@Mark1340 , Happy New Year, lots to talk about. There are a whole lot of Points of View on many of the things your inquiring about, some are chosen techniques others are best practices, both are based on your goals and abilities. If you wanna book as often as possible, your lowest price needs to be very competitive in your market area, you can look at what your competition is offering and be below them always. Instant book is a must have, self check in is a big hit with many folks and it also helps to have lots of great reviews. There are obvious and less than pitfalls that can come with each of those as well.
As far as pricing goes, you might need to employ a few different strategies, first, look for the dates that will always be filled, (college grads and arrivals, holidays, festivals and events) and boost the prices on them manually, you know they will book so make sure you get what the market will bear. Use smart pricing at pricingf levels that are not your lowest price so if you have lots of days going unbooked, go manual a couple weeks out and lower the price a bit and see if you get hits.
There is more, much more, being an Inn Keeper is challenging enough by itself but most of us are also repair, cleaners, marketing, advertising and financial advisers, some are even cooks for our businesses and this is for sure a real deal business. Im blessed to have an In Keepess (Melodie) to take on a share of the load, it could be unbearable without her for lots of reasons. Much of what I wrote above we've learned from a friend of mine who has been doing it for many years with her husband, my own experiences (over 400 bookings in the last 3 years) and lots of calls to the help line (they are generally very responsive). Much of the marketing has become automatic, I tend it a little every day and modify and tweak my listings often. I still have lots to learn, this is a great place to do that, hope I could shine some light on possibilities, Im sure others can add to what Ive said far better than I did. Safe Travels and Bookings, John