If you’ve been renting your home for a while, you probably know that you can’t treat the last week of August like all of the other summer weeks.
Why?
The demand for that week plummets due to school schedules, resulting in greater inventory which means more competition for you. If you frequently rent to families with children, you'll find the last week of August is tougher to book than any of the other summer weeks.
Every year in early summer, we assess the availability of homes, and we are able to identify important booking trends. For example, did you know that the first week of August is 10 times more likely to book than the last week of August?!
So, what to do? The old rule of supply and demand applies here. When you’re setting your pricing for the summer, it’s best to price that week lower than the other summer weeks. The rule of thumb is to offer a 10% price improvement from your regular summer weekly price. This will make your home more attractive to those vacationers who don’t have school-age kids and have a lot of homes to choose from.
In addition, if vacationers are attracted to your home and have flexibility in their vacation week, they may decide to book the last week of August simply because it is being offered at a lower price. Then, viola, you've just booked the hardest week of the summer!
See more pricing tips.