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Five pricing moves every STR host should know

  • Aug 29, 2025
  • 3 min read

When it comes to STR pricing, many hosts fail to hit the sweet spot by either undercharging during high-demand windows or forgetting to protect profit in the low season. On Host Planet Bitesize, Bevan Thompson, Customer Success Manager at Hostfully, shared five simple pricing moves that help you avoid both traps – and reclaim hours you’d otherwise spend tweaking calendars.


  1. Switch on dynamic pricing (and set “bumper lanes”)


Bevan’s first tip: adopt dynamic pricing – software that adjusts rates in real time using market demand and local signals. He recommends integrating with tools such as Beyond, PriceLabs, or Quibble through your PMS, then adding guardrails (minimum and maximum rates) so the system can’t stray outside your comfort zone. Think of them like the bowling alley “bumpers” that keep the ball out of the gutter. You’ll surge when demand spikes and stay competitive when it softens – without living inside your pricing calendar.


  1. Ride the seasons, deliberately


If you’re not ready for dynamic pricing, at least price for seasonality. In the UK, for example, summer holidays, Christmas/New Year, and Easter behave very differently from shoulder months. Push rates up when families travel en masse and drop to capture budget-conscious demand off-peak. “Make hay while the sun shines” – and when the snow falls if you’re a winter market.


  1. Know your market – and price your edge


Don’t blindly copy the cheapest competitor. Research your local comp set and how they price across the year, but charge for what makes you better: hot tub, pool, unique design, killer location. Many guests actually distrust a great-looking listing that’s suspiciously cheap. For managers with multiple homes, Bevan suggests layering in market data (e.g., Key Data) to spot booking patterns and lead times, then shaping rate strategy accordingly.


  1. Use promotional pricing with purpose


Deploy length-of-stay discounts (weekly, monthly) and limited-time promos to fill gaps or nudge shoulder periods. Extra win: OTAs often reward listings that are actively priced and running promotions with better visibility, so smart discounting can lift both conversion and impressions. Automate these rules inside your PMS or pricing tool so you’re not hand-editing every gap.


  1. Always check you’re in profit


The unglamorous – but essential – final step: verify your rate covers all costs (cleaning, utilities, platform fees, consumables, maintenance, insurance) plus the profit margin you want. Divide expected annual costs by realistic sold nights, then add your target margin to set a defensible floor. Plenty of hosts “feel” a nightly rate is fine without realising they’re giving up profit – or even losing money. Don’t be that host.


Turn this into an STR pricing workflow


  1. Pick a pricing engine (e.g., Beyond, PriceLabs, Quibble ) and connect it to your PMS.

  2. Map seasonal rules (school holidays, events) and let the tool handle the daily tweaks.

  3. Tag amenities and create pricing tiers that reflect your property’s edge; validate with market data.

  4. Automate length of stay discounts and promos to fill gaps and boost OTA visibility.

  5. Re-run your cost-plus floor quarterly as expenses change.


Bottom line: Great pricing is a system, not a guessing game. With Hostfully’s PMS and integrations, you can automate the heavy lifting, protect your margins, and still capture upside when demand pops. Catch the full Host Planet Bitesize conversation with Bevan on our website, YouTube, Spotify, or Apple, and start pricing like a pro today.

 
 
 

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