watch movies, but it ends up being 3 seperate groups of people playing their music, watching tv loudly at all hours, washer and dryer running and bathroom usage becoming a thing to fight over. 

Its as if NO ONE books more than a week out. They wait until the very last minute to book a long term accomadation. One lady was really nice, but she waited a full day to respond to the request. Im not sure how that happens, but.she missed her window.

How do you encourage advance bookings?

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Zacharias0 

you can set early bird / last minute discounts

you can set preparation time/advance notice

but you probably already know it 🙂

we do not encourage anything but we blocked same days bookings, 1-night stands and our calendar is open 6 months in advance.

 I also noticed there are periods when we don't receive any bookings or inquiries and then we receive several at one day. It has something to do with search results, it goes in waves, and people tend to book during weekends when they have time to do it.

Business trips are often booked last minute, oversea travelers book 2-3 months in advance.

[Robin4]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  @Zacharias0 

I agree with you entirely Branka, most of my bookings come on a weekend. I will generally average 4 per weekend.....I had 3 within an hour last weekend.

I do agree they come in waves but I think that has something to do with booking saturation! I will go for 3-4 months where I average around 15-17 bookings per month and then I will have a couple of months where it will drop below 10....one month it dropped to 6! But when I analyse it, the views are constant at around 530 per month and once a couple of months ahead fill up, lookers do not have the opportunity to book so they go elsewhere.

Good observations though Branka!

Cheers.....Rob

[Paul154]

@Zacharias0 

In a perfect world... Price low to get advance bookings.

After you get a booking, price your other listing high.

Price very high if you have a  vacancy in the near future.

Yield management.