Rate Bands

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greenbarn
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Rate Bands

Post by greenbarn »

I'm trying to review our rate bands; the number of them, and the periods they cover. When we started, I used the bands that were already entered in a simple UK based management package I started out with, but I've since moved on (PIMS, natch!) and it's time for a rethink before setting 2013 prices (which I need to do pronto as we're getting bookings for next year).

So - has anyone got a formula for all year UK availability that is reasonably successful and simple?

Any suggestions for the number of bands, and the periods they cover? We currently have 6, which are the three obvious ones of low, mid and high, each effectively subdivided. It causes problems with some of the listing sites.

All suggestions, thoughts and experiences welcome!
KathyG
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Post by KathyG »

What do you mean that it causes problems with some of the listing site GB? I currently have 15 different rate bands......
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

I currently have four prices that cover seven different periods but it's not enough! I need to introduce a different rate to cover June & September, as at present the jump is too big to peak I think.

Mine are currently:
Christmas/New Year
Jan to Feb half term
Feb half term to Easter
Easter to beginning July
July to beginning Sept
Sept to end Nov
Nov & Dec

Listing sites are more difficult; thankfully I don't have many and they are fairly basic, but it's not great to be shoved into restrictive bands and give guests false hope as to what price a date may be if it's not transparent.
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

KathyG wrote:What do you mean that it causes problems with some of the listing site GB? I currently have 15 different rate bands......
Some don't give the easy option for bands - eg "Low from £xxx, Mid from £yyy etc etc" and force you to enter specifics, which is a PITA if you have a lot of different rates tailored to eg half term or Easter week in the middle of an otherwise quiet period. Having said that, I think the one that gives me the biggest headache is OD, and as they're hell-bent on suicide I may not have to worry in the future!

I should probably research some of the agency listings such as Sykes where I suspect they dictate the number of bands (I could be wrong on that - any comments from agency users?).

Nemo - interesting - you're thinking is heading towards what I already have; I wonder if I could consolidate into 5 bands rather than 6 - Low, Mid, Somewherebetweenmidandhigh, High, Peak. Which is really another way of dropping Somewherebetweenlowandmid.
dizza2560
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Rate bands

Post by dizza2560 »

Hi GB,
We are with Sykes, they do determine the rate bands, they are the same as Nemos. Hope that helps.
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greenbarn
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Re: Rate bands

Post by greenbarn »

dizza2560 wrote:Hi GB,
We are with Sykes, they do determine the rate bands, they are the same as Nemos. Hope that helps.
Thanks Dizza - very helpful.
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Rate bands

Post by dizza2560 »

GB, it just occurred to me, and I think this will apply to all UK owners, that although the half term rates tend to only apply for one week, we have found that often the half term date can vary by a week either side of the one determined by the likes of Sykes, depending on the area of the UK. This can also apply to the Easter break. Consequently, it may be worth checking on different areas to find the main half term holidays, but raise prices slightly for the weeks either side. That information can be found on the local authority sites I think.
Sorry if that is drivel from a newbie, but wanted to give by thoughts.
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Post by Margaret »

We just have 2 bands - summer holiday and rest of the year. But New Year is charged as 7 days even if they stay less.
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charles cawley
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Post by charles cawley »

Setting rates is difficult but, for new cottages, we recommend that owners start with a target but at lower starting rates and feel the market demand. As this becomes clear, rates can be adjusted upwards to reach the optimum.

This avoids the all too common costly error of going in too high and, painfully and expensively, inching them down to find out what you should have originally charged. The cost, in the latter case, can be many times the marginal lost income in the 'go in slightly too low' method.

We have developed something called The Rates Tool to generate rates from straight weekly prices within set periods. This enables flexibility and you can then put it into a computer to automatically generate prices for any combination of start and finish days without anomalies which can arise if, for instance, you extend a three day weekend break to six days on pro rata. It is a simple device using Excel to offer choice and flexibility and then convert that into a logical system computers can handle.

The market is becoming increasing transparent and highly rate sensitive... but people are becoming more insistent on quality. They are willing to pay a resonable sum but the old 'they can put up with that because its cheap' attitude has had its day.

Some cottages are now virtually unsaleable because people will not stay in them, however cheap they are. Incidentally, patterned bedding, except where it is plainly of the highest quality, is fast becoming a red flag worse than old fashioned TVs.
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greenbarn
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Re: Rate bands

Post by greenbarn »

dizza2560 wrote:GB, it just occurred to me, and I think this will apply to all UK owners, that although the half term rates tend to only apply for one week, we have found that often the half term date can vary by a week either side of the one determined by the likes of Sykes, depending on the area of the UK. This can also apply to the Easter break. Consequently, it may be worth checking on different areas to find the main half term holidays, but raise prices slightly for the weeks either side. That information can be found on the local authority sites I think.
Sorry if that is drivel from a newbie, but wanted to give by thoughts.
Dizza, you're right about the school holiday variations; I think many of us try and decode it from this website but it's not straightforward. To compound the issue, we get a lot of guests from Scotland, and the summer holidays there are very different from England and Wales, starting much earlier in July.

Charles, many thanks for your info. Setting rates is another whole minefield in itself, and I suspect there is even less chance of a one size fits all than there is for setting the periods!

The whole thing is challenging. September is a good example; early September is probably my favourite time of the year in the UK, and the month I generally chose to take a holiday (struggling to remember that far back......). Kids are back at school and the weather is often beautiful if not scorching, so a good time for people without kids in tow. But would you regard early September as Peak? Doesn't seem to add up. High then? Maybe. And so it goes on. Oh yes, and probably different if the seaside rather than the countryside is your big attraction.
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Post by Margaret »

Certainly, Scottish and Irish guests usually come in July, which extends the summer season nicely!
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Nemo
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Re: Rate bands

Post by Nemo »

Greenbarn wrote: The whole thing is challenging. September is a good example; early September is probably my favourite time of the year in the UK, and the month I generally chose to take a holiday (struggling to remember that far back......). Kids are back at school and the weather is often beautiful if not scorching, so a good time for people without kids in tow. But would you regard early September as Peak? Doesn't seem to add up. High then? Maybe. And so it goes on. Oh yes, and probably different if the seaside rather than the countryside is your big attraction.
I think your thoughts are exactly where mine are GB. My main customers are not families with kids, so my "peak" is not so easily defined. I sell June very easily and then have struggled with early July, so June prices need to go up, early July down. Likewise, end of August is usually slow but early Sept fills up, so I need a lower rate for end of August and a bit higher for Sept.

I remember Windy & others have calendars where each week is priced individually, so you can be infinitely flexible on your own site, it's just those pesky rate bands imposed by others that make it difficult for us. :roll:
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Post by falbayview »

i just followed what the local agent was doing... then cut his by 5% :)
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kendalcottages
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Post by kendalcottages »

I've never really considered us as having rate bands as such, but of course we do, I suppose.

We have an obvious peak period (earlyish July to end of August) and some close to peak (eg. Easter), and a definite off-peak (short breaks in December and January, outside of Xmas/New Year). The rest is a whole spectrum!

I essentially try to take in a number of factors when pricing:

- whether the same weeks were let/not let last year

- if let, when were they let? (if a long way in advance, was I maybe too cheap? if at the very last minute, do I perhaps need to consider lowering the rate to be sure of the booking next time around?)

- what other similar properties in the area are also charging (since I'm not aware of anything that's an obvious direct comparison, that's not always easy)

So ultimately, I'll end up with quite a mish-mash of prices - £690, £720, £750, £790, etc. Like you say, this can be come a real pain for when you come to list your rates on all the various listing sites and it's then that I sometimes find myself applying rate bands that possibly don't truly exist.

Let's say for instance I have two months of rates at a combination of £690 and £720. For the sake of ease and simplicity (as it can be quite a time-consuming process), I might just put on a listing site that the rate is £720 right across the 2-month period. This isn't ideal but it means that one or two might get a pleasant surprise when they find it is £30 cheaper than they thought. Of course, it might also mean some people don't enquire because it's just out of budget. But, because of the time-consuming nature of adding all the rates to all the different listing sites, this is what I'll sometimes do (particularly if it's a minor listing that I don't have high hopes for ;)).
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

An update on this - just been researching an agency that specialises in the local(ish) area and they seem to have about 14 different bands.

Just to be clear, in case I wasn't before, this is looking at the number of different rates over a 12 month period for any one property.

I might see if I can cut and paste the dates they use for comment - might be interesting.
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