Are there any tools to come up with your day rate?

I’m wondering how one comes up with their day rate?

Are there any tools, check lists, or other methods you used to come up with what to charge guests?

You can use the smart pricing feature. Just be careful, as it might automatically “price” the days on your calendar in an unfavourable way ( e.g. underpricing your listing ). The best way to get an idea of your listing is to check the average price in your neighbourhood. If your price is way above average, it’s best to lower the prices to match your competitors. There are other factors to keep in mind when you’re setting your prices ( if it’s shared or entire home, how many rooms it has, etc ).

Mark II Eyeballs – applied directly to listings within your neighborhood, town, or immediate area.

If there was a computerized tool to do such calculations, you would spend, IMHO, an inordinate amount of time entering such a wide variety of data, that it wouldn’t “pay off”. There are a huge number of variables that define a socio-political area and the possible rental rates there…

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KComparing other listings in my immediate (town) area would be easy… But there really aren’t any… yet. Most all are a 15-20 min drive. There are no hotels, either. There is a whole house for many hundreds per day but I have just a room in my home. That’s why I’m asking for some guidance, here.

If there was a guide whereby you’d check off things like room size, private bath, kitchen access or kitchenette area, it could get someone in the ball park at least to get started.

For instance, a private vs shared bathroom has got to add some value to your listing, but how much… $10, $20?

Same for kitchenette. What is that worth to a guest to pay up and not have to trample around my kitchen to make coffee or microwave a dinner in their bathrobe.

Are there no hotels, hostels or private lettings in your area that you could use to get an idea of what others are charging?

As far as I know there is only one way to determine your daily rate. That is to add together all your annual expenses (or projection of expenses), determine an occupancy rate (required/expected) and add your profit percentage. Once you have those figures, it’s easy to determine your daily rate.

That, it it were to work, would make a great app that Airbnb or a host that can write code to come up with, but I don’t think it’s that simple. Read my reply, above. It’s more than just expenses vs profit. Way more.

It really is. There’s no way to determine the monetary value of amenities. Let’s take laundry facilities as an example. Some people who are on a road trip desperately want them. Others couldn’t care less. So what’s the ‘value’? Value is ‘in the eye of the beholder’.

What about a fantastic view? What’s that worth? Nothing at all to some people but to others, it’s a major part of their stay. Some will care about free parking, others won’t. Some guests would love to be in the middle of a vibrant city, others would find it too noisy.

You are the only person who fully knows what value you offer.

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It’s also a question of concurrence and demand/offer on your area.

All I’m asking is for some suggestions (guidance) in setting a value on what I may have to offer over another, if and when they materialize.

When I asked about cooking folks who replied that they did cook said “but we include that in our rate”. Ok, so what is cooking breakfast worth above and beyond the room rental?

This ain’t rocket science. Let’s not make it out to be.

Well… yours is a bit more to figure out because the “normal factors” are missing: other Airbnb rentals & hotels to compare with. You have one in your area… but it’s a different type of rental than you’re offering. You’re really going to have to figure out what will draw guests to your home and charge accordingly.

I actually think people are being helpful in their responses because these factors will ultimately determine what to charge. My first thought when reading your post was “test it and see how much people will pay”. If the house in your area has 3 bedrooms and yours has 1 then start by charging 1/3 of theirs. Like @sylvainbg suggests, see how many bookings you get (demand), then raise the rate to what the market will bear once you determine why your guests are choosing your location, like @jaquo suggests.

Without knowing why someone would want to stay in your area nobody can tell you “this is the formula” (i.e. are you in a suburb of a city? driving distance to a resort? near a university or medical facility? exciting activities?). You’re obviously somewhat remote. That means laundry facilities and meals will be of more value to the guest because they wouldn’t easily find them nearby, especially if visitors to your area would tend to spend more than a couple of days, for example.

There is no “perfect or easy formula” for all situations. For instance there is another thread discussing why 2 similar apartments in the SAME BUILDING with the same owner have such a different occupancy rate. But I’m sure if you give more information about your place and are willing to invest some thought you’ll find that the advice offered here is very helpful.

Why don’t you list the amenities you have and ask people to valuate them, along with the area that you’re in and what is around you?

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It isn’t rocket science so I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal out of it. Look at the daily rate of the cheapest motel/hotels closest to you. Knock at least 25% off, probably closer to 50%, and start with that rate for 2 people.

As someone mentioned here, there is no quantitative table that puts a monetary value on room size, amenities. It’s all very flexible. Better areas with high demand can charge more for the same size room found in less touristy areas. In any case. Just settle on an amount that’s considerably less than a low end motel and see what happens. It’s very easy to change your prices.

I can do that, sure. If I can get a ball park rate it will be worth it to me:

The area is semi-rural. Largest city about 10 - 12 miles away. We have a huge lake and many walking/hiking trails. One big attraction might be two casinos about 20 miles away but I think most guests will stay because they are vising family, friends or attending some function like a funeral or wedding.

My place was once commercial, used by a dairy farm. Converted to residential maybe twelve years ago. Surrounded now by only regular homes all around. I have my office here. Guests will need to walk past work area to get to their room (this was discussed in another of my posts). Plenty of on-side parking. Decent size yard. I do have a small terrier so guests need to be non-allergic.

Bedroom: First floor access, 14 x 14’, full size bed, dresser, highboy, ceiling fan, desk with computer (for web browsing), flat screen “smart” TV with basic cable and internet for streaming, baseboard electric heat (for extra comfort) with gas forced air central heat on zoned thermostat outside their door.

Bathroom: private 7’ x 9’, located just outside bedroom door. Full size 15" deep tub, vanity, toilet, space heater for instant heat plus forced air gas heat.

Kitchenette: just outside bedroom door, 4.4 cu ft fridge, microwave, coffee maker, toaster, supplies, etc.

Access to sitting/den area up and through french doors that lead to their bedroom area. Another HD television with cable and internet, large sofa, comfy chairs, tables… some of this yet to be set up.

I will not be cooking or allowing access to the kitchen. There are places to eat in town including a pub, restaurant, MacDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts, coffee shop that serves breakfast and lunch and two sit down pizza places all within 2 miles. Probably not supplying access to washer dryer as I am on a well and there are at least two laundry’s in town within 2 miles or so.

What else can I tell you?

Can you also give details of the size and cost of the “other home” listed on Airbnb that’s in your area?

The cheapest rate I found for a motel 10 miles away was $55 and $56 for either a Super8 or Motel 6.

If you think I’m going to rent a room in my home for $25…

It was quite large, huge grounds, on a lake and stunning. Even had it’s own regulation size tennis court. More like a Hollywood estate than a house. Anyone would love to stay there. Great for a large gathering or family visiting the area. Really no comparison to mine. One of a kind for this area.

Personally, I would start at $50 per night for up to 2 guests. The bedroom is a good size - any reason you don’t have a queen or king bed in there? It would be much more appealing. If someone doesn’t want to sleep 2 in a full bed it might be worth them driving to the hotel.

You also have the kitchenette which is a nice bonus.
You aren’t going to offer use of laundry or provide breakfast or other meals, so there is no point trying to valuate that.

I think that people visiting family nearby will appreciate that they’re able to be in the same area that otherwise has no other accommodations - at a slightly lower cost than nearby hotels. But upgrade that bed!

OK. So we have $50 with my “old fashion” full size bed.

Can I assume the cleaning fee (at what rate) is additional or part of that $50?

In Connecticut we have a 15% room tax so I need to collect that, as well. Do I add that to the $50 or ?

If you charge tax and cleaning it might put you higher than a hotel with a larger bed.

Have you figured out how long it takes you to clean the guest area? Since you have “cheap hotels” nearby, if you charge $50 for the room with the double I’d make the cleaning very cheap to begin with. Then you can see what your clientele is and change your rates accordingly.

The other option is to charge less for the room and more for cleaning. That would work well if you want to encourage longer stays (instead of only 1 or 2 nights).

[quote=“CanadianHost, post:19, topic:9531, full:true”]
If you charge tax and cleaning it might put you higher than a hotel with a larger bed.[/quote]

Tax on that $50 day rate is $7.50 (15%) right off the top. Now we’re down to $42.50 and I still need to clean up. That means vacuum the bedroom, wash down the shower/tub, clean the sink and toilet. Wash the bathroom floor. Wash the towels, face cloths, the sheets. Clean the kitchenette area… the coffee maker, the microwave with the spaghetti sauce all over the inside, empty the trash. If they use the den I have that to clean and polish.

There is the need to factor in the electrical power they will consume, the fuel for the heat they use plus the strain on my water well.

I was planning on supplying packaged goods for breakfast and snacks but cannot see doing that at this low rate.

That $42.50 just is not going to cover all this and still leave me with something left over. I’ll be honest. The thought of people staying for days on end makes me want to rethink all this. Been on my own for too long I guess. One night, maybe too is about my limit for someone. If that means keeping the rate a bit higher, so be it.

I’m not sure why you you feel I need to compete with some low-life motel chain some 10+ miles away.

Tell me what your average stay is and for how many people and what you charge.