Avoid Common Pricing Mistakes If you've created top-notch listings with detailed descriptions and high-quality photos and you're still not receiving any inquiries, it's fairly likely that you're either not priced right for your market, your rates are not easy to navigate, or your minimum stay requirements do not reflect travel trends in your market. Too high. Like with any other product, the rental rates for your vacation home must be competitive with the other products in your market (i.e. other vacation rentals and hotels). This is especially common with vacation condos in large complexes. If your 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo has the same floor plan as 150 other units, you can't charge significantly more just because you've added granite countertops or an HDTV. These additions may be the icing on the cake to convince a traveler to choose your condo over another. However, don't make the mistake of pricing yourself (and your home) out of contention altogether by charging too much.
If you own a single family home or one-of-a-kind property, it's a little bit harder to find that right price since you can't easily compare your home to other properties in your market. If you do choose to price your home notably higher than other rentals in your area, the trick is to convey why your home is worth more. The easiest way to do this is to showcase professional-quality photos in your listings.
Too low. If your home is priced significantly lower than comparable vacation rentals in your area, you may be doing yourself a disservice. Not only could you be missing out on additional rental revenue from guests already on the books, you may actually be turning travelers away. Think of it this way: If your home is similar to others in your market and you're charging considerably less per week, travelers may wonder what is wrong with your rental and choose another slightly more expensive property. Also, by pricing your home at the lower end of the rental market in your area, you may attract bottom-feeding travelers who may not respect your home. Too confusing. A variety of culprits can lead to confusing rates. While it's a good idea to set different rates for each of the major rental seasons, if you have too many different rates, it may confuse travelers and send them to the next listing. Any more than 6 or 7 rate fields is probably too many. Too restrictive. If you currently require a minimum stay of 1 week in the off-season (and it';s not mandated by your city or HOA), you may be missing out on the large pool of renters who travel for 3 or 4 days at a time. Shortening your minimum stay to 3 days could increase your overall occupancy and your bottom line. For example, renting just 10 weekends at $450 each would add $4500 to your revenue total. Too vague or non-existent. Does your listing currently ask travelers to “Call for Rates?” If so, you're probably missing out on thousands of potential renters who opt to move on to the next listing that does list rates.
Run a “Special Offer” Rather Than Lower Your Rates When you're deciding whether to lower rates for the coming year, take a minute to consider the psychology of pricing. Let's say you're shopping for a new pair of black pants at a major department store. You find two pairs of pants that fit your criteria: One pair is store-brand and costs $30 and the other is name brand and regularly costs $75, but is on sale for $30. Which pair do you buy? The name brand pants, of course. Why? Because they're better, or at least you perceive that they're better because they have a higher sticker price. The same principle applies to vacation homes. If your home rents for $2000/week and you run a special offer of $1500/week, a traveler will think, “Wow, what a deal.” However, if you simply lower your rates to $1500, the traveler will perceive that your home is only worth $1500 and may look for a better deal elsewhere. Just be clear in your communication with the renter that a cleaning fee will be added to the rental amount. Another trick to add perceived value is to build your cleaning fee into your rental rates and promote a "No Cleaning Fee" offer to differentiate yourself from other properties. Or if most of the other properties in your area already include the cleaning fee in the rate, consider NOT including it in your baseline rental rate. This will make your rate appear at first glance to be lower than other properties in your area.

Part 1: Revisit Goals

Part 3: Stick to Your Guns

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