Article contents
Key points
- An empty night earns nothing: a price that is slightly too high often costs more than one that is slightly lower.
- The right price shifts with the season, local events and even the neighbourhood.
- Dynamic pricing adjusts every night to the market, upwards and downwards.
- At Yes Conciergerie, we check the market every hour and you stay in control of your rates.
Many owners focus on the highest price they could charge for their home. They forget the other figure, the one that never shows up anywhere: what each empty night actually costs them. On Airbnb, Booking, Abritel, Vrbo and the other platforms, that is often what separates a good year from a poor one. Dynamic pricing exists for exactly this reason: to let every night at the right price, rather than at your dream price one night in two.
The real cost of an empty home
Everyone would like to charge a little more for their flat. The trouble is that a price set too high at the wrong moment brings in nothing. If your home costs a bit more than the listings nearby over a given period, guests book elsewhere, and that night is gone for good.
Here is a simple example. A home sits unbooked for a week because it is slightly more expensive than its neighbours. Had the owner simply lowered the price by around thirty euros a night, it could have brought in 800 or 1,000 euros that week.
Everyone looks at how much they could charge. People forget how much they lose every time the flat sits empty.
The Yes Conciergerie team
Why a fixed price does not work
The price of a night in a short-term rental moves all the time. It depends on the season, the day of the week, how many homes are available around yours and, above all, on what is happening locally. When a major concert and another big event land in the same week in a city, nightly prices shoot up. An owner who sticks to their usual rate ends up letting well below the market without even noticing.
The reverse is also true: in a quiet period, a price set for high season leaves the calendar empty. A fixed price is therefore almost always wrong: too low when demand surges, too high when it drops.
Prices also change from one neighbourhood to the next
You cannot read the market at city level alone. Within the same city, a home in the most sought-after area does not let at the same price as a flat further out, and the gaps vary from one period to another. Comparing your listing with the city average is not enough: you need to compare it with similar homes, in your neighbourhood, on the same dates.
That level of detail is what lets you get the price right, without underselling your home when demand is strong or leaving it empty when demand falls.
What dynamic pricing really is
Dynamic pricing means adjusting the price of each night to the real market, instead of setting one rate and leaving it. In practice, that means keeping a constant eye on what comparable homes charge, spotting the periods when demand picks up, and correcting your rate before it is too late.
It is not a gimmick. It is a strategy in its own right, just like good photos or proper cleaning between stays. Done well, it fills the quiet periods and makes the most of the busy ones.
Why owners give up along the way
Most owners know they ought to adjust their prices. Many give it a go, take it seriously for a while, then let it slide. Everyday life takes over, and one day they find their home empty over dates when it could have been let.
The right move, such as trimming the price a week ahead of dates that are still free, means thinking of it at the right time, checking what the neighbours are doing and updating the listing on every platform. Done by hand, it is a daily job, and that is exactly what most owners are short of: time.
Is your home priced right for the weeks ahead?
Estimate my incomeHow Yes Conciergerie adjusts your prices
At Yes Conciergerie, dynamic pricing is part of how we look after your home. Our multichannel platform lists your home on around ten platforms (Airbnb, Booking, Abritel, Vrbo, Expedia, Hotels.com, Agoda, Trip.com, HomeToGo, Holidu), and we analyse market prices every hour. This monitoring of the competition works city by city and right down to the neighbourhood, so your home is compared with the ones that genuinely resemble it.
Based on this monitoring, we keep your prices as close to the market as possible: higher when demand rises, more finely tuned when dates are still free. You stay in control: you can use automatic adjustment or set your own rates. And if you are just starting out, you have nothing to handle, as our team takes care of it all in-house.
Frequently asked questions about dynamic pricing
Will dynamic pricing lower my prices?
No, it adjusts your prices in both directions. It raises them when demand is strong, during an event or in high season, and corrects them when dates are still free, so you avoid lost nights.
Do I keep control of my rates?
Yes. With Yes Conciergerie, you choose whether or not to use automatic adjustment, and you can always change your prices yourself.
Which platforms are the prices adjusted on?
Our multichannel platform updates your home on every platform where it is listed, around ten in all: Airbnb, Booking, Abritel, Vrbo, Expedia, Hotels.com, Agoda, Trip.com, HomeToGo, Holidu, so your prices stay consistent everywhere.
Do I need experience to benefit from it?
No. An owner who is just starting out has nothing to set up: our team handles the monitoring and the adjustments.
Further reading
Before talking about nightly prices, it helps to know what your home could earn over a year: that is what our rental income estimator in Les Arcs is for. You can also see how we take care of your short-term rental from start to finish, and read our article on hotel-standard cleaning.
How much could your property earn?
An estimate of your short-term rental income, based on your address.
Estimate my incomeRead next
