Navigating Airbnb seasonal pricing: peak vs low seasons

One of the most crucial aspects of your Airbnb pricing strategy is knowing when to price higher or lower depending on the time of year. A well-executed Airbnb seasonal pricing plan can significantly boost your rental yield for your current property without having to pay extra for any upgrades, discounts, or marketing campaigns.

In this article, we’ll explore best practices regarding Airbnb seasonal pricing and guide you through the process of setting up nightly rates tailored to your property.

Airbnb peak season vs low season: what’s the difference?

Airbnb rental seasonality is typically affected by the following factors:

• Location,
• festivals, holidays & local events, and
• popular tourist seasons for that area

Peak seasons for Airbnb occur during periods when demand for travel & accommodations in a certain area is higher. This typically results in more expensive stays, as homeowners maximise rental seasonality​ to increase income.

Low seasons, on the other hand, take place during periods when there’s less demand for travel to an area. Homeowners tend to lower prices during this time to encourage bookings when there are not as many visitors.

The period between peak and low season is often called the shoulder season, when market trends aren’t as predictable.

How does seasonal pricing affect my earnings?

Pricing your short-term rental too low during peak season will lead to lost income, as your nightly prices fall behind the current market rate. But pricing too much during low seasons could result in no income at all, since you risk turning away potential customers and getting no bookings in the first place. This is what makes Airbnb seasonal pricing crucial for both the short-term and long-term prospects for your property.

Our recommendations per season are as follows:

• Peak season: increased prices and longer minimum stays to maximise income from higher demand
• Low season: cheaper prices and shorter minimum stays to encourage bookings during the slow/off-peak season
• Shoulder season: adjust pricing frequently based on local market trends, especially if there are any events in your area

Here's an example of what your nightly rate might look like (assuming a base price of 100 AUD) after it's adjusted for seasonality, with up to a 32% increase during peak seasons and a 30% decrease during off-peak seasons:

If your Airbnb isn’t getting any bookings, it might be a good idea to edit your listing according to Airbnb SEO practices, adjust prices, or maybe even offer some last-minute discounts. 

How do I set seasonal pricing on Airbnb?

If you’re using manual pricing, you can customise pricing on specific dates directly through your Calendar. If your property is listed on other vacation rental websites, make sure to manually adjust your prices there, too.

If you’re using Airbnb’s Smart Pricing or third-party short-term rental pricing tools, their internal algorithms will already take seasonality into account, though you may still need to make occasional manual adjustments to account for market fluctuations.

If you’re working with an Airbnb manager or cohosts, they’ll take care of seasonal pricing on your behalf and make adjustments as often as necessary. Airbnb management companies like Hometime combine dynamic pricing with human insight and market context to come up with a customised pricing strategy that’s built around your property’s unique earning potential. The result? On average, Hometime properties saw an 11% rise in occupancy and a 9% revenue increase during peak season after implementing our pricing strategies.

Want to earn more from your property? Schedule a chat with us below to know more about how we and get a free Airbnb earnings estimate:

Aside from seasonal pricing, you’ll also get a team of experts dedicated to helping you reach your property’s full potential through the following services:

• Multi-channel listings on Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Hometime & more,
• guest vetting and communication, including any emergencies, from local hosts that live near your property,
• listing optimisation through Airbnb SEO, professional photographers, and property stylists,
• a reliable network of cleaners that deliver a high-quality clean every time, and
• access to the Homeowner Portal, our very own property management software for Airbnb, where you get 24/7 visibility into your booking calendar