thank you for your comments. it’s good advice. i keep looking for the magic formula that will increase bookings. being outside of the city makes it hard to draw guests. we don’t have a beach nearby. it’s just good ole suburbia…
Yes, I use this low price tactic for “orphan days” also. It fills up the calendar.
hi, i was told once that if my house had a low rate people would judge it as being of lesser value than other listings…i don’t like the fact that airbnb captures the lowest rate and puts that on the listing.
To make matters worse, if you have dynamic pricing turned on it’s not even the lowest rate available for booking in your calendar, it’s the minimum price you’ve entered for dynamic pricing. If you’re like me and override the dynamic pricing for every night, that minimum may never be available!
One of my properties is located in a local ski and summer tourist town which has extreme swings in demand. During off-season weekdays I rent it out for $90-110 a night, but during peak season it’s normally $250-300 for weekdays and up to $8-900 a night during weekends. My minimum price for dynamic pricing is $110, which is what people see when they search without dates. Obviously some are shocked when they put in the real dates, but it’s not a bait and switch on my part. There isn’t anything I can do about it since the actual rates are so variable.
Actually I’m mistaken, it’s not the minimum dynamic price… I changed my floor price to $190 and now it’s saying my price (without dates) is $130. I’m so lost.
I have the same issue, but not quite as extreme - we start at $375 for two people for off-season “hole” stays (those pesky two-four nights between guests that book longer stays in advance), and go up to $850 per night for six in peak season (Dec-April).
The problem is that people search without dates, see we sleep six, and think they can rent our home for $375 for six people in February. They ask all kinds of questions, wasting my time and theirs, then realize we aren’t dumb enough marketers to give away our home at flophouse rates - and I never hear from them again.
wow. wish i had your problem…lol! I’d love those pesky 2 to 4 night stays. why don’t you state the low season vs high season prices on your listing? maybe you do. I’d rather have some interest than none, though.
@cmpipe - the rates are posted on the calendar, I believe. The problem is the rate that is shown to guests when they search without dates can be very different from the actual rates due to seasonality and number of people.
And we all know guests don’t read the listing, so I don’t bother putting them in the write up
Yes, some guests have no concept of high vs low season, so it would have to be very basic like…" prices may vary"…lol!