Beginners Guide to Dynamic Pricing Software (Pricelabs)

About this video

• Video Title: Beginners Guide to Dynamic Pricing Software (Pricelabs)
• Channel: Airbnb Hosting and Short Term Rental Tips
• Speakers: Sarah Carakan, Annette Grant
• Duration: 14:45

Overview

This video provides a beginner's guide to using dynamic pricing software, specifically PriceLabs, for short-term rental hosts. The hosts emphasize the importance of third-party dynamic pricing tools over built-in options like Airbnb's Smart Pricing to maximize revenue. They offer two key tips for optimizing the software: understanding and utilizing the booking window, and removing the maximum price setting to capture peak demand during events.

Key takeaways

• Third-Party Dynamic Pricing is Crucial: Using software like PriceLabs is recommended over Airbnb's Smart Pricing to ensure pricing aligns with your specific market and property needs, ultimately leading to increased revenue.
• Understand Your Booking Window: The time between a guest booking and their check-in date (booking window) is dynamic and influenced by seasonality, events, and guest behavior. Regularly checking this (e.g., weekly) helps in proactively adjusting rates rather than reacting too late.
• Market Occupancy as a Guide: When market occupancy is below 35%, do not lower rates as demand is not yet strong. When it's above 70%, also avoid lowering rates as you'll likely get booked. The sweet spot for rate adjustments is between 35% and 70% occupancy.
• Remove Maximum Price Setting: Setting a maximum price limits your ability to capitalize on high-demand events (concerts, sports, holidays, weather events). Removing this allows the software to price dynamically and capture peak revenue, preventing you from leaving money on the table.
• Embrace Data Over Perception: Hosts often underestimate their property's value. Trusting data-driven pricing from software like PriceLabs, especially by removing maximum price caps, is essential for maximizing earnings and becoming a stronger revenue manager.