Latest / Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights / Beyond’s Guide to Profitable Slow Periods

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Beyond’s Guide to Profitable Slow Periods · Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

0:00
Hello and welcome to Houseplanet Bite Size, that podcast brought
0:03
to you by Houseplanet and Housefully.
0:05
My name is James Varley, the founder of Houseplanet, and our
0:08
goal is to share everything you need to know about buying and
0:11
managing short term rentals. Today's guest is Charlie Gibbons
0:14
from Beyond and he's got 5 tips to share on how to keep your
0:18
calendar full during shoulder season.
0:21
OK, real talk now for all you hosts out there.
0:23
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Sorted with housefully. Charlie, thank you for joining
1:46
us on host planet Bite Size. You've got 5 tips to share on
1:50
how to keep your calendar full during shoulder season, so take
1:54
it away with tip #1. Thanks very much for having me,
1:57
James. So yeah, it, it, it goes without
2:00
saying, obviously things change during high to low season and
2:04
the shoulder is, is always an, an important opportunity to
2:07
maximize. I suppose my first tip is
2:10
booking lead times matter. They are changing now more than
2:15
ever. That's not just in the UK,
2:17
that's truly across the globe. It's red to find a market where
2:20
the booking lead time is at least getting longer.
2:23
So as these things become more compact, you know, my first
2:26
advice again is pay attention to the booking lead time and keep
2:30
pace with the evolving trends and price accordingly.
2:34
You know, especially in shoulder season, demand isn't just, you
2:37
know, guest behaviour is less predictable too and really more
2:41
opportunistic. So I know that compulsion can be
2:45
to like lower rates far out in advance, you know, help you
2:48
build occupancy, but wait until you're inside the booking lead
2:52
time before you start getting really dynamic or maybe fair to
2:56
say, in some cases aggressive. You know, if you have the right
3:00
strategy in place and your pricing is reflective of the
3:04
experience you're offering with your listing, you'll capture
3:07
bookings outside the window as well as capturing those last
3:11
minute, let's say opportunistic opportunists as well.
3:15
So in short, like be looking at both sides of the coin,
3:18
especially in terms of pacing, what's happening inside your
3:21
booking window and what's happening outside of it.
3:23
That's my first one. How important is it to hold your
3:28
nerve, especially if you're in a market like mine where you get a
3:32
lot of last minute bookings? I mean, how important is it not
3:35
to tank the rate too quickly? It couldn't be more important,
3:41
but I suppose what should be your first question is how much
3:44
occupancy and bookings have I built outside of my booking
3:48
window? You know that that should really
3:50
dictate, let's say, how dynamic you want to get within the
3:54
booking window itself. I think it's important that you
3:57
look at two different things though.
3:59
When you're looking at booking lead time, see how it's pacing
4:02
compared to the same time last year at your portfolio level,
4:06
you know, are you in line? I'm sure you remember last
4:09
vividly. Are you above, right?
4:11
Are you behind? But also be paying attention to
4:14
how that's changing within the market as well.
4:17
I think especially if you're finding that like your bookings
4:20
are more last minute than the market is, especially nowadays
4:23
versus the same time last year. That can tell you a little bit
4:26
about what you wanted to do or what you should do with your
4:29
rates further out. But also vice versa, right?
4:31
If you're if you're pacing far ahead the market and that's true
4:35
both outside and within the booking lead time potentially
4:38
actually there's an opportunity there.
4:40
Maybe you're being a little bit too aggressive, a little a
4:42
little too. Soon.
4:45
So booking lead times matter. What's tip #2?
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So it goes without saying again, right, revenue is always the
4:54
goal, but also the definition of success and rules shouldn't be
4:58
the same throughout the year. It should change seasonally,
5:01
right? But go deeper even within the
5:04
same season, especially during shoulder and differentiate
5:08
between your weekend and your weekdays.
5:11
In particular, you know midweek demand.
5:14
It isn't just softer, it looks more last minute.
5:17
And while you know, you expect to see the weekends, they remain
5:20
kind of consistently strong and book further out in advance, at
5:24
least in my experience, right across many markets.
5:26
So for midweek, be as flexible as possible with your rules,
5:31
especially as it relates to mid stays and especially dynamic
5:35
with your rates. And that's certainly true when
5:37
you're within the booking window, within, you know, the
5:40
average booking lead time, you know, Long story short, there's
5:43
simply less eyes on those dates. So do everything that you can to
5:47
make yourself stand out for weekends, you know, hold higher
5:51
minimums, but also only consider adjusting rates further out
5:56
earlier let's say than later. If pacing again really shows
6:00
clear signs of slowing versus same time last year.
6:03
But again, look at that listing level, look at that portfolio
6:07
level, especially within the same market and look at that at
6:11
a market level as well. You know, revenue gain in my
6:15
experience, especially if you're pricing dynamically, it comes
6:18
from keeping pace case. So when you're pricing
6:21
dynamically, again, if you see that there's a divergent, it
6:25
says something about your pricing.
6:27
So split, let's say the the the problem into two sides,
6:32
especially during shoulder. Look at the weekends, look at
6:35
the weekdays, treat them differently, apply different
6:38
means and and really again apply different rules from a min state
6:42
perspective in the UK. What would you say to a host or
6:45
property manager out there and they're thinking, oh gosh, I
6:49
can't go below a three or a four day minimum, but I want to get
6:54
more eyeballs on my listing. Where would you start in that
6:58
scenario? So I'd firstly start by seeing
7:02
how that's changed in the market, right?
7:04
Get access to the data and there there are many tools out there
7:07
that can inform you and see how that's changed.
7:11
You know, especially if you're an operator working on the
7:13
behalf of owners. I think times sometimes the
7:16
proof is in the pudding. You just need to show them how
7:18
these things are changing. Likewise, if you're a host,
7:22
right, you're an operator yourself.
7:24
This data isn't, you know, in any way in inaccessible.
7:28
So have a look at, let's say your preconceptions or maybe
7:33
your traditional rules and compare them and see how much
7:36
the market has changed. The reality is now more than
7:40
ever, guest behaviour has changed too.
7:43
People are looking for flexibility.
7:45
So while I can understand why, you know, many operators, many
7:49
owners out there might want to hold fast, you know, they've
7:52
seen the best results from these sorts of min stays in the past.
7:56
It doesn't mean to say that you can't get as much out of it, if
8:00
not more ideally by being more flexible.
8:03
Because again, you know, it's all about eyes on your listing.
8:07
If you're more flexible, you're appealing to more people.
8:10
But, you know, don't just do it without thought or reason.
8:14
Look at the data, see what it tells you first.
8:17
Makes a lot of sense. Tip #3 then Charlie.
8:20
OK. So you know metrics, right?
8:23
I always say this out loud, how you measure success, it changes.
8:29
It can be a difference from an owner's perspective, it can be
8:33
very closely related to the goals that they have with that
8:36
particular property. And you know, we always talk
8:39
about occupancy, we always talk about ADR, especially during
8:42
high season. But what matters most in my
8:46
opinion, is profitability at the end of the day.
8:50
So, so if you're not already, make sure that you're playing
8:53
your cards by Revpam. Now likely many people have
8:57
heard that before. Sometimes it's referred to as
8:59
Revpa, but Revpam stands for revenue per available night.
9:04
And in my opinion, it's certainly the most important
9:07
metric, especially during shoulder season.
9:10
So I'm no mathematician, but just to kind of break it down,
9:14
it's it's effectively taking the total revenue that you've
9:18
generated in a particular period, dividing it by the
9:21
number of available nights you have.
9:23
So removing things like any owner stays, maintenance blocks,
9:27
calendar blocks, and effectively it'll tell you how much you're
9:30
really making per night. And so you know, for lack of a
9:33
better word, it blends fill rate as well as the booked ADR.
9:38
What I encourage people to do here is not just use it as a
9:42
metric, but run tests throughout the period to see which one most
9:47
positively impacts your Rev pan because again, that's the money
9:51
you're making per night at the end of the day.
9:53
You'd be really surprised. We always talk about this.
9:56
Imagine a 30 day month, right? Would you rather have 50%
10:00
occupancy during shoulder at £200 a night or you know,
10:04
potentially 70% occupancy during the same period at £150 per
10:10
night. You know the math often
10:12
surprises operators and and you know ultimately their owners
10:16
and, and the way to prove whether or not you should be
10:18
leaning one way or another is at the end of the day, the Rev pan
10:22
how much money are you actually making per night?
10:24
And this boils down to actually knowing your numbers, right?
10:28
And I, I, I don't know, I just get a feeling that there are
10:32
some hosts and property managers out there and they see, you know
10:35
what they think they should be charging.
10:37
They look at competitors and think, OK, I'll, I'll charge
10:40
that per night. That's my, I don't know my base
10:43
price or my minimum, but I haven't actually looked at what
10:47
that will bring in in terms of profit.
10:49
And, and I get the impression that sometimes the people are
10:52
making a loss. So you know, how important is it
10:54
to really know your numbers and understand exactly how much
10:58
you're making per night, per stay?
11:00
Well, it's, it's critical, especially during periods where
11:03
demand is a bit thinner. I, I suppose, you know, there,
11:07
there are so many different examples and this changes across
11:10
the globe massively. And, and you know, I appreciate
11:13
also, well, what should be the case is when it comes to the
11:18
restrictions you put in place, they should be absolute
11:21
restrictions. And again, during shoulder
11:23
season, they should be at the lowest low they can be in order
11:27
to give you more dynamism in terms of what you can play with,
11:30
with your rates. You know, I know operators in
11:33
markets like Dubai who during their especially challenging low
11:37
season are comfortable making a loss and set their minimums
11:41
accordingly. Because the idea is, you know,
11:44
you'd rather 80% of something than 100% of nothing.
11:48
At the end of the day, I suppose it all correlates back to what's
11:52
the goals that you're setting with your property.
11:56
You know, simply what's their revenue goal at the end of the
11:59
day for the end of the year, but also what are you trying to
12:02
achieve with this listing and, and how are you, let's say,
12:05
reflecting that within how you're pricing the listing?
12:09
But knowing your numbers is critical and setting minimums
12:13
not based on, and I've seen this happen a lot and setting
12:17
minimums based on what people determine as ideal rather than
12:21
cost, for example, it's something that happens too much.
12:25
And you know, again, if these are things that you haven't
12:28
changed year over year, you should always be calculating,
12:31
you know, how much is it actually costing me to offer
12:34
this over a nightly period? And am I reflecting that in the
12:38
rule sets And and you know, effective systems that you're
12:42
using to build these strategies within it's critical.
12:46
Yeah, it's a good point, isn't it, regarding the really
12:48
seasonal markets, you know, places like Dubai where they'll
12:51
have seasons where that's basically where they make all
12:54
their money and the rest of the year it's, it's a bit of a bonus
12:57
what they get in. So and it's fine.
13:00
It's fine to look at it like that.
13:02
OK then Charlie tip #4. So, you know, look, this is
13:07
something I'll always say that operators know better than I,
13:10
right? But play to your strengths in
13:12
regards to guest personas. Think about the sorts of people
13:17
groups, you know, let's say demographics that are coming to
13:20
your market, especially during shoulder season and, and
13:24
leverage and build packages, banner discounts that appeal to
13:28
these types of people in groups. Because that's how you're going
13:31
to be able to appeal again, to the most eyes when it comes to
13:36
booking a stay within your market and potentially booking
13:39
or listing. You know, I always think of
13:41
obvious examples, especially in the UK.
13:43
You know, outside of summer, you're looking at more empty
13:47
nest couples, off peak families as well as remote workers,
13:50
right? That's becoming more and more of
13:52
a demographic, I would say in our industry now more than ever
13:56
outside of major holidays. Think about, you know, three
14:00
night romantic getaways and how you're marketing that, whether
14:04
it's through a banner on the online travel agency, whether
14:07
it's through a marketing discount that you're throwing
14:08
out. And again, make sure that you
14:10
know, you're effectively orientating, you're listening
14:13
towards that sort of demographic.
14:16
Don't be afraid to discount if people are booking longer length
14:19
of stay. The one I always come back to is
14:22
like, you know, four nights, let's say, for non peak
14:24
families, people will book, right?
14:27
If you're making it competitive and you know, you're offering
14:30
discounts upfront, maybe a kids go free kicker right on those
14:34
larger berths too. And when it comes to remote
14:38
workers, think about seven night discounts, right, which might
14:41
appeal to them, especially if they're looking for, you know,
14:44
work away weeks in an idyllic location where they can get a
14:48
bit more peace and quiet. But yeah, again, it's all about
14:51
leveraging this so you can stay competitive and avoid fire
14:54
selling at the end of the day. Yeah, boils down to knowing your
14:57
target guest and then creating deals accordingly and then going
15:02
to where they're hanging out. If it's the the newsletter,
15:05
social media or, or wherever it might be.
15:08
All right then, Charlie. So final one tip #5?
15:11
South And you know, I think this is more important than ever
15:16
before, but whatever you're doing by leverage strategies
15:20
that evolve as your market does, okay.
15:23
And so whether it's these last minute discounts, even far out
15:27
premiums, right, when we're not talking about shoulder have
15:31
strategies in place that automatically change as your
15:34
market does, you know, geared towards of course, right, what
15:39
are the objectives? So whether you want to be rate
15:41
focused far out, whether you want to be, you know, kind of
15:44
optimally blended for revenue or maybe if you want to lean into
15:47
occupancy, there are tools out there that effectively automates
15:52
these things based on how your market's evolving, based on how
15:55
the booking lead time is evolving as well.
15:59
You know, you should always, where possible, have things in
16:02
place that make it easy for you to monitor, let's say, output
16:05
pace in terms of bookings and make tweaks, right?
16:09
Not perpetually managing manual input of settings and rates.
16:13
Of course, you know, minimum stays are always a really,
16:17
really important factor. Again, especially when we're
16:20
talking about shoulder season, you know, when you're getting
16:23
within your booking window, do you want to leverage a system
16:26
that automatically drops minimum stays and you know, accordingly
16:31
increases flexibility? You can also have those things
16:35
in place while ignoring those sorts of systems for key dates
16:38
like major holidays. Christmas is a really obvious 1.
16:41
Thanksgiving is another one for those North American listeners.
16:45
But you know, my, my advice there is really planned for the
16:48
future, not all the time, if that makes sense.
16:52
Like, you know, the analogy I like to use is like, you know,
16:54
any operator, revenue manager, pricing manager, really anybody
16:59
who's responsible for these strategies.
17:02
Think of your role as a, you know, a conductor.
17:05
Effectively, the conductor leads the, you know, the orchestra.
17:10
You shouldn't be playing every single instrument at the same
17:13
time as well, because in the end, you're just splitting
17:16
yourself across too many aspects that you know, ultimately lead
17:19
to those small things that make all the difference being
17:22
overlooked during the time where they matter most.
17:26
But again, you know, don't just price based on how demand
17:30
changes in the market. You know, look at how your
17:33
listing is pacing relative to similar bedroom sizes in the
17:37
market too. As we said, Rev pan's important
17:40
pacing changes, right, depending on your bedroom size, even
17:44
within the same market. But again, there are tools out
17:47
there that don't just help you price dynamically based on
17:50
demand, they'll also help you affect that pricing based on how
17:54
your listing is pacing relative to the market as well.
17:58
You know, I always promise you, James, no plugs, but I have to
18:01
say it and beyond, we call that feature dynamic occupancy based
18:05
pricing. And, you know, now more than
18:06
ever, people are using it to be able to get the most out of
18:09
their listings and, and really help them price accordingly when
18:13
they're pacing, whether it's, you know, based on occupancy or
18:15
something else versus the market starts to become more and more
18:19
divergent from, you know, let's say that sweet spot.
18:22
Absolutely, and Beyond can help you to be the conductor and to
18:26
play all the right notes in the right order.
18:29
If people want to find out more about Beyond Charlie, where
18:32
should they go? So, you know, check out our
18:36
website and we have revenue con consultants available.
18:40
They're accessible through the website to offer you free
18:43
consultations. You know, feel free to reach out
18:46
to me personally, I have the pleasure of being the sales
18:49
director for North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
18:53
So I never sleep, but never hesitate to reach out to me if
18:57
you'd like to know a bit more or you'd like to have a free
19:00
consultation, both accessible via the website as well as
19:03
myself. Superb.
19:05
We'll put all those links in the show notes as well as the link
19:07
to your LinkedIn. Charlie, it's been a pleasure as
19:11
ever. Thanks for joining us on Host
19:12
PLANET by Size. Thanks for having me James, have
19:15
a great week. All right, that's it for today's
19:17
episode. My thanks to Charlie for joining
19:19
us and sharing those essential tips.
19:21
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Until next. I'll be hosting.