How to communicate with STR owners during peak season, with Zak Ali

Aug 3
7 min read

Setting the right price is only half a revenue manager's job. The other half – the part that quietly makes or breaks owner relationships – is explaining it. On this episode of STR Pricing Pulse, from Host Planet and Beyond, we sat down with Zak Ali, President of the ISTRM and one of the sharpest minds in short-term rental revenue management, to talk about the difficult owner conversations every manager faces during peak season.

If you manage properties for owners, treat this as a retention playbook. Zak walks through why managers keep getting caught out by predictable questions, how to structure updates that build confidence, and how to deliver the two hardest messages of all – a strategy change on a watched date, and the admission that pace is behind.

Catch the full episode about how to communicate with STR owners on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple.

This series is powered by Beyond, the revenue management platform built specifically for short-term rentals – dynamic pricing that responds to real demand, so you can see exactly where you sit against your comps. When an owner asks why the rate moved, imagine answering in 30 seconds with the market data on screen. Download Beyond's free Owner Communication Checklist – five copy-ready messages to send owners through peak season, from launch to end-of-season recap.

Key takeaways about how to communicate with STR owners

Communication is part of the control system, not the "soft side." A commercially sound decision the owner can't understand looks random.
Owners and managers see the same property through different lenses. When those views aren't connected, owners invent their own (usually negative) explanation.
Use the trigger, not the calendar. Communicate when performance or market conditions actually change – not just because it's the first of the month.
Every useful update covers four things: performance, context, action, and the next review point. Context is the one most managers leave out.
Lead with the fact, not the algorithm. Explain what changed, the previous position, and the specific signal behind the decision.
To say "we're behind" without causing panic, structure the message around evidence, diagnosis, and action.

Why communication is a bigger part of revenue management than most people think

Some revenue managers are afraid of speaking to owners. Zak's view is that communication is "massive" – and treating it as an afterthought is a mistake. "The job is not only to make the right commercial decision," he says, "the most fundamental part is that the decision needs to be an understandable decision."

You can have a perfectly sound reason for changing a rate, holding your position, or relaxing a minimum stay. But if the owner can't see the logic, that decision looks totally random.

That's why Zak doesn't see communication as the soft side of revenue management – it's part of the control system. It protects owner trust, gives the manager space to execute the strategy, and stops one empty weekend or one visible price reduction from becoming the owner's entire impression of the season.

"The revenue managers who really succeed aren't simply good at reading data," Zak says. "They're good at turning that data into a clear commercial story – and then communicating it."

Why managers keep getting caught out by predictable questions

Every peak season brings the same owner questions: Why is my July quieter than the neighbour's? Why did the rate change on the weekend I was watching? Managers know these are coming, yet get caught out anyway. Why?

Because the manager and the owner are looking at the same property through completely different lenses. The manager sees the booking window, revenue pace, competitor behaviour, search demand, restrictions, and wider portfolio performance. The owner usually sees only the public listing, a handful of empty dates, and whatever the property down the road is advertising.

When those two views aren't connected, the owner fills the gap with their own explanation – and it's almost always that the property is underperforming or that someone panicked and slashed prices. Managers make it worse by waiting until they have certainty before they communicate. But revenue management rarely gives complete certainty, and by the time the evidence is conclusive, the owner has already seen the issue and formed an opinion.

The fix isn't more reports. It's communicating earlier: explain what the current signals mean, and show what you're doing next.

Use the trigger, not the calendar

One of Zak's core principles: send an update when performance or market conditions actually change, not just because it's the first of the month. Demand doesn't wait for the first of the month, so neither should your communication.

Monthly reports are useful, but they should be the backstop – not the only reason you ever contact an owner. A significant change in booking pace, a material movement in the market rate, a booking gap, or a property entering its normal booking window may need explaining today, not three weeks later when the scheduled report happens to be due.

The reverse is just as important: if nothing has meaningfully changed, sending another long update simply because it's month-end creates noise rather than confidence. Trigger-based communication means every message has a clear reason behind it. Typical triggers include:

The booking window has opened.
The property has hit its first performance checkpoint.
The pricing strategy has materially changed.
A booking gap has appeared, or pace is behind market.
The season has closed and the final result is in.

This doesn't mean abandoning regular reporting – it means combining dependable, scheduled updates with responsive communication that reacts to what's actually happening.

The four-part update: performance, context, action, next review

A useful owner update covers four things: performance, context, action, and when you'll review next. Asked which managers most often leave out, Zak is unequivocal: context.

Managers are comfortable reporting the number – "occupancy is 60%," or "the rate has come down from £240 to £220" – and many will explain what they changed. But they fail to connect the two. Without context, the owner can't tell whether that's a sensible response to the market or a sign that something has gone wrong.

Performance tells the owner what happened. Context explains what it means.

Context answers the questions the number alone can't: Is the property ahead of target but slightly behind the market? Is occupancy soft because the rate is being deliberately protected? Are both rate and pace behind? Has the whole market moved, or is the softness isolated to this one property?

The second most-missed element is the next review point. Without it, the communication is open-ended, and the owner has no idea when the decision will be revisited – which invites them to keep checking and worrying.

How to deliver a strategy change or rate drop on a watched date

Not every rate movement needs a message. Dynamic pricing naturally moves rates as conditions change, and as long as the owner understands how dynamic pricing works, that's fine – explaining every small adjustment would create more anxiety than confidence.

A message becomes necessary when there's a material change in strategy, particularly on a date the owner is watching closely, or when the movement could alter the expected commercial outcome. When you communicate it, Zak's advice is to lead with the fact rather than conceal it:

Explain which element has changed.
State what the previous position was.
Name the specific signal that caused the decision – slower pickup, changing comparable rates, weaker search demand, or an event that's no longer producing the expected compression.

Follow that process and the change sounds like a deliberate, calculated decision. What to avoid: blaming the algorithm, apologising for the change, or saying "the market is just quiet." Own the decision and explain the evidence behind it. As James put it: the last thing you want to say is "we're not getting bookings, so we've slashed the rate" – there has to be visible method behind the madness.

The hardest message: saying "we're behind" without triggering panic

The toughest conversation is when pace is genuinely behind target and behind the market – and you fear an owner who panics or starts dictating prices ("it should always be £400 a night").

Zak traces this back to confidence. Many managers dread these conversations because they expect to be attacked. But the owner handed you their property to manage – so own your decision, be confident in your numbers, and communicate them clearly. Be honest about the performance, but precise about what it means.

"We are behind," said on its own, sounds alarming. It becomes manageable when you:

Define the size of the gap rather than leaving it vague.
Explain whether it's a property-specific problem or a market-wide one.
Show what you've diagnosed as the likely cause.

Zak structures the message around three things: the evidence, the diagnosis, and the action. Framed that way, the message doesn't pretend everything is fine, but it doesn't spread panic either – the manager stays in control of the process and the conversation.

Two traps to avoid:

Don't claim the whole market is quiet when the data shows comparable properties are performing better. That's the quickest way to lose credibility.
Don't apply broad discounts before you understand the problem. A booking gap might be caused by price – but it could equally be a restriction or a visibility issue. Diagnose first.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a revenue manager communicate with owners? Use triggers, not a fixed calendar. Send updates when performance or market conditions materially change, and keep scheduled reports as a backstop rather than the only point of contact.

What should be in an owner update? Four things: performance (what happened), context (what it means relative to target and market), action (what you're doing), and the next review point (when you'll revisit it). Context is the most commonly missed.

How do you tell an owner you've dropped the rate on a date they're watching? Lead with the fact. Explain what changed, what the previous position was, and the specific signal that triggered it. Don't blame the algorithm, apologise, or say the market is simply quiet.

How do you tell an owner performance is behind without causing panic? Be honest but precise. Define the size of the gap, say whether it's property-specific or market-wide, and share your diagnosed cause – structured around evidence, diagnosis, and action.

Why do owners assume the worst when bookings are slow? Because they see only the public listing and a few empty dates, while the manager sees the full picture. When those views aren't connected, owners invent their own explanation – usually that the property is underperforming or prices were cut in a panic.

Watch or listen to the full episode

This article is based on the STR Pricing Pulse episode with Zak Ali, President of the ISTRM, brought to you by Host Planet and Beyond. Watch or listen to the full conversation for the complete owner-communication playbook, and subscribe for more on the numbers behind short-term rentals. Catch the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple.