Keeping your Airbnb occupancy rate up is important. Listing your property or rooms on a platform like Airbnb requires a sizeable investment of time and being lazy about it just isn’t an option – it won’t take care of itself. Roll up your sleeves and see what you can do about your Airbnb occupancy rate – let’s learn how to attract guests.
When it comes to rates, maths and – in all sincerity – the accompanying nausea – spring to mind. That said, if we want to achieve excellent results in managing our business, regardless of size, we need to do some calculations.
In this article we will answer the following questions:
· What is the occupancy rate?
· How can you anticipate Airbnb occupancy rate?
· What is the average Airbnb occupancy rate?
· What are some tips to attract guests in order to maintain a stable OR?
If you want to start optimising your occupancy rate and forget about empty rooms forever, there’s a lot worse you could do in terms of first steps than reading this article!
What is the Occupancy Rate and how can you calculate it?
We talk a lot about rates and Revenue Management, and with good reason! It’s one of the cores of your business. You know as well as I do that calculating your rates properly gives you a a 4k rendition of what revenues to expect. It’s clarity like this you should be aiming for. For this reason, the Revenue Management is the subject of one of our free e-learning, and a recurrent topic in our articles.
The occupancy rate – also known as the occupancy percentage – measures how frequently a property is occupied over a given period. In the context of Airbnb, it refers to the percentage of time that your listing is booked and occupied by guests.
What is the airbnb occupancy rate formula? To calculate the occupancy rate for your Airbnb, you need to determine the number of nights your property was booked and divide it by the total number of nights available for booking during a specific period. Here’s the formula:
Occupancy Rate = (Number of Nights Booked/ Total Number of Nights Available) x 100
Let’s suppose that you want to calculate the occupancy rate of a specific month. First, count the number of nights your property was booked and occupied during that month. For example, if your listing was booked for 20 nights out of a total of 30 nights in that month, the number of nights booked would be 20.
Next, determine the total number of nights that were or are available for booking during that month. In this case, it would be 30.
Now, let’s calculate the occupancy rate using the formula:
Occupancy Rate = (20 / 30) x 100 = 66.67%
Therefore, the occupancy rate for that month is 66.67%.
By monitoring your Airbnb occupancy rate over time, you can assess the demand for your Airbnb listing and make informed decisions about pricing, availability, and marketing strategies to maximise your property’s occupancy and revenue.
How to find, check and predict your Airbnb occupancy rates?
To find Airbnb occupancy rates, you can follow these steps:
1. Analyse your Booking Calendar: log in to your Airbnb host account and access your booking calendar. Review the bookings for a specific period, such as a month or a year, and note down the number of nights your property was booked.
2. Calculate Total Nights Available: determine the total number of nights available for booking during the same period. This can be calculated by subtracting blocked-off dates, such as those marked as unavailable or blocked by you, from the total number of nights in that period.
3. Finally, calculate Occupancy Rate: use the formula mentioned earlier in the article to calculate the occupancy rate by dividing the number of nights booked by the total nights available and multiplying by 100.
To predict the occupancy rate on Airbnb there are a few options worth considering:
1. External Forecasting Tools: this is the first suggestion because it can solve “everything everywhere all at once” with its advanced algorithms and market data to predict occupancy rates. These tools can provide more accurate predictions by considering factors such as local events, market conditions, and historical data. Amenitiz PriceAdvisor is a tool included in an Amenitiz subscription in a freemium version, with an advanced version available if you wish to update. Both allow you to compare your prices with competitors, calculate the best prices based on your past data and aplenty more besides.
2. Historical Data Analysis: analyse your past booking records to identify patterns and trends in occupancy rates. Look for any seasonality, such as peak booking periods or low-demand periods. This historical data can offer valuable insights and help you predict future occupancy rates.
3. Market Research: this is a strategy that you should be employing to attract guests all the time. Stay informed about local events, festivals, conferences, and other activities that attract guests to your area. Research tourism trends and factors that may influence demand for accommodations. This information can help you predict periods of high or low occupancy rates.
4. Competitive Analysis: spying on others’ behaviour (not copying, which is very different) within your market segment is key for every kind of business. Monitor the performance and occupancy rates of similar Airbnb listings in your area. Analyse their pricing, reviews, and availability patterns to understand how they attract guests. This data can guide your predictions about occupancy rates based on the performance of comparable listings.
5. Airbnb Analytics Tools: Airbnb provides hosts with various analytical tools and dashboards to track their listings’ performances. Explore these features to gain insights into booking patterns, demand trends, and market dynamics specific to your property.
While these strategies can help you predict occupancy rates it’s important to keep in mind that they are by no means foolproof. Many factors can influence demand and occupancy, so it’s essential to continuously monitor and adapt your strategies based on market dynamics and guest preferences.
Statistics: what is the average booking rate for Airbnb in 2023?
The projected average occupancy rate in 2023 for an Airbnb listing is around 56 %. While this is slightly lower compared to the rates in 2022 and 2021, which were 58% and 60% it still surpasses the rates observed in 2019 and 2020, which were 53.3% and 52.9% respectively.
It is important to note that the vacation rental industry has been experiencing significant growth since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many travellers found rentals to be a more comfortable alternative to traditional hotels, and the historically low mortgage rates led to increased interest in real estate investment.
The years 2021 and 2022 were particularly favourable for entering the rental market. While opportunities still exist in 2023, individuals involved in the rental business will need to be more strategic to outperform new competitors and ensure good profits. It is crucial to consider the new economic realities, such as inflation and changes in consumer spending patterns. Both supply and demand are projected to continue growing, albeit at slower and more normal rates compared to previous years (the average occupancy rate +9% and +5.5% respectively).
Success in the vacation rental market requires tailored strategies for each market and listing as no two properties are the same. It is essential to refine your occupancy strategy as soon as possible.
I want to tell that if your current occupancy rate is lower than it was at this time last year, it does not necessarily indicate trouble for your rental business. Maybe it’s just the right moment to try Amenitiz PriceAdvisor.
What is a typical 'good', highest, best occupancy rate for Airbnb in UK?
A typical ‘good’ occupancy rate in Airbnb in the UK can vary depending on several factors – location, property type, local demand, etc. In general the occupancy rate for an Airbnb listing in the UK that’s doing well can commonly go to 50% or higher.
Occupancy rates can fluctuate throughout the year due to seasonal variations and local events. In popular tourist destinations or cities with high demand, it’s not uncommon for occupancy rates to exceed 80% or even reach close to full occupancy.
It’s also worth mentioning that achieving a high occupancy rate is not the sole indicator of success. Other factors, such as competitive pricing, positive guest reviews, and maintaining a well-maintained and attractive property, also contribute to a successful Airbnb business.
Ultimately, the ideal occupancy rate for an Airbnb listing in the UK depends on your specific goals, market conditions, and the uniqueness of your property. Regularly monitoring and adjusting your strategy based on market trends and guest feedback will help you optimise your occupancy rate and maximise your rental income.
How to increase occupancy rate on Airbnb: hot tips for hosts
I suggest you to have a look over the Amenitiz blog to discover more and more tips to attract guest for b&b owners and Airbnb host.
Understand Airbnb's algorithm to rank on the first page (SEO tips)
· Being on the first page of Airbnb’s search results can make a huge difference in profits.
· Airbnb curates the best of the best listings in a city based on consistently high ratings and hundreds of reviews, with no five-star listings included.
· Airbnb prioritises showing the best listings to potential guests in order to create a positive user experience and increase the likelihood of future bookings.
· If you can become fascinating to Airbnb’s algorithm, they will push you so much that you won’t have to try a single day for your life ever again.
· Writing a description that tells a story – people loves stories – and predicts the guest’s experience can make your Airbnb listing more appealing and increase bookings.
· The first five photos of a listing are crucial in capturing potential guests’ attention and should be visually appealing and well-curated. Choose an an eye-catching thumbnail that adds contrast to your Airbnb listing. Use strong adjectives and highlight unique features, and encourage clicks with luxury amenities written in a storytelling way.
· Maintaining high occupancy on Airbnb is more important than just getting views, as it proves that you are interesting and can lead to more bookings.
· Prioritising avoiding one and two star reviews on Airbnb is crucial for staying high in the algorithm and getting more bookings. Read below to know more about reviews.
Create a website that converts
A recurrent topic and a great marketing strategy is to have a SEO-Optimised website. You need to improve your website in every aspect to be sure that it’s doing its work, that is useful to attract guest. It’s crucial to have an Integrated Booking Engine. You’re probably asking yourself why it’s important if we are speaking about Airbnb. Well, 55% of people come back to Google to search your website – and the best price avaible – after finding you on an OTA. It’s called Billboard effect and it’s real.
Work on your pricing strategy: no more empty rooms
A general tip is to wisely use discounts. Keep in mind that for you, it’s better to have mixed reservations and not only not only bookings far in advance.
Raise prices when events are happening around the property location (when demand is higher)
Get to know your area very well in terms of events. It’s crucial because you must take advantage of everything to fill your rooms. It’s a service for your potential guests and a business for you, so be aggressive during any highly demanded period. You should study – literally study, I’m not joking – every event in your area. A football game, a concert, a medieval festival, everything. All the occasions where someone needs a room, and you can give them what they want. It’s maybe the most famous marketing strategy law – supply and demand!
Lower prices below competition in case of last-minute non-booked spots
Lower your prices in the days leading up to whatever event you’ve got your eye on in order to bag those last minute reservations instead of having your rooms or properties empty. Better 20 bucks less than nothing at all.
If you don’t want to waste time doing all these actions manually, let us introduce you to our forecasting- dynamic pricing tool – Amenitiz PriceAdvisor. It’s essential to maintain a good Airbnb occupancy rate.
So, to summarise, post your listings on Airbnb first, use a pricing strategy to maximise bookings, and consider dropping rates last minute to secure bookings and maintain high occupancy.
Reviews
A best practice is to give the discount not to people who book 2-3 months in advance, but to people who book last-minute, so you can get a review quickly. Giving the discount to people who book well in advance, on the other hand, you will have to wait for months before you can read anything. As a result, you won’t be able to take advantage of the positive ratings your guests give you and what having a high review rate entails.
Also, don’t forget to take care of the reviews. Send a nice review to your guest first, so you can remind and inspire them to do the same for you. If your properties are also on other ota, and you use a website to rent them, you can ask them to leave you a review with a card in the room with a QR Code. If you have the opportunity, you might think of a small courtesy gift to go with the request. They will appreciate it and be more welcoming.