Introduction

Welcome to our guide on managing rates for short-term rentals. Effectively managing your rates is crucial for maximising revenue and ensuring competitiveness in the dynamic short-term rental market.

For agents and owners with multiple listings, managing rates at scale presents it's own challenges. How do you choose a winning pricing strategy? What do you need to consider? And when you've made that decision, how can iPRO help you to set these rates so they work seamlessly for direct bookings and the sales channels? 

Please ensure you read 'How does pricing work within iPRO', so that you understand how total prices are calculated when using different pricing strategies.

First know your property

When setting rates, work property-by-property, taking each listing on it's own merits. Here are some things to consider:

• What sort of competition is the listing up against? 
• What market does it service? 
  • Family breaks? 
  • Overnight work trips? 
  • Weekend fun? 

iPRO provides tools to help you duplicate rates for similar properties, but start with an individual listing first. 

Then, decide if Dynamic Pricing is the best option for your listing

What is Dynamic Pricing?

Dynamic Pricing automatically adjusts rates based on current market demand, competitor pricing, historical booking data, and other relevant factors. Dynamic Pricing is provided by dedicated third party providers who simplify the pricing process by optimising rates to maximise occupancy and revenue for short-term rental listings. These services allow you to set a minimum price so that you can protect your profit. 

Who provides Dynamic Pricing?

Here are the reputable Dynamic Pricing providers, supported by iPRO:

Beyond Pricing

Beyond Pricing analyses extensive data to predict demand and set competitive nightly rates. 

PriceLabs

Similarly, PriceLabs employs sophisticated algorithms to dynamically adjust rates, aiming to maximise revenue for your properties. Like Beyond Pricing, PriceLabs updates rates daily based on market analysis and sends them to your iPRO account.

Why would I choose Dynamic Pricing?

Here are some questions to consider when selecting Dynamic Pricing:

• Are you comfortable letting artificial intelligence (AI) set your rates, within certain parameters?
• Are short term breaks popular for this listing? Dynamic Pricing tools focus primarily on optimising nightly and weekly rates - they typically do not directly manage pricing for short breaks (stays under 7 nights) and so if the answer is yes, Dynamic Pricing may not be a good choice for this property. 
  • An alternative approach is to use iPRO's Short Break Supplement tool. This allows you to set a supplemental rate for short breaks that is proportionally higher than the standard nightly rate. See Managing Weekly Rates and Short Breaks below. 

How can I integrate Dynamic Pricing into iPRO?

iPRO supports both Beyond Pricing and PriceLabs. 

• To integrate with either, first sign-up directly with the provider and then let our team know that you'd like to integrate with them by raising a support ticket. 
  
• Every morning, Beyond Pricing updates your property’s rates for the next 18 months based on the latest market conditions. Beyond Pricing integrates booking rules, such as minimum stay requirements and preferred changeover days, directly into iPRO.
  
  
• Similarly to Beyond Pricing, PriceLabs updates rates daily based on market analysis and sends them to your iPRO account. This integration includes essential booking rules.

Yes, Dynamic Pricing will work for this listing! 

If so, go no further with this guide. You're ready to sign-up to a provider above and when ready, raise a support ticket to integrate iPRO with that provider.

No, Dynamic Pricing will NOT work for this listing...

If Dynamic Pricing is NOT appropriate for this listing, move to the next step.

Step 1. Decide which defined price model works best for the listing

Having excluded Dynamic Pricing, we need to decide what alternative pricing strategy works best for this listing:

1. Nightly and Weekly rate based on time period (or 'Season') - this is most common
2. Mid-week and Weekend rate based on time period (or 'Season')
3. Nightly and Weekly rate based on time period (or 'Season') + Short Break 'Length of Stay' (LOS) adjustment

If demand is fairly consistent throughout the week, or the listing is only available in set weekly blocks, then '1. Nightly and Weekly' is the simplest and most common approach.

If the listing receives high demand at weekends, and you'd like to optimise mid-week stays with attractive prices, then '2. Mid-week and Weekend rate' is probably the best option.

If the listing receives high demand during midweek periods, then '3. Nightly and Weekly rate + Short Break (LOS)' could be the best way to attract diverse guest segments and optimise overall profitability. 

Introducing the iPRO 'Rates Configurator' template

Before we go any further, you'll need to download a copy of the iPRO Rates Configurator template. 

1/ ⬇️ COPY the iPRO Rate Configurator Template Here

2/ Save a copy to your local Google Drive

3/ Rename the Google sheet to indicate the property/listing that it will contain prices for.

Step 2. Set up Nightly and Weekly Base Rates

Irrespective of the choice at Step 1, we first need to set up our base rates for the listing. Using the iPRO Rates Configurator spreadsheet, follow the next steps. 

Step 2.1. Create rate periods AKA 'Seasons'

The term 'season' can seem confusing. It may help to think of it as a 'pricing group' or 'rate period' that will be used later to conveniently set pricing over specific times. Seasons can be applied to several time periods or date ranges. For example, you can assign multiple 'Low' seasons throughout the calendar year (Jan-Feb, Oct-Nov etc), all of which would apply that price. This simplifies rate management: updating the price for one 'Low' season automatically updates all instances of 'Low' seasons in your calendar.

Create the seasons in the first tab of the spreadsheet and enter a nightly and weekly price for each season.

Note: Prices are per property/listing, NOT per person. 

Step 3. Create the season date ranges

In the second tab of the spreadsheet, add all the date ranges that apply to each Season, as per the example:

If you have chosen 'Nightly and Weekly rate based on time period' at step 1, skip step 4 and can go straight to step 5.

Step 4.1. Set up Weekend pricing 

Listings that specialise in weekend breaks could benefit from this option. Nightly rates are adjusted with premium pricing for weekend demand. 

Step 4.1.1 Set prices for weekend nights, for each 'Season'

If this option is appropriate, select the fourth tab of the spreadsheet and enter the weekend nightly rates:

NB. Because not all sales channels support weekend pricing models, the iPRO Rate Configurator will automatically convert your Midweek and Weekend rates into seasonal pricing. This ensures that all sales channels, such as Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, will understand your rate structure and price your listing accordingly.  

Step 4.1.2 If you DO NOT require weekend pricing

Simply skip this tab, leaving the weekend nightly rates blank.

OR

Step 4.2. Set up Short Breaks AKA 'Length of Stay' (LOS) pricing 

iPRO simplifies Length of Stay (LOS) Pricing, alongside automated short breaks, adjusting rates based on the duration of the booking. 

This tool allows you to manage weekly rates and adjust pricing for shorter breaks, whether it be weekend getaways or or short midweek stays, so you can cater for different guest segments. If this pricing strategy works for your listing, complete this table in the fourth tab of the template:

Remember, short breaks are a good strategy to maximise income if demand is high mid-week, as guests often pay a premium for these types of stays. For example, if your standard nightly rate is £100, a 7-night stay would total £700. Applying the Short Break Supplement calculation ensures that a shorter 3-night stay could be priced at, say, £500 rather than £300. 

Step 4.2.2 If you DO NOT require LOS pricing

Simply skip this tab, leaving the LOS percentage values blank.

Step 5. Review your rates

Once complete, review your overall rates in the summary table in tab '5. Overall Rates'.

If you need to make changes, go back to the individual steps and adjust accordingly. 

Step 6. Rates ready for import

If you are happy with the prices and seasons shown on the 'overall rates' tab, please share the google sheet with connect@ipro-software.com and copy the link into a new support ticket so that the iPRO support team can import this for you.

1/ Share the google sheet with connect@ipro-software.com

2/ Create a support ticket with the subject 'import property rate card'

Best Practices and Tips for Effective Rate Management

Managing rates effectively is crucial for maximising revenue and maintaining competitiveness in the short-term rental market. Here are some best practices to guide your rate management strategy:

• Regular Review and Adjustment: Continuously monitor booking trends, market demand fluctuations, and competitor pricing. Regularly adjust your rates to optimise occupancy and revenue throughout the year.

• Utilise Historical Data: Analyse historical booking data to identify patterns and trends in guest preferences. Use this information to refine your pricing strategy and anticipate future demand.

• Incorporate Guest Feedback: Take into account guest feedback on pricing. Adjust rates based on guest perceptions of value to attract more bookings and improve guest satisfaction.

• Monitor Competitor Rates: Keep an eye on competitor pricing in your area. Stay competitive by adjusting your rates accordingly while offering unique value propositions to potential guests.

• Simplify Season Dates: Avoid using too many different seasons to streamline rate management. Simplifying season dates ensures consistency in pricing for guests and reduces the risk of errors or confusion.

Why Simplify Season Dates?

To minimise errors and ensure clarity for guests, it's advisable to streamline season dates. Simplifying your seasonal structure makes it easier to manage and update rates across all your properties. Guests can easily understand the pricing differences between seasons, leading to a smoother booking process and improved satisfaction.

By implementing these best practices and simplifying season dates, you can effectively manage your rates to optimise revenue and provide a positive booking experience for guests.