Pricing Your Vacation Rental Correctly

Updated September 2024

Go up, go down, or stay the same?

That’s the question on the mind of vacation rental owners, whether they are relatively new to renting or have been renting for years. Before deciding on which of the three is right for you, we recommend first asking yourself a few important questions. 

How were bookings last season?

If you were completely booked by February, you might consider raising your rates.  If, on the other hand, it was a struggle and you had to reduce your price for more than one or two available weeks, that’s a sign that you might want to keep your prices the same.

What is your competition charging?

One of the best methods of assessing your pricing is to see what comparative rental properties in your area are asking for their homes. Conduct an Advanced Search to view other homes similar to yours.  First search in your immediate town. Input the number of bedrooms, the number of guests your home accommodates, and some of your home’s key amenities. Be sure to include distance to the beach in your comparison. How does your home stack up to similar ones in terms of price?

Next, search a larger geographic area, such as all of the Mid-Cape or the entire island of Martha’s Vineyard, for example. After all, your competition can be in surrounding towns. Some vacationers have never even been to the Cape or Islands before, so they may be conducting a very broad search, not just in your town.

Your home might be newer and have more amenities, while another in the same price range might be closer to the beach; It’s not easy to compare homes. However, you’ll get a good sense of the properties that vacationers compare your home to and how they are priced.

Adjusting your price cap

While you’re conducting the Advanced Search, check out the price cap options. Vacationers can choose to see the listings presented in order from most expensive to least.  So, let’s say you’re thinking of asking around $2000 a week.   Don’t be tempted to tack on an extra $50 to make it $2050 – your listing would not come up in a search with the cap of $2000. By the same token, resist the temptation to post a rate of $1,995 (an old marketing trick to make the price sound lower). If you do that, all the homes listed at $2000 would be listed ahead of yours.

The benefit of tiered pricing

Keep in mind that the most popular weeks of the summer are the last two weeks of July and the first two to three weeks of August. By far, the most difficult week to rent is the last week of August. With schools starting earlier these days, the last week of August isn’t popular with families who have school-age children. It’s best to price this week at a lower rate than the other summer weeks from the outset. Those owners who wait too long to reduce the price often end up lowering it even further as the week draws near. Worse yet, you could risk not renting that week at all.

Shoulder season pricing

It’s all about supply and demand. The shoulder season – particularly the fall – offers many advantages for vacationers: warm days, cool nights, no humidity, no crowds, and seasonal restaurants that are still open.  However, fewer families can take vacations at that time. As a result, the inventory of available homes goes way up as the demand goes down.

Consider the size of your home. Smaller homes tend to rent more successfully in the shoulder season, while larger homes (4+ bedrooms) are more difficult to rent. 

If you want to fill more weeks during the shoulder season, you’ll want to offer attractive rates. You might need to adjust your rates by as much as half of your high season weekly rate.  Also, consider a shorter minimum stay and increasing your daily rate to make renting for a shorter stay worth your while. This is particularly the case for larger homes, which are in less demand for a full week. 

Finding your comfort zone

Occasionally we’ll mention to an owner that we think their prices seem low. Some respond that they are comfortable with their prices where they are because they book early, few vacationers ask about a discount, and they get a lot of repeat renters (the best kind)!  Other owners utilize a more aggressive pricing model, especially in the early booking season.  They are perfectly fine with negotiating their higher rate with prospective guests and then modifying their rate as the rental season nears.  You’ll need to decide what your own comfort zone is and stick with it.

Let us assist you

We offer paid services for in-home consultations (often combined with a photography session), after which we will send you a complete report with comps and pricing recommendations. This service can also be done remotely. To schedule a consultation, email us at support@weneedavacation.com.