During periods of low travel demand, bookings tend to slow down no matter how great your location or amenities are, and occupancy rates often drop significantly. Many hosts say things like, “Our revenue is dropping and it’s tough,” or “We’re spending on advertising to fill rooms, but it’s barely making a dent.”

However, the off-season isn’t a time to chase revenue at all costs. Instead, you should think of it as a “preparation period”—filling bookings even at lower prices, accumulating positive reviews, and setting the stage for the busy season ahead. If you build up a solid reputation now, you can level up to a “hard-to-book, popular property” once the busy season arrives.

In this article, we’ll introduce 5 pricing strategies to help you make the most of the off-season. It’s not simply about lowering prices—we’ll walk you through practical, easy-to-understand tactics for **strategically lowering price while raising value**, tailored specifically for vacation rental operations.

1. Price 10–20% Below the Lowest Local Rate to Boost Booking Rates

The first thing to focus on during the off-season is positioning yourself within the “chosen price range” for your area. If your price stays too high, you risk being eliminated at the comparison stage—guests may not even click on your listing.

That said, extreme discounting should be avoided. It lowers your brand value and tends to attract guests who care only about price. That’s why we recommend setting your rate “10–20% below the lowest price in the area.” This approach helps your listing stand out in search results while still maintaining an image that isn’t overly cheap.

Price isn’t the only deciding factor—photos, descriptions, and review counts all matter too. So alongside lowering your price, make sure to build in **ways to communicate “great value for money”**.

2. Flexibly Set Weekday and Last-Minute Discounts

During the off-season, it’s key to dynamically adjust prices with a focus on “weekdays” and “last-minute dates”—the times that are hardest to book on the calendar. For example, setting up discounts like the following can help increase bookings:

• 10–30% off for weekdays (Sunday–Thursday)
• 15% off for bookings made within 3 days of check-in
• Additional discount on total price for extended stays (4+ nights)

By displaying these plans on OTA platforms, you can emphasize a sense of “great deal” while effectively filling vacancies unique to the off-season. Last-minute discounts, in particular, appeal strongly to users making spontaneous travel decisions and can serve as a powerful tool for boosting occupancy.

3. Commit to “Loss-Leader” Pricing with a Focus on Building Reviews

The true purpose of the off-season isn’t profit—it’s “accumulating reviews.” How many positive reviews you gather now will greatly influence your booking numbers, average rate, and guest quality during the busy season.

To achieve this, you may sometimes need to **commit fully to “loss-leader pricing.”** This strategy is especially effective for newly opened properties or listings that don’t yet have many reviews.

Of course, “just lowering the price” isn’t enough on its own. Don’t forget to add touches that encourage guests to leave reviews—such as sending a follow-up message after checkout or leaving a thank-you note. Going from 10 reviews to 30 can dramatically change your search ranking and booking rate.

4. Differentiate with “Total Price Appeal” That Includes Cleaning Fees and Service Charges

Recently, “total price display”—showing the nightly rate combined with cleaning fees and service charges—has become standard on platforms like Airbnb. This is a great opportunity to strategically set your cleaning fee to zero or extremely low, making your total price look more attractive compared to other listings.

For instance, even if your nightly rate is low, a high cleaning fee can make guests feel like it’s “somehow overpriced.” On the other hand, a listing with a clear, reasonable-looking total price (cleaning fee included) tends to be chosen more often for that reason alone.

During the off-season, don’t chase profit—focus first on “getting bookings” and “earning reviews.” It helps to approach any extra costs with the mindset of treating them as an “investment.”

5. Introduce “Experience-Based Plans” Targeting Local Guests

While inbound and long-distance travelers tend to decrease during the off-season, this is also when demand from local guests looking to “relax somewhere nearby” tends to increase. This makes it a great time to shift your approach—selling your property not just as a “place to stay” but as an **”experience.”**

For example:

• “Enjoy a cozy home-cooking experience with a full kitchen”
• “YouTube filming and workshops welcome”
• “Get a local specialty gift with multi-night stays”

Try presenting your listing in ways like these that make guests feel they’re getting more value than the price suggests. Experience-based plans like these make it easier to highlight appeal beyond just price, offering a way to step outside the price competition altogether.

Summary

The off-season in vacation rentals is often seen as “a difficult time with no revenue,” but it should actually be viewed as a **”preparation phase” for succeeding in the next busy season**. How many reviews you can accumulate now, and how well you maintain occupancy to avoid dropping in search rankings, will greatly impact your revenue six months down the line.

Rather than stubbornly maintaining a high price and ending up with zero bookings, it’s often the smarter long-term move to secure bookings and earn reviews—even if it means sacrificing profit in the short term.

• Secure bookings by pricing 10–20% below nearby competitors
• Actively incorporate weekday and last-minute discounts
• Prioritize reviews, even at the risk of short-term losses
• Adjust cleaning fees with total price appeal in mind
• Differentiate with experience-based plans for local guests

Use these strategies to make your off-season occupancy truly meaningful.

Talk to Stay Buddy About Your Off-Season Vacation Rental Strategy

If you’re struggling with off-season pricing adjustments, finding it hard to accumulate reviews, or want to boost bookings ahead of the busy season, please reach out to Stay Buddy Inc. Our experienced team will provide thorough support—from developing pricing strategies tailored to your area’s characteristics, to designing operations for gathering reviews, to improving how your listing appears on OTA platforms. Why not start turning your off-season into a “preparation period” today?