Smart Pricing Pt. 6: Common Pricing Mistakes Every Property Should Avoid

Part 6 of eviivo’s Smart Pricing Series 

Getting your pricing wrong can cost more than lost bookings – eroding guest trust, hurting visibility on OTAs, and making it harder to plan. 

For boutique hotels, bed and breakfasts, and vacation rental portfolios, small, preventable mistakes can have a big impact on profitability. 

This sixth edition in eviivo’s Smart Pricing series breaks down the most common pricing pitfalls, why they happen, and how to prevent them using a strong Property Management System (PMS). 

It’s tempting to match competitor prices, but every property is unique. 

Your amenities, location, and service quality all affect what guests are willing to pay. 

Fix it: Use eviivo Suite’s Performance Manager to review your historical ADR, occupancy, and revenue trends. Compare these against competitor averages, then set rates that reflect your strengths – not just what others charge. 

Leaving the same rates up for months ignores shifting demand patterns. Seasonal peaks, local events, and travel trends all affect when and how guests book. 

Fix it: Schedule quarterly rate reviews. Use your PMS data to spot when bookings accelerate or slow down and adjust accordingly. With eviivo Suite’s Promo Manager, you can apply rate updates or run promotions across your booking channels in just a few clicks. 

Constant discounts make guests expect lower prices and can damage your brand value. Guests often associate deep discounts with lower quality. 

Fix it: Instead of cutting rates, consider adding value. Offer perks like free parking, late check-out or a dining credit for direct bookings.  

If you don’t track how far in advance guests typically book, you risk missing key opportunities. 

Fix it: Use your PMS to monitor booking lead times. Launch early-bird offers timed to your booking window averages and start filling up early. 

Not managing your minimum length of stay (MinLOS) can lead to empty nights between bookings or missed long-stay opportunities. 

Fix it: During high-demand periods, consider increasing your MinLOS to maximize occupancy. In slower seasons, you may lower it to permit shorter stays and allow more flexibility.  

eviivo Suite™ allows you to adjust the length of stay applied to selected rate plans, individually or in bulk. 

Without tracking how your pricing decisions perform, it’s impossible to know what’s working. 

Fix it: Use PMS reporting tools such as eviivo Suite’s Performance Manager regularly to compare ADR, occupancy, and RevPAR. Small adjustments made based on real data have a compounding effect over time. 

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are an important source of visibility – but their high commission fees mean relying on them exclusively can eat away at your profits. 

Fix it: Balance your OTA listings with strong direct booking offers on your own website. Apply consistent rates across all channels (known as rate parity) and make your website packages more appealing with extras that OTAs can’t match. 

Many properties lower rates at the last minute to fill empty rooms in the low season – but by then, it may be too late to make up for the loss in revenue. 

Fix it: Build a seasonal pricing calendar at least one year in advance that accounts for annual demand dips. Schedule promotions or packages well ahead of time to stimulate bookings early. 

eviivo’s in-depth pricing guide contains all the dos and don’ts of building an effective pricing strategy. Download your free copy here. 

Coming Up Next in the Smart Pricing Series