Intentional Airbnb Pricing

Pricing is tricky, whether you're marketing hair dryers, deep fryers, robes for choirs, strings for lyres . . .or vacation properties for rent. A critical factor to remember when you're pricing your vacation rental units is that the "right" price for you is the price that lines up with your other goals. 

You'll be able to determine the best price for your units when you can also answer questions like the ones below. The bullet points suggest areas to consider. They aren't meant to be exhaustive.

What's my compelling motivation for listing my property on Airbnb or another vacation rental site?

• Do I really need the funds?
• Does listing allow me to meet people and serve them a 5-star breakfast or teach them how to milk a dairy goat?
• Do I want higher-than-average earnings associated with listing only during big events or peak travel season? 

What's my occupancy goal?

• I want an occupancy rate as close to 100% as possible. 
• Occupancy rate isn't as important as earnings/booking.
• I want to encourage longer stays so that I can reduce my cleaning expenses.

If increased competition drives price down, will I:

• Unlist my property?
• Accept the lower earnings and look for ways to decrease expenses?
• Explore ways to increase the value of the service I provide guests so that I can keep my price the same and still have high occupancy rates?

​These questions don't cover all the ramifications of price. Nor can they be entirely isolated from each other. But formulating answers for each of them will drive intentional Airbnb pricing decisions, and allow you to be proactive rather than reactive. 






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