How to Research Competitor Properties for Profitable Vacation Rental Management

When starting a vacation rental business, most people fixate on the appeal of their own property—its location, its interior design. But diving into this business on passion alone is like setting sail without a compass.

“Will my property actually sell at this price?”

“Why is the property next door always fully booked?”

Your competitors hold every answer.

Let’s start with this article’s conclusion.

The absolute prerequisite for sustained profitability in vacation rentals is thorough, data-driven “competitor research.” Only by knowing your competition inside and out can you determine the optimal pricing for your property and craft a winning differentiation strategy.

This article walks you step by step through the exact competitor research methods used by professionals—the kind that will move you beyond guesswork and transform your property into a genuinely profitable vacation rental.

Why Is “Competitor Research” the Heart of Vacation Rental Management?

Skipping competitor research is like heading into battle blindfolded.

• 1. It serves as your compass for optimal “pricing”: The “right price” for your property isn’t something you decide in isolation. It’s determined by the market price—the point at which guests, comparing your property against competitors, decide “this price is worth this value.” Without understanding your competitors’ pricing strategies, maximizing your property’s revenue is simply impossible.
• 2. It’s the source of your “differentiation strategy”: By researching competitors, you can uncover market gaps—opportunities like “there aren’t many large-group accommodations in this area” or “every property here has bland, unremarkable interiors.” Targeting these gaps and showcasing your property’s unique strengths is the only real way to escape a price war.
• 3. It sharpens your “revenue forecasting”: When building a business plan, revenue forecasting is often the hardest part. By analyzing competitors’ real occupancy rates and nightly rates, your plan shifts from wishful thinking to a data-backed forecast.

[Practical Guide] The 5 Research Steps to Fully Understand Your Competitors

“I get that competitor research matters. But how do I actually do it?”

To answer that question, here are concrete research steps you can start right now—for free or at minimal cost.

STEP 1: [Preparation] Build a “Competitor List” Using OTA Sites

First, identify who you’re up against.

• Tools to use: The OTA (booking platform) you primarily operate on—Airbnb, Booking.com, Rakuten Travel, etc.
• Steps:
  1. Search within the same area as your property (e.g., Namba, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, within a 10-minute walk of Station X).
  2. Narrow your search filters to match your property’s conditions (e.g., 4–6 guests, entire-house rental, etc.).
  3. From the results, identify at least 10 to 20 “strong competitors”—properties with numerous reviews and calendars that tend to stay fully booked.
  4. Compile the URLs, property names, guest capacities, and price ranges for these properties into an Excel or spreadsheet file.

STEP 2: [Price Analysis] A Thorough Study of “Average Daily Rate (ADR)”

Analyze when and at what price your competitors are selling.

• Steps:
  1. Open the booking calendars of your listed competitors and carefully record nightly rates (total price including cleaning fees) for each date across five categories: ①weekdays, ②weekends (Fri/Sat), ③the night before holidays, ④super-peak periods (Golden Week, Obon, New Year’s), and ⑤off-peak periods (e.g., February, late August).
• What to look for:
  • How much do they raise prices on weekends and during peak periods compared to weekdays? (i.e., the range of their dynamic pricing)
  • What discount rates do they offer for long-term stays (weekly/monthly)?
  • This research will dramatically sharpen your understanding of the “going rate” in your area.

STEP 3: [Occupancy Analysis] Estimating Performance from “Reviews” and “Calendars”

Estimate how well your competitors are actually selling.

• Steps:
  • Estimating from review count: Guest review submission rates are generally estimated at 30–50%. If a property received 10 reviews in the past month, it likely had 2–3 times that number of actual bookings (roughly 20–30 nights).
  • Estimating from the calendar: Check the booking calendar several months out to see how many dates are marked “reserved.” Properties where weekends and long holidays fill up early are, without a doubt, popular listings.
• What to look for:
  • A property that commands high prices yet still has abundant reviews and a fully booked calendar is your toughest competitor—and the one you should treat as your “benchmark” (target).

STEP 4: [Strategy Analysis] Stealing the “Winning Formula” from Photos and Descriptions

Analyze why your competitors are succeeding.

• Steps:
  • Photo analysis: What kind of photos (interior, amenities, exterior) do they feature, and in what order? What “brand image” or concept are those photos trying to convey? (e.g., modern Japanese, Scandinavian style, family-friendly, etc.)
  • Description and title analysis: What “strengths” are they highlighting in their titles? (e.g., “5 Minutes from the Station!”, “High-Speed Wi-Fi & Workspace Included”, “20 Minutes to USJ”, etc.)
• What to look for:
  • How will your property compare in guests’ eyes against these competitors?
  • What “unique strength” does your property have that competitors aren’t promoting? (e.g., if competitors mostly target couples, position your property as “family-friendly” instead.)
  • This is the single most important insight for building your property’s differentiation strategy.

STEP 5: [Guest Feedback Analysis] “Negative Reviews” Are a Goldmine

Your competitors’ weaknesses are your opportunities.

• Steps: Sort competitor reviews by lowest rating first (1-star and up) and read them thoroughly.
• What to look for:
  • What specifically did guests complain about?
  • “The Wi-Fi was slow,” “there was no hot water,” “the room was cold,” “the bathroom was dirty”…
  • If your property proactively solves every one of these competitor weaknesses—by installing high-speed fixed-line internet, a modern water heater, double-glazed windows for better insulation, or by enforcing rigorous cleaning standards—those very fixes become your property’s overwhelming competitive advantage.

[Advanced] Sharpening Your Precision with Data Analysis Tools

The manual research outlined above will already yield plenty of useful information. But if you want an even more efficient and objective view of the market, consider adopting a specialized data analysis tool (such as AirDNA). These platforms instantly calculate accurate average nightly rates, occupancy rates, and projected revenue for specific areas, all based on historical performance data.

Conclusion: Competitor Research Is Essential Homework for Winning

“Profiting” in vacation rental management ultimately means winning a relative contest against your competitors, again and again. And the game plan for that fight is exactly what we’ve covered here: competitor research.

It may feel tedious, but the amount of time you invest in this patient research and analysis will directly determine your property’s future profitability.

Let Our Professionals Handle That “Research and Analysis” for You

“I understand how to research competitors now. But I simply don’t have time for this kind of painstaking work alongside my main job…”

“Even if I gather the data, I’m not confident I can turn it into a winning strategy.”

“Paid tools like AirDNA seem too complicated to master…”

If any of these concerns sound familiar, please reach out to us.

We at Stay Buddy Co., Ltd. are data analysis professionals who continuously track market and competitor trends in Osaka City—one of the most fiercely competitive vacation rental markets around.

Here’s what we do:

• ① We combine advanced analysis tools like AirDNA with proprietary operational performance data unavailable anywhere else to objectively and precisely analyze the competitive landscape and revenue potential of the market you’re looking to enter.
• ② Based on that analysis, we propose a concrete “differentiation strategy” and “pricing strategy” that exploits your competitors’ weaknesses while maximizing your property’s strengths.
• ③ And of course, our team of professionals handles the actual “operations” based on that strategy, maximizing your revenue from start to finish.

You won’t need to spend your own time on tedious data collection or analysis.

All you need to do is review the data-backed “winning strategy” we present and make the final business decision.

Let’s move your vacation rental business from intuition-based “operation” to data-driven “management.”

Put us to work as your ultimate “analysis team.” We look forward to hearing from you.