As we approach the summer season, it’s a great time to take a look at your rates and make sure that you’re making the most out of the busiest time of year.
Does your booking pattern look a bit like this? For most of our customers demand is 3x higher in July, August and September than in January or February.
If you have a flat rate for the entire year you are either losing bookings in the winter, not making the most out of your summer months, or at worst both.
With that in mind here are three tips to make the most of your summer:
1. Split your rates into two seasons (at least)
As you can see, there is a clear high and low season throughout the year. This means that your rates shouldn’t be the same for January and August. To maximise your occupancy and revenue, you need to be taking advantage of the higher demand and then making your rates more competitive during the quieter months.
2. Take advantage of your weekend spikes
Are the bookings rolling in for Friday and Saturday but struggling on a Sunday? To make the most of the weekend booking spike, you should increase your rates on Friday and Saturdays and then lower your rate or offer a special offer on Sunday to try and get potential guests attention.
3. Find out what events are going on near your property
The summer months in particular, offer plenty of events up and down the country. So it’s worth checking out what is being held near your property. Events can be music festivals, beer fayres, food festivals or local concerts. Whatever it is, you should be taking advantage of the increase in visitors to your area looking for a place to stay.
Simply put, when demand is higher, you can increase your rate. Obviously, how much you increase this will depend on your demand, location and competition. And when demand is lower you should be making your rate more competitive, after all, filling a room at a discounted price is better than having an empty room. Click here for more advice of promotional rates.
If you want a tailored report on how much you should be adjusting your rates see our personal expert service.
Adjusting your rates according to demand is the best way to ensure that you are making the most of your revenue and occupancy throughout the year. And we can help! With eviivo suite you can manage your rates, pricing and restrictions on every site you list on in one place. Click here to find out more.