Are You Leaving Money on the Table? 5 Signs Your STR Pricing Strategy is Outdated
Let’s talk about the one thing that makes most hosts squirm: money. Let’s take it a step further. Let’s talk about STR pricing strategy. Whose? YOURS, girl.
You work incredibly hard. You have curated a beautiful space, you manage the cleaners, and you answer guest messages at all hours of the night. You deserve to be paid well for that effort. But here is the tough love you need to hear, sister: if you are treating your pricing like a set-it-and-forget-it task, you’re essentially lighting money on fire.
The short-term rental market changes fast. What worked in 2021 does not work today. If you’re still using “gut feel” or copying your neighbor to set your rates, your STR pricing strategy is outdated. And an outdated strategy means you are leaving profit on the table. Wouldn’t you rather have that profit in your bank account? ‘Course you would! Who wouldn’t?
It is time to stop guessing and start earning like a CEO. Here are the five glaring signs that it’s time to upgrade your approach.
Why Your Current STR Pricing Strategy Might Be Failing You
Many hosts operate out of fear. Fear of an empty calendar makes them price too low. Fear of being “too expensive” keeps them stagnant. But a robust STR pricing strategy isn’t about emotion; it’s about data. It’s about understanding supply, demand, and the true value of your asset.
If you recognize any of these five signs, it’s time to pivot.
1. You Are Booked Solid Three Months in Advance
I know what you’re thinking. “But Stacey, isn’t a full calendar the goal?”
No. It’s not.
If your calendar is 100% booked for the next three months, your prices are too low. Period. You have effectively capped your income. You’re missing out because you’re selling a premium product at a bargain-bin price. A healthy strategy involves aiming for optimal revenue, not just maximum occupancy. Industry leaders like AirDNA emphasize that balancing your occupancy rate with your average daily rate (ADR) is the only way to truly maximize Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR).
2. You Have “Weekday” and “Weekend” Flat Rates
If your pricing model looks like: “$150 on weekdays, $250 on weekends,” regardless of the month or season, your STR pricing strategy is a dinosaur.
Demand is fluid. A Tuesday in July is not worth the same as a Tuesday in November. A weekend when a major festival is in town is worth triple a standard weekend. Flat rates fail to capture the peaks of high demand and fail to attract guests during the valleys of low demand. You need nuance.
3. You Are Copying Your Neighbor’s Prices
This is the “blind leading the blind” method. Just because the house down the street is listed for $200 a night doesn’t mean they are booking at that rate – or that they are profitable.
They might have a different mortgage, different amenities, or a completely different business model. When you base your STR pricing strategy on someone else’s listing, you are letting a stranger dictate your revenue. You need to price based on your unique value proposition, not their guesses.
4. The “Set It and Forget It” Syndrome
When was the last time you logged in and actually changed your base rates? If the answer is “when I set up the listing,” we have a problem.
Successful revenue management requires active monitoring. Markets shift. Competitors drop out. Travel trends change. An effective STR pricing strategy is a living, breathing thing. It requires regular check-ins to ensure you are positioned correctly for the current market conditions.
5. You Aren’t Leveraging Dynamic Pricing Tools
This is the biggest red flag of all. In today’s tech-driven world, trying to manually adjust your prices for every single day of the year is impossible. You cannot beat an algorithm that analyzes millions of daily data points.
If you aren’t using a dynamic pricing tool (like PriceLabs), that’s an indication that you’re not serious about building your business. Sorry to be blunt – but it’s the truth. Serious STR bosses leverage every tool at their disposal to maximize their profit and save time by making data-driven decisions. These tools do the heavy lifting for you, ensuring your prices are always optimized for the highest possible return.
Level Up Your Revenue Game
Realizing your strategy is outdated? This is GOOD! It isn’t a failure; it’s an opportunity. It means there is immediate upside potential in your business right now. By tightening up your STR pricing strategy, you can often increase your revenue by 10-40% without getting a single extra booking.
Work smarter, not harder. Claim the income you’ve earned.
Ready to Master Your Profitability?
Fixing your pricing is just one piece of the puzzle. If you want to learn the holistic strategies that top-tier female hosts are using to scale their portfolios and dominate their markets, you need to be in the room with the experts.
Stop leaving money on the table and start building a legacy. I invite you to join us at the STR Virtual Summit for Women. Get the blueprint for a profitable, sustainable business directly from the women who are leading the industry.
Join the waitlist, and let’s get ready to skyrocket that revenue!
