Set your pricing strategy

Revisiting your price routinely helps you stay competitive. Consider the following tips as you develop your pricing strategy.

Decide how frequently you want to review and revise your price. Here are a few things to do on the schedule that works for you.

• Open more nights: Unblock any nights in your calendar that you know you can host. This helps your listing appear in more search results and can increase your earnings.
• Customize trip lengths: Look for gaps between bookings. If the gaps are shorter than your trip minimum, no one can book those nights. Setting a shorter minimum stay for specific dates can help you fill your calendar.
• Compare similar listings: Checking the prices of booked and unbooked homes in your area can help you set a competitive price.

“I like to look at similar listings so I can compare my prices, make sure that I’m not priced too high or too low, and just find that sweet spot that’s ideal,” says Karen, a Superhost in Nelson, BC.

You can also turn on Smart Pricing anytime to adjust your price automatically based on local demand. This tool is especially helpful if you want to optimize your pricing without constantly monitoring it.

Even the most popular listings can have quiet periods with fewer bookings. Here are a few ways to help your listing stand out as you prepare for slower times.

• Offer discounts: Discounts for weekly and monthly stays can help fill your calendar and reduce turnovers. Adding a last-minute discount can appeal to guests booking 1 to 28 days before arrival.
• Shorten advance notice: Letting guests book closer to check-in can help you attract more bookings. Choose a lead time as short as the same day, depending on how much time you need between a guest’s booking and arrival.
• Allow shorter stays: Lowering your minimum trip length appeals to guests booking shorter stays. You have the option to customize your trip minimum by day of the week.

“I’m definitely seeing more stays that are for a shorter length of time,” says Jimmy, a Superhost in Palm Springs, California, USA. “It’s last-minute stays that people haven’t necessarily planned, so two days feels like a good vacation. The flexibility is attractive.”

Several Airbnb tools can help you make the most of times when guest demand is higher. Here are a few tactics to consider.

• Add an early-bird discount: Offering a discount for bookings made 1 to 24 months before check-in helps you appeal to guests who plan ahead. For discounts of 3% or more, guests see a special callout in search results and on your listing page. Your discounted price appears next to your original one, which is crossed out.
• Set a custom promotion: Running promotions is a great way to drive more bookings for certain times. When you offer discounts of 15% or more, guests see a special callout on your listing page and in search results. There are certain requirements to run a promotion, like having had at least one booking in the past year.
• Increase your availability window: You can open your calendar up to two years in advance. Your listing will appear in more search results—and in a shorter list of results if there are fewer places available at that time.

“Sometimes I get people booking a year in advance for their summer holidays, or for Christmas six months in advance,” says Anne, a Superhost in Tarragona, Spain. “People who tend to book in advance don’t usually cancel. It’s also important because then you will know what is coming ahead.”

You control your pricing and other settings at all times. Your results may vary.

Hosts were paid for their participation in interviews.

Information contained in this article may have changed since publication.