EP220: This Week in the World of Airbnb

EP220: This Week in the World of Airbnb

almost 8 years agoScore: 78
Pricing & Profitability
Revenue Management
Pricing Strategy
Airbnb
Market Research

Summary

This 'Get Paid For Your Pad' episode discusses STR revenue management, focusing on scheduling routines and analyzing booking behavior. Hosts should implement daily/weekly pricing reviews, paying attention to booking signals and market trends to optimize revenue. The episode also highlights the importance of CEO focus and avoiding the "hectic host" stage.

Key Insights

  • Early bookings can indicate underpricing or upcoming events.
  • STR rate drops must be deeper near arrival than hotels.
  • Last-minute inventory tells you about demand and visibility.
  • Small daily price changes can increase exposure on OTAs.
  • Weekends require different attention than weekdays in terms of pricing strategy.
  • Hotels can rely on last-minute demand, but STRs cannot.
  • CEOs waste 30 to 50 percent of their time on low-value activities.
  • Pattern recognition is becoming one of the most important CEO skills.
  • STR pricing is dramatically harder than hotel pricing.

Action Items

  • Identify whether a problem is worth solving right now.
    Effort: low
    Impact: medium
  • Review every booking to identify pricing and demand signals.
    Effort: low
    Impact: medium
  • Schedule revenue management routines, rather than being reactive.
    Effort: low
    Impact: medium
  • Identify the biggest bottlenecks in your STR business.
    Effort: medium
    Impact: high
  • Rethink priorities and recognize patterns inside your business.
    Effort: low
    Impact: medium
  • Understand how booking windows shape revenue strategy.
    Effort: low
    Impact: medium

Tools & Resources

  • Freewyld Foundry: Get a Free Revenue Review from Freewyld Foundry
  • Freewyld Foundry: Learn more about Freewyld Foundry

Watch Out For

  • Confusing action with momentum can stall growth.
  • Trying to fix everything at once can slow growth.
  • STR operators stay stuck in firefighting mode, rather than closing the root cause.

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