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 [00:00:00] Sarah: Hello, welcome back for another great episode. My name is Sarah Karakaian.

[00:00:03] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we are–

[00:00:05] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.

[00:00:06] Sarah: And this is the–

[00:00:07] Both Annette & Sarah: Hosting Hotline.

[00:00:08] Sarah: We’re going to mix it up a little bit today for the Hosting Hotline. We’ve got a question from one of you, amazing listeners, but we’re bringing in Colleen, our Director of Operations and also our revenue manager for our property management company. So we thought who better to answer a question about numbers than Colleen. Here we go.

[00:00:28] Question: Hi, Annette and Sarah. This is Vanessa. We met last month at InvestHer Con. You guys were so great talking to me and Jasmine and allowing me to have my short-term rental fangirl moment. I love you guys so much. I appreciate the insight you gave us there and sharing a glass of wine. It was awesome. Hopefully we’ll get to see you again in September in Columbus. We’ll see. 

[00:00:50] I am writing to ask you about pricing for the solar eclipse. Next April, 2024, going through, I believe, your area, North of Columbus, and through my area and the Finger Lakes of New York, is the total eclipse. And I’ve heard people say you should triple your nightly rate for this event. I’ve heard people say, leave your rate the same, but set a five-night minimum.

[00:01:12] Early April is still off season for me, so I really want to take advantage of this rare, rare event. Just curious what you guys are going to do, and what do you suggest those of us that are in off season do to capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime or every-few-decades event? Thank you again for everything and sharing all your insight. I appreciate you guys. Follow me at little_blue_cottage_flx. Thank you.

[00:01:43] Sarah: Yay.

[00:01:44] Annette: All right. I just have to say a couple things. Number one, we did meet Vanessa in person at a conference. If you have not got your tickets to our conference, what are you waiting for?

[00:01:55] Sarah: It’s going to be so good. Wait, can I just give a little teaser? 

[00:01:59] Annette: Yes, but after I say, Vanessa said, we’ll see. She has bought tickets because, a, she knows what’s up. And b, she wants to up level what it means to be a host. And c, hang out with us once again. But yes, Sarah, what’s the teaser?

[00:02:13] Sarah: We’re announcing–

[00:02:14] Annette: On this once-in-a-lifetime event. 

[00:02:16] Sarah: We are announcing our speakers as we get confirmed speakers coming on, and the topics we’re going to cover go from SEO to Facebook, Instagram ads to hearing from a potential celebrity speaker. I know we’re not talking about you Annette.

[00:02:32] Annette: Oh, I was going to say they know I’m going to be there.

[00:02:35] Sarah: We cannot wait to announce so keep your eye on–

[00:02:38] Annette: D list celebrity.

[00:02:39] Sarah: Keep your eye on tfvcon.com, and of course we’ll let you know here on the hosting hot tips as those unfold. But Colleen, you’re no stranger to the show now. Welcome back.

[00:02:49] Colleen: Thank you for having me.

[00:02:51] Annette: All right, let’s dig in. This is an excellent question. And if it’s not the solar eclipse, it might be the Super Bowl. It might be a concert, Taylor Swift. Whatever that is. But please be mindful that this specific question, if the eclipse isn’t rolling through your town in April 2024, something will be coming, no matter the size of your town. So let’s dish how we would handle this, especially with this advanced notice, Colleen.

[00:03:23] Colleen: Definitely. So made a couple notes here. So some items that I would keep in mind just as hosts when you’re talking about a citywide sellout and exactly what Annette said. So, yes, the solar eclipse, it’s a once in a lifetime, or once every 25 years, or whatever it is that’s going to come, but citywide sellouts, those are constant.

[00:03:41] Depending on your market, those could be every weekend or once a month in your community. That could be a huge concert, like Annette said. Taylor Swift could be in town. That could be some major sporting event, but it also could be a conference that’s coming to town. All that is citywide is it’s just something that’s creating demand and compression in your market.

[00:03:59] So what that means is that, yes, there’s going to be an influx of people coming to your area, but the same usual suspects are still going to be in the area. So that’s your business traveler every week. That’s your leisure person on the weekends. That’s people coming to stay at a hospital, or whatever.

[00:04:13] So all it is is just additional compression in your market. So when you’re approaching a citywide sellout, number one, you should always be checking events in the area, what’s going on, because yes, a name like Taylor Swift or once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse is a big deal, but even a small consort that might not be super important to you is still going to create that compression in your market.

[00:04:32] So when you’re thinking about that, the goal for a citywide is that you never want to be the first property that’s sold out, ever. While it’s super fun and exciting to fill really quickly because, oh, the rates are so high, if you’re selling out first, then you’ve offered yourself no flexibility on increasing your rate.

[00:04:48] So my first recommendation for a citywide is close your books or mark your price 500% above your normal rate, whatever it is. And ultimately, someone might book it, and then no harm, no foul. But you don’t want to be the first one sold out. So I also recommend shopping your competitors. And don’t just shop your competitors once. You want to shop your competitors monthly as who else is sold out in the area? Do I need to consider adjusting my rate? 

[00:05:12] So we have a pretty big citywide in our short-term rental business. It happens the first week of March. So right now, our books are closed. We’ll open those up about six months ahead of time at a, exactly what I said, 500% increase. And then that’s that. As we get closer, we’ll lower it.

[00:05:30] And the thing that you have to keep in the back of your mind is if the event is as big and as serious as you say it’s going to be, you are going to fill that space. So don’t panic and lower your rate three weeks out, thinking– because there’s that person that hasn’t booked their space yet.

[00:05:45] Sarah: Her name’s Annette Grant.

[00:05:46] Colleen: Yes. Annette, you’re up.

[00:05:50] Annette: I know I didn’t tell my friend last week, and she’s like, uh, can you send me your flight information? I was like, oh, I should book that, and then I’ll send it to you so you know when to pick me up tomorrow. I have a question, Colleen. With the completely blocking, that scares me. I’m nervous.

[00:06:06] Annette: Why am I taking myself completely out of the game?

[00:06:10] Sarah: 

[00:06:10] Colleen: Well, you’re taking yourself out of the game because you’re going to sacrifice rate if you don’t. So, if you open up first, there is that planner that’s way out that is going to book that space, but you’re not taking yourself out of the game. You just have your books closed for booking at this time with a strategy of when you’re going to open them. Yes, that is scary, but– 

[00:06:30] Annette: Okay. So I have a game plan. I have a game plan. I’m not shutting myself out of the game.

[00:06:36] Colleen: Yes.

[00:06:36] Annette: Okay. Because I just–

[00:06:37] Colleen: Yeah, it’s not like you’re taking yourself off the market. You’re just close to arrival on that day. It’s nothing.

[00:06:42] Annette: All right. Got you. Just wanted to get some clarity there.

[00:06:45] Colleen: Yes. Um, so I want to just always put in the back of your mind, anybody that’s cautious on how far can I really push the rate, you can always lower your rate. So in the event that you pushed it too far, that’s fine. Just lower your rate, and you’ll have to– as the citywides or as you get more familiar, you’ll get a better idea of your booking window as far as what is our normal time that we’re going to start panicking.

[00:07:10] In our world, if it’s Thursday and our arrival’s tomorrow, I’m panicking if I don’t have the space filled, but I’m not panicked if we’re a week out. I’m not panicked if we’re two weeks out. So that’s, of course, going to be very market specific just like your percentage. I can’t give you a percentage. That’s going to be very market specific, but always know you can always lower your rate. You can always run a promotion. You will get that space filled.

[00:07:33] Annette: How do we justify? This has happened before. Let’s say we go in, we do that top tier 500% plus rate, and you start getting those inquiries of people that are like, this is crazy. Why are you doing this? Because they might see– for Vanessa specifically, let’s give her some verbiage.

[00:07:51] Someone’s going to see that Thursday through Sunday is 3X, 4X the normal price. And they’re like, why is your Tuesday 200 bucks? What’s the best way– obviously, you know this consumer is probably aware of the solar eclipse, and they’re trying to lean on you as being some price gouger. What response should Vanessa give of this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and that’s why the pricing is reflected in that? How would you respond to that?

[00:08:23] Colleen: I like to respond in a super positive manner, that, number one, we’re so excited for the solar eclipse too. Yes. We can’t wait to host somebody here to watch this. It’s awesome. So already now you’ve made this connection with the guest. And then after that, you just want to say that you’re comfortable with the pricing.

[00:08:37] It’s appropriate for what’s going on in the market, and that it’s going to be– the value is there. That’s going to be a perfect stay for you, and all of those types of things, but at the end of the day, you’re firm in your pricing, and you’re so excited that the space is even available for them to book because it won’t be. It’s going to get booked.

[00:08:57] So we’re happy it’s open for you. And certainly, if you want to start adjusting rates or think about all that, that’s a conversation you’re having 10 days out, two weeks out. That’s not a conversation you’re having four months out with a guest about the price for Super Bowl, or whatever it is. They do know.

[00:09:14] And of course, the guest is going to ask. And that’s why you have to, again, be confident in your pricing. And shop your competitors, so you know what you’re saying is valid. That does bring up a good point, though, um, Sarah and I have talked about this before, is making sure that when you do increase that price, value is the key thing.

[00:09:29] So making sure that that guest is not walking in and just feeling like you guys just completely took advantage of them. Vanessa is actually in our membership, and she posted this question for the group inside of our Facebook group, and there were tons and tons of responses. And actually, one of our coaches made a really good point, to get the special glasses that you wear to watch the eclipse happen.

[00:09:53] He said that those were completely sold out when this happened in his market recently. And that the stores like had them under lock and key and were selling them for like a 100 bucks, and all this crazy stuff. So just to get those like in ahead of time. And I’ve seen this on different Airbnb hosts, like, Taylor Swift comes to town, and they hide little clues or whatever around their Airbnb. You can do very cost-effective things to make sure that event feels special when they walk in the door. 

[00:10:17] Annette: Experiential for that specific event that they’re coming to town for. Love it.

[00:10:21] Sarah: One of my favorite things you do, Colleen, as well, that would be a great tip for anyone listening out there is every year, we have in a spreadsheet, all of the events that might be sellouts for us.

[00:10:33] Annette: Citywide sellouts.

[00:10:34] Sarah: That’s such a good title.

[00:10:35] Annette: I know. It makes me feel excited about things.

[00:10:37] Sarah: Yeah. Or it sounds like an adventure movie, like an adventure, but you’re a citywide sellout. Okay. But what Colleen does is she lists all the citywide sellout events, and then we start tracking, how far out did we book it at that higher rate? Because then as your years go on, you’re going to know what your sweet spot is.

[00:10:54] Annette: You’re not going to be freaking out when you’re like, ah.

[00:10:56] Sarah: Yeah. When concerts come to town, people usually bite at a 400% markup three months out. You know what I mean? Or you can start to see those patterns and get really confident in how high you can push it and make sure that you really are capturing all the money that’s out there for you.

[00:11:11] And as long as you bring that value and that stay, make it a little bit extra special– I know, Colleen, we recently had a graduation for OSU. We did something really simple because it was like the first day of summer. We definitely pushed rates higher than we ever have, but we left them little gifts, and we always do the handwritten cards. And our reviews from that weekend were through the roof. They paid through the roof, and they felt like we treated them like–

[00:11:32] Annette: The service was through the roof.

[00:11:33] Sarah: Absolutely. Yeah.

[00:11:34] Annette: Two things from this episode, host, that I hope you’re listening to, is, a, really, push the pricing, look at the citywide sellouts at the compression. But don’t be caught asleep at the wheel when these things come to town because it is not fun to know that you missed an opportunity to take part in these citywide sellouts. And it happens.

[00:11:57] We hear this from hosts all the time. Especially the hosts that follow us, a lot of times they just fall on the sword, and they keep the rate at what it was published at because they were like, that’s my bad. I did that. So also take this episode as a, wait a second. I don’t always know best. I don’t always know all the things that are coming to town because there are going to be things. There’s a huge board game convention that comes to Columbus that I would never even know about, or think about going to.

[00:12:25] Sarah: There’s some horse show that happens that sells us out. I never would have known about that.

[00:12:28] Annette: Do not be asleep at the wheel. Go on to different sites. Get the Google alerts. When I first got started, seriously, I went to the hotels, the hotel closest to me, and there were weekends sold out, and I was like, why is that weekend– there were all these weekends 12 months out that were already sold out. I was like if that hotel is already sold out, I need to figure out what’s going on there.

[00:12:54] Whether you have a stadium or a convention center, get a hold of those calendars and see what’s going on because there could be something midweek, a convention like TFV Con coming to town that you don’t know about. You’ve got to get in a rhythm yourself of figuring out how to stay ahead of those dates that hopefully are coming to a town near you, your town specifically.

[00:13:19] Sarah: Colleen, anything we didn’t talk about that you want to make sure our listeners know when it comes to these pricing strategies?

[00:13:25] Colleen: I have one note, to some knowledge, I want to spread as far as these citywides and raising the rates. It’s obviously, super, super fun to jack up your rate. It’s super, super fun to just take all that money right to the bank, but also reminding you that your entire business model shouldn’t be based around that one or two citywide that’s your area. So making sure that you’re priced appropriately year round, and then just let those citywides be super, super fun. 

[00:13:53] Annette: I love that. It’s like icing on the cake.

[00:13:55] Colleen: That’s exactly what it should be. Just a little cherry on top.

[00:13:58] Annette: Yeah. Don’t depend on those, those one or two–

[00:14:00] Sarah: I like that.

[00:14:01] Annette: To make all of the funds. Those can be cherry on top. I like that.

[00:14:04] Sarah: All right, Vanessa, we cannot wait to hear where you end up landing, how far out people book your space, at what rate it was. We will be sure to share that with you, listeners. If you would like to have your question answered here on the podcast, just like we answered Vanessa’s, we do give priority to our HBM members, so that’s why Vanessa’s on today.

[00:14:23] But if we don’t have any of our members with a Hosting Hotline question in the queue, you can go to thanksforvisiting.me. In the upper right-hand corner is a red Ask TFV button, and you can record your voice, ask your question, and we will answer it here in the podcast.

[00:14:35] Annette: So come hang out with Vanessa because she’s got her ticket. Colleen is going to be at TFV Con. I will be there.

[00:14:39] Sarah: What’s the code, Annette, that’s going right now?

[00:14:41] Annette: PODCAST. Use the code PODCAST.

[00:14:43] Sarah: PODCAST gets you a discount. All right. With that, I’m Sarah Karakaian.

[00:14:46] Annette: I’m Annette Grant. And together we are– 

[00:14:48] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting. 

[00:14:49] Sarah: Talk to you next time.