A lot of the pricing tips for short term lettings you read on line advise you to start your pricing low. Most advising 25% below the average for your property and location. Now we don’t necessarily disagree, however this depends on your lead in time. For bookings within the next three months, yes we certainly advise keeping your pricing competitive. However, for bookings further in advance why not up the price? If you have enough time to play around with your pricing, it makes sense to keep the price high initially. If necessary, reduce the price nearer the time to fill the gaps.
We have done just this with a property in Chichester. The property is a family home and the owners have made the savvy decision to go away over the summer holidays and let their home for short term lets, over an 8 week period. Our management service allows them to go away knowing their property will be in safe hands and bringing them in an income! Now we have an 8 month lead in until the property is available. This gives us plenty of time to achieve the best occupancy rate and income possible! We have set the pricing high initially and already have over £1000 worth of bookings at the higher price.
We know that the majority of bookings are made within 3 months of the booking date. Those booking further in advance tend to be booking for an occasion i.e. a wedding or event and therefore less likely to cancel. So it makes perfect sense to price high initially! With our management we will constantly monitor this and the number of enquiries coming in, to ensure we are on track for the highest occupancy rate possible. If your calendar is quickly filling up months ahead this is a sign that your pricing is too low.
Being wise with your pricing is the most efficient way of maximising your income from your short term rental. Get in touch for more advice on how to price your property.
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