STR - PriceLabs Optimization for Short Lead Times

[Danny Nguyen]

Hello BP community and fellow hosts!

My wife and I are currently running an STR out in the Joshua Tree market alongside our business partner. What we're most proud of is our ability to automate the entire process where the time it takes to manage this property is roughly 2 hours per week on average - pretty easy!
However, on the other hand, our revenue performance has been modest (I consider it a base hit, at least it's cash-flowing!) and we are looking to improve its revenue performance. We launched in November 2022 and have an average occupancy of 80% at $210 ADR.

Another thing to consider is that we noticed lately that lead times are getting shorter; we've seen some bookings that are booked 6~10 days in advance (some even within 1~3 days!). How have all of you been adjusting your STR to account for shorter lead times, assuming this scenario is applicable to your market? We use PriceLabs for dynamic pricing and we're curious if any of you have a specific PriceLabs strategy that has worked well.

Much appreciated, thank you!!

[John Underwood]

Quote from @Danny Nguyen:

Hello BP community and fellow hosts!

My wife and I are currently running an STR out in the Joshua Tree market alongside our business partner. What we're most proud of is our ability to automate the entire process where the time it takes to manage this property is roughly 2 hours per week on average - pretty easy!
However, on the other hand, our revenue performance has been modest (I consider it a base hit, at least it's cash-flowing!) and we are looking to improve its revenue performance. We launched in November 2022 and have an average occupancy of 80% at $210 ADR.

Another thing to consider is that we noticed lately that lead times are getting shorter; we've seen some bookings that are booked 6~10 days in advance (some even within 1~3 days!). How have all of you been adjusting your STR to account for shorter lead times, assuming this scenario is applicable to your market? We use PriceLabs for dynamic pricing and we're curious if any of you have a specific PriceLabs strategy that has worked well.

Much appreciated, thank you!!

 I have monitored dynamic pricing in the past and found it to  be too low.

Since I actively check this once or twice a month I can easily make any changes. Vrbo has a free built in analytic tool that allows me to see upcoming trends. I'll use this tool to spot high demand times.

After years of experience I know when most of the peak times are the Vrbo tools identify any other dates.