Strategic planning for holiday rental peak season

Need to maximise your summer holiday rental performance? Want to know how to prepare for the peak season? In the following article, we’ll give you some key tips on this. We’ll explain how to provide quality service, increase profits, and attract travellers to your client portfolio. We’ll analyse the current holiday rental market and provide you with strategic information to optimise your properties for increased demand, and we’ll tell you how to implement effective pricing strategies to enhance guest experience. Join us through this guide to kick off the peak season on the right foot on our holiday rental portal.

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When is peak season and what should you do to be prepared?

When advertising a holiday property, you should know that peak season isn’t officially set and can vary depending on the geographical area, business model, and yearly conditions. However, in Spain, for example, peak season is usually considered to be June, July and August, although some days during the Christmas period may also be designated as peak season.

During these dates, accommodation requests soar on our holiday rental website. It’s common to have more demand than supply for certain destinations, where the “fully booked” sign is displayed. In this sense, our preparation depends on our properties; whether we only have one house or apartment for rent or if we have several properties. In any case, peak season requires meticulous planning that you must undertake according to your own priorities. Let’s delve into the aspects you’ll need to plan.

The condition of your holiday property is key

Before putting your rural house or apartment up for rent, you’ll need to conduct a thorough check of the property. Is everything working as it should? Check if the lights, electronic appliances, kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms are in good condition. Make an inventory of the accessories in your holiday rental and try not to miss anything to ensure a pleasant stay. If something is broken, fix it. If any household item is missing, buy it. These investments usually pay off and are highly valued by guests. In short, be prepared to make an investment to get everything ready and, above all, leave the house in the exact conditions you would like to find it if you were the guest.

Coordinate the staff responsible for the house

Some hosts manage absolutely all the details of their holiday rental themselves: personalised welcome, key handover, cleaning, local information, or even assistance for recreational activities. Others hire staff services for this. In the latter case, coordination is absolutely necessary to know when they should appear at the house and offer their service. It cannot happen, for example, that the person in charge of cleaning or an excursion arrives early. Coordination is a value that is not appreciated too much but is indispensable.

Boost the presence of your holiday rental on the Internet and on social media

Today, it is absolutely essential to position yourself well on the Internet to rent out your holiday home. Holidu is an ideal website to advertise your holiday rental, as its reach covers millions of potential guests. Its more than 100,000 monthly bookings are a guarantee for hosts.

However, bookings can increase if you carefully craft the content you show to the public. Here are some tips:

• Take bright and attractive photos of your holiday rental, paying attention to perspectives and home decor.
• Display a clean and tidy property. It should be evident that this is an absolute priority in your apartment or rental house.
• Detail all the amenities that can add value for future guests. Examples: parking space, pool, barbecue, nearby beach, etc.
• Provide information about the plans your guests can undertake in your locality: excursions, guided tours, nature outings, round trips, etc.

Take utmost care with your communication with guests

During peak season, hosts often have a lot of work and tight schedules. But this incessant activity cannot undermine one of our main functions: communicating the details of the stay well. Offering an excellent welcome to our guests is essential. If you want to improve communication, note these recommendations:

• Upon arrival, start by showing your holiday property thoroughly. Take a tour of all the rooms in the house and explain the use of the main electronic appliances. During the property presentation, demonstrate a welcoming and proactive hosting attitude.
• Make the rules of the property very clear — if necessary, also in writing: schedules, check-in, check-out, noise regulations after certain hours, the number of guests allowed, whether pets are allowed, safety measures, use of balconies, terraces, barbecues, smoking, etc. Everything must be crystal clear.
• Use plain, clear, concise, and friendly language. You don’t have to stay longer in the house than necessary; just a while as you welcome and show the holiday property and little else. If you manage to establish a good connection, these guests will end up recommending you to others, and you’ll be able to rent out your holiday apartment to other people in the future.
• Offer bureaucratic facilities. Many of them cost nothing and will simplify guests’ stay. Offer the possibility to pay through various payment gateways (as long as they are 100% secure), to complete formalities via email; provide information about your locality or the option to evaluate the stay. Anything that means streamlining processes and improving the experience is an added value that we can establish in our routine.

Develop a dynamic pricing table for your holiday property

It is entirely logical and natural for the prices of your property to fluctuate depending on the season. With lower demand comes lower investment and requirements, and prices can be adjusted. But with high demand, prices will be slightly higher because the service is more complex and rigorous.

For peak season, it is advisable to establish a pricing policy that is public, transparent, and honest, in line with market prices. Transparency is essential; no guest wants to be surprised by the final price with supplements or charges they didn’t expect. Guard your reputation in this regard.

And if you want to get even more out of your rental, you can set up special offers and discounts for periods when the influx of travellers is lower. For example, you can offer special rates for children or seniors, free cancellations, discounts for long stays, last-minute accommodations, or special services, among other possibilities.

With all that we’ve indicated, you now have enough options to offer dignified and quality accommodation during the peak holiday season. Now it’s up to you to take care of these details and enhance your holiday rental to reach a higher level of profitability.

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