Do lower prices help during low season?

1

Haven’t had a single inquiry for December. I’m not sure whether lowering prices would help or if it just depresses the market. I’ve had very few views which seems to indicate that fewer people are looking to travel and it isn’t an issue of price.

Anyone lowering prices? Has it made any difference?

2

Definitely for the low season as we have here and it’s 8 months out of a year, my price went down to 55$ from 89$ during spring break. There is no way I would rent my rooms for 89$ during summer as the competitions is severe here. And I am not even on South beach.
But …even with 55$ I am not 100% booked, not even 80%. Low season is low season, there are periods of time that booking just don’t come my way. I was the only one on IB once under 100$ and still I was not booked for a whole week. That’s just weird.

4

I don’t agree with you, you can’t keep your prices the same all year around. No I don’t think that people looking at my low price think there is something wrong with the room. They can read more than 30 positive reviews. I am not lowering it to ridiculous level but I can see what hotels are offering and other listings on Airbnb.

5

Do you think hotels know what they are doing by adjusting their prices every day?
There is a reason why Hyatt in New Orleans in September was 63$ a night but will be in February for 180$. You can rent Marriot in off season here in South Flotida for 150$ a day or eve less but in January it will be 400$ a day

6

I have a lot of competition. I try to stay slightly above the middle, between the highest and lowest prices. I also have a high and low season. I ramp my prices up and down accordingly. That said, once I set my seasonal prices I do stick with them.

7

If you doing it not the first year than you know how it will be. It’s my first high season, I started at the very end in March. I am still exploring. So I fm watching prices especially when I have no reservations

8

I have learned to stop looking at the so-called “competition” in my area. It’s just depressing and caused me to get a bit obsessed. You keep looking and looking and overanalyzing everything they are doing…

I found one, for example, that was a superhost and had a crappy room in a home in a so-so residential neighborhood (nothing like mine, ocean view but completely landlocked) yet a million glowing reviews and superhost. Higher price than me! Totally booked! What’s up there!??

After that I vowed to stop looking at competitors because it just doesn’t help one bit. I think seasonal lows are more tied to guests’ work, school and holiday schedules.

9

I start out with the lowest as my “featured” price. So it gets their attention. Then I manually go in and change the prices for every month or season of the year. Lowering your price in the low season can bring in some extra bucks. Just do it one month at a time though. As the holidays draw near, people will want to book.

One reason I love the Air calendar is their ease of price changing.

10

I am looking t competitors only bcs I have no knowledge in hospitality business and trying to learn. I am not doing it every day like hotels do,Mbps you are right you can go nuts, but I do it once a week just to be sure I am not priced too low also.
There are events also that make my location very popular, and I missed it several times and was sold out for a couple of weeks wondering what’s going on, and it was in August. What it was a pocker tournament in near buy Hard Rock.

11

I had a guy stay once who got in touch with me months later to try to sell me on a new startup service that helped hosts price according to whatever events were going on in their area… Etc. completely unsuitable for Kona because there’s only one event and it’s Ironman and I’m too far away from town to be considered good lodging. So I told him I was not interested, that I can easily handle my own pricing… Well then later I looked him up and saw that he was one of a select few guests who had left me what I call a backhanded review… A good review with a few spanks. The nerve!!!

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12

Just use the price tips matching system that Air has! … I use it everyday and it updates my prices everyday.

13

Most people in my area don’t seem to be changing prices. I guess I could try AirBNB’s suggestions although they were off-base during Spring and Summer.

I don’t want the cheapest possible guests so I’m thinking of just leaving my rates alone but it seems this might be an interesting time to experiment as well since things are so slow!

15

O no, they suggest me ridiculous prices , usually much lower that I already have. Like 38$

16

Each area is different isn’t it though? I don’t just go off the price tips … I see what other hosts are charging and offering. There is a large price spectrum where I’am anything from £25 a night to £70-80 (for a room in someones home) - all within the small town. It really works for me. It might be different if your renting out an entire home/apartment.

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17

For my part I have one price all year round. High season lasts 6 months and my guest room books solid all weekends. November 1st it dies a total death. No bookings again to 1 May. Mind you, the climate where I live is brutal for 6 months, and that is why nobody books.
Air BnB suggested I lower my rent off season. But I will not, as this is a shared house with guest room. If I have the trouble of sharing my home with the guest, I will only do that for my full fee. Were it not a shared house, but an unattached cottage of flat, yes, then I would lower in off season by 30%.