How to Increase Occupancy Rate
It is time to maximize your property occupancy, especially now that the demand is low. The US market is still active, and despite the low numbers, everyday we see more clearly how the market is recovering and waking up again. The foundations for a good mid-long term strategy are based on getting things done right, treating the guest as if they are a member of your family, and offering the best product at the best price. Here are 5 of the best tips on how to increase occupancy rate of your vacation rentals.
Right Price (Good Revenue Strategy)
How do you actually set your prices? Looking at the crystal ball? Looking at competitors? Just based on your own knowledge? Do you have a pricing or revenue strategy based on data?
Right Price means occupancy, yes, but even more, revenue. Using data and tech tools that help you set rates at the according to the demand ultimately means more bookings.
If you want to learn more about pricing strategies, I recommend visiting our Partner – Pricelabs. They offer a complete suit of revenue management tools and strategies that will help you to automate and optimize your pricing strategy based on data and market analyses.
If you want to go a step further, take a look at KeyData. They also offer the tools to analyze detailed numbers and data to help you accomplish your goals.
Dynamic Occupancy Rules (Flexibility means more bookings)
How to increase occupancy rate? It is not a secret that the majority of professional Property Managers have to take cleaning fees and costs into account when deciding on their minimum stay, but if you could increase your rate for short stays, you may still continue to be competitive as not many property managers accept 1 night stays.
Being flexible with minimum occupancy may also be a way to increase your revenue and obtain more bookings per week or per month.
Intelligent Date Search (Giving the guest more options)
If you have a website, try to use the intelligent date search feature, to show the different rates you have according to their date of arrival and departure.
Giving the guest flexibility and rate comparisons when they are planning their trip can increase the conversion on your direct booking site.
Always offer one extra day 50% off
If one traveler is checking in on Friday and leaving on Sunday, why not offer him/her an early check-in or a late check-out for 50% off. This extra night is always a benefit. 90% of weekend bookings miss Monday and Thursday nights.
Try to invite your travelers to a late check-out or an early check-in for 50% off on that night and you will see how to increase occupancy rate, and your revenue too.
Try to obtain the best reviews
Good reviews are like a credit card. They give you credit and the more you have, the more credit you can use. Obviously, travelers do not give credit for free, you will need to earn it.
Do you know your customers? If so, just give them what they need and you will see your credit skyrocket.
If you don´t know your customers, all you need to do is ask them – “How could we have made your stay better?”
The answers will be the best tips that you could receive, and simply by asking your guests.
Good reviews means full occupancy.
Treat your guest as if they were family members
If you know how people feel when they are welcomed as a family member, you will understand how important it is to be kind and generous to your guests while interacting with them.
Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool, and also a good way to see how to increase occupancy rate. If you have repeat guests, making them feel like they are part of your family or offering some free service or special discount will solidify the relationship and increase the number of direct bookings through your own sales channels.
Diversify your channel distribution
We all know that you have to be in the top global OTA´s , but do not forget to target other distribution channels.
Another good choice if you want to target global guests is Google Vacation Rentals, which is commission free and sends traffic directly to your website.
On the other hand, try to find niche portals, where you know that the guest profile you usually get will be able to find you.
These 5 tips on how to increase occupancy rate should be quite helpful to grow your business. Make sure you are staying on top ov the vacation rental statistics to keep updated on growing trends in the industry.
