As a holiday home agency, we know that winter can be challenging for many property owners in Australia. It’s a low season that creates low occupancy. Different seasons don’t only affect the property owners in Australia but all over the world.
Luckily, there are ways to improve your listing to be more suitable for wintertime travelers, and in that way, you can maximize your profits also during the low season. Holiday home management can help you in achieving these goals.
So how can I boost my winter sales? There are few different ways to prepare your listing for winter. Remember that you are also competing with all the other properties which are facing the same problem. So, we also need to look at the current price range for your area.
The first thing we look at is pricing. Obviously, we need to offer lower prices for a low season to attract more guests to the property. There are three possible ways to adjust the overall price per night. We can either adjust the general price per night, give discounts on cleaning fees or add more flexible cancellation policies.
Our job as a holiday home agency is to constantly monitor the prices and adjust the best available prices to the properties. This is what the hotels have been doing for a long time already. It’s all about following the occupancy rates in each week. Even during the low season, we can find days that have more bookings, and for those days, we can adjust higher prices too.
The low season might attract other visitors who are looking for properties for longer-term from a week to months. This is the perfect time to offer discounts for those long-term occupants. This means that the rate per night becomes lower, but in the end, we will see more returns as the guests will stay longer in the property. Airbnb offers a great scale of adjustment for the length of stay discounts.
At the same time, it’s good to look at the minimum stay requirements at the property. During the low season, we want to reduce the minimum nights and increase the maximum nights. In this way, we give more options to the guests, and the property is more likely to appear on searches set by the guests.
Maybe now you’re starting to think that it’s all about reducing prices, and will there be any profit left after offering the property for so cheap for many months? Don’t worry, remember that guest reviews also run during wintertime, and the more customers you can get then, the more you will be expecting when the summer high season hits again.
Major events also happen during wintertime. Maybe not in the smallest cities, but at least big cities like Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. Some events can attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over, like the Queens birthday in June. Also, look for major concerts, festival, and conferences which can happen at any time of the year.
If your property has been on Airbnb for several years, you should look back to the previous winters and the booking you were getting then. Which has been your target group? Is it business people, young travelers, or families with children? Know your target audience and adjust your listing according to their preferences. Different properties attract different guests, and that is why here, you really need to know your guests.
Always make sure you get 5-star reviews. We know from experience that 5-star rated properties have far better occupancy rates also during low seasons. They will appear on the searches first and, in that way, be more likely to be booked than other properties with lower ratings. Sydney alone has thousands of listings, so competition is tough, and to get your property to the highest positions doesn’t happen overnight.
Be on time, when adjusting these changes. Don’t wait for too long, because many guests like to book well in advance. Apply your winter rates already few months ahead, so that you can increase your occupancy rates for that time.
You can advertise your special discounted rates on your Airbnb listing so that guests are able to pick up on your discount right away.
Once you’ve made all the pricing adjustments, you might also want to take a look at your listing’s other amenities. Was it designed more for a summer visit with sunny pictures and all? Not very convenient for wintertime.
Take a moment to add also some unique features of why your place is best for the winter. Pictures of fireplaces, cozy blankets, hot baths, and a warm atmosphere will help you to make the place look warm and pleasant for winter. Some hosts go as far as changing a whole set of winter decorations to their property to make it look warmer. Especially natural materials are added during wintertime to create a warm atmosphere.
A warm welcome is also important. Make sure that a kettle and other hot drinks are available for your guests’ comfort. And don’t forget to take pictures of them and add them to your listing too. Small details are often the ones that give the best guest experiences.
Winter in Australia is relatively long, although it does vary in different parts of the country. But your property should not just stand still all these long months. With these helpful tips, we hope that you have picked the best ones that you can use in making your property ready for low season wintertime.
Holiday home property management is a constant journey of keeping the properties well maintained, adjust competitive prices, attract new guests, and prepare for the coming seasons.
Don’t let your property stay empty this winter, but be prepared. If you follow these tips, you will definitely increase your chances for more bookings. Holiday home management can help you to follow the trends in your area so that the best available prices can be set, and you will still see profits coming in.