Real Estate Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2016 · 286 posts · 67 votes
Hi, Fellow STR investors
I occasionally see some hosts to increase nightly rates to a ridiculous number ($1500/night vs. $150/night average nightly rates in the area), and I assume that they are trying to block certain dates on the calendar. My question is: what are pros and cons of doing so vs. simply blocking off those days? Does the Airbnb algorithm treat two scenarios differently?
Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2019 · 314 posts · 280 votes
5y
Its a good time to mention that this also skews AirDNA stats as well, so those that try and model or analyze using that should be aware that it takes rates like this into account too. A big reason why I'll just do my own research of rates in a given area by peeking at calendars of others.
Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 540 posts · 714 votes
5y
The difference is that when you raise the price, you can still field inquiries for those dates and negotiate a lower price with people. If you block the days, then it simply won’t show up in anyone’s search results and so you won’t be able to negotiate a price with anyone
Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2019 · 314 posts · 280 votes
5y
Its a good time to mention that this also skews AirDNA stats as well, so those that try and model or analyze using that should be aware that it takes rates like this into account too. A big reason why I'll just do my own research of rates in a given area by peeking at calendars of others.
It throws off a person's daily average price which could make you look uncompetitive with your peers.
What other possible differences on impacting that specific listing when using two different ways? Will Airbnb rank those properties that are only available half of the time of a year lower?
It throws off a person's daily average price which could make you look uncompetitive with your peers.
What other possible differences on impacting that specific listing when using two different ways? Will Airbnb rank those properties that are only available half of the time of a year lower?
Thanks
Lee
I beleive that is definitely a risk.
I stopped worrying about rankings when my house was consistently booked solid for top dollar.
I do use the tools on Vrbo where I can use points to move my property up in the search results for unbooked dates. It does seem to work.
Property Manager · Pigeon Forge · Member since 2016 · 199 posts · 208 votes
5y
Raising the price super high is a bad way to do what you're trying to do. One of the important ranking signals the sites use is the 'look to book ratio'. If you have 100 people see your high price and none click, the site learns not to show you as much -- they'd rather show a property that does get booked.