29/05/2018
The popularity of Airbnb has exploded in Australia in the past 5 years especially in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. With a beautiful coastline dotted with world famous beaches, and vibrant cosmopolitan city, Australia has much to offer for both tourists and business travellers alike.
Traditionally summer periods are peak tourist season in Australia with over 1 million overseas visitors in Dec 20171. This is in stark contrast to colder months with May 2017 only attracting under 600,0002 visitors. Facing a 40% drop in demand, managing occupancy and revenue during the colder months can a tricky business especially for properties in coastal suburbs like Bondi, Coogee and Manly in Sydney.
1,2 Figures from Tourism Australia
At MadeComfy, we have seen a shift the both the length stay booked as well as how far ahead a guest makes a booking as we move from summer to winter months. In the summer months, 40% of our guests’ book within the week of check-in and over 70% of these bookings are for 5 nights or less. So, bookings in summer are akin to last minute short getaways. In contrast, there is a trend of longer bookings especially between 6 and 20 days when heading into the winter months. Our guests are also well-prepared with over 50% of bookings in May being made more than 21 days before their intended stay.
Given the change in guest booking behaviours and trends, here are 3 simple ways to increase the revenue of your property on Airbnb in low season.
Consider a longer minimum stay
Imposing a longer minimum stay will mean each booking the property gets will be a higher value. It also preserves your calendar so that it is available for longer stay bookings. For example, a 1-day booking in the middle of the month could prevent you from accepting a 2-week booking later down the line. At MadeComfy, the majority of our properties have a minimum stay of 3 nights or more. A side benefit of longer minimum stay is that it also deters groups who book accommodation to hold a party.
Discount earlier
Guests in the winter months are booking ahead of time so traditional “last minute discounts” may not be too useful. Start offering lower off-peak rates sooner so your property remains competitive and can capture the best bookings.
Know your city’s event calendar
Even though the colder months is traditionally low season, there are still plenty of events happening which will attract accommodation bookings. Vivid, an annual light festival in Sydney is on between 25 May – 13 June. With an expected crowd of over 2 million, this is period has historically drawn bookings from visitors all around the country. Demand is also expected to pick up around public holiday like Queen’s birthday on the 11 June (except QLD and WA) and NSW school holidays between 7 - 22 July.
Pricing is only one aspect to successfully hosting a property on Airbnb. Everything from professional property styling, photography and copy writing to providing 5-star guest experience all contribute to the success of your property.
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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.
Get your free short-term rental forecast from MadeComfy.
Ph. 1800 526 133 30
