One of the biggest mistakes that owners of short-term rental properties (which I unfortunately see too often) make is actually… two 😄
- Thinking that prices can stay constant throughout the year.
- Believing that by having a high price, you attract higher-quality guests.
The reality of this industry is that large cities are seasonal in terms of tourism, and those who ignore this aspect risk not only losing bookings but also having reduced visibility on booking platforms.
Now, I need to make an important clarification about what “season” and “off-season” mean for Spain.
In Spain, the tourist season refers to the peak times when there are more visitors, typically during spring and summer, from late April to October. This is when the weather is warm, attractions are busy, and there are more events and festivals. The off-season is the period when fewer tourists visit, usually during the colder months, from November to March. During this time, destinations are quieter, prices may be lower, and some attractions might have limited hours or be closed.
Off-season: the remaining months 😂 – but a significant drop in bookings is mostly felt in January, February, and March.
🎯 Don’t enter this business if you are not mentally prepared to adjust prices in the off-season, sometimes even below the minimum threshold you would expect!
Reducing prices is not just a survival strategy for us, but a necessity to maintain a constant flow of bookings. An apartment that stays vacant for weeks on end will gradually lose visibility on booking platforms, and once it enters this vicious circle, recovery becomes extremely difficult.
Booking platforms like Booking.com or Airbnb, which we work with regularly, operate on algorithms that prioritize properties that generate income. It’s only natural: if you bring them money through commissions, they promote you; if you don’t, they push you further down.
If an apartment remains unbooked for a long period, the algorithm understands that it is not desired by guests, and therefore, it will no longer appear on the first pages of searches. Factors that influence this ranking include the frequency of bookings, conversion rate (how often visitors complete a booking after accessing the page), review score, cancellation policy, and the host’s response time. The longer a property stays vacant, the further down it is pushed in search results, and getting back to a good position becomes harder and harder.
A common mistake some owners make is keeping high prices during the off-season, thinking that this maintains the property’s standard or attracts higher-quality guests. In reality, this approach gradually leads to a drop in ranking, and the consequence is that when the season starts, the apartment no longer appears in the top search results. Even if demand returns, those places that maintained a steady flow of bookings throughout the year will be the first promoted by the algorithm. Apartments that stagnated and had no activity will be pushed toward the lower pages, where the chances of attracting bookings are considerably smaller.
To avoid this trap, there is only one solution: adapt your prices to the market average during the off-season. Lower them during weak periods, activate promotions and discounts, and offer deductions for long stays.
‼ The short-term rental industry is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. I repeat this to all the property owners I meet to discuss this topic.
Success doesn’t come from keeping high rates at all costs, but from an intelligent strategy that maintains a steady flow of bookings.
The off-season should not be seen as a dead period, but as an important phase in which property owners who adapt will benefit. A property that does not adapt to market reality quickly disappears from the first pages of searches on Booking and Airbnb, and recovery is much more difficult than preventing this situation with the correct pricing strategy.