The warmer season is about to start and, traditionally, this is the time of the year when Australia receives the highest number of tourists. According to last years’ statistics from Tourism Australia, the country received over one million people in December 2017. This number is 4.0% higher in comparison with the same period in the previous year and the trend is that it continues to grow year-on-year.

Australia’s warm weather, iconic coastlines and stunning beaches are some of the reasons that attract so many tourists to visit the country during Summer. This has a huge impact on the short-term rental market. With a higher demand for accommodation, property owners have, during the peak season, a great opportunity to maximise rental income.

If you are renting your property on Airbnb and other bookings websites during this season, there are other things that you can do apart from simply setting higher nightly rates for your property. MadeComfy’s

Head of Business Intelligence - also known as the Dynamic pricing expert - Maria Li, shares 3 quick tips that can help you maximise your property’s rental income during this period.

  • Raise nightly rates and wait for the last minute bookings – Maximise your booking value in the high season. Set your prices higher than the average in the suburb and let other listings start to take bookings. The goal is to catch last minute bookings in the last week from guests who have only a few options. Of course, this requires a tolerance for risk and patience. On high demand days, you will have a very high chance to secure last minute bookings at a high rate.
  • New Year Eve pricing - If your property has views of the New Years Eve’ fireworks or is close to these celebrations, then more likely your property would be sought after over the new year period. Set a higher price and a 5-night minimum stay over the public holiday weekend to make sure the property gets booked out over the entire period, and not just for one or two nights.
  • Extend stay by reducing rates – Better than changing the minimum stay is encouraging longer weekend stays by discounting Thursday and Sunday nightly rates to achieve higher occupancy. This way, your listing will still show up in searches for shorter weekend stays.

It’s really important to adapt your nightly rate according to the seasonality and the calendar to maximise your returns rather than simply aiming for a 100% occupancy rate throughout the year.

But dynamic pricing is only one aspect to successfully host a property on Airbnb. The tips above only help you if your property meets quality standards and your guests’ expectations. This is when effective professional property management can help. It includes everything from interior design and styling, professional photography for your online listings, efficient guest management, housekeeping to regular maintenance.

If you need your properties managed professionally, or want to unlock its rental potential, contact award-winning property management specialists at MadeComfy.

 

With over 10 years experience in the financial markets

and trading industry, Maria Li leads the Business Intelligence

team in MadeComfy.

Her experience and passion in data analysis is key to helping

MadeComfy's property owners achieve accelerated returns.

 

Keen to see how a short-term rental strategy could unlock a stronger cash flow?

Get your free short-term rental forecast from MadeComfy.

Ph. 1800 526 133 30 

www.madecomfy.com.au