By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: Price dynamically rather than at a fixed nightly rate, which sits too high on quiet nights and sells peak nights too cheaply. Use pricing software that moves the rate daily against demand, set a sensible base rate with minimum and maximum limits, vary minimum stays by season, and judge results on revenue per available night, not occupancy.
Why a fixed rate loses money in both directions
Demand for a short let is not flat. It moves with the season, the day of the week, school holidays, local events, and what every comparable property nearby is charging that week.
Set one rate and you lose twice. On quiet nights you are priced above the market and sit empty. On peak nights you sell out early at a fraction of what the night was worth — and an early sell-out is not a success, it is a rate that was too low.
The tell is a calendar that fills months ahead at a constant price. That is not strong demand; it is underpricing.
What dynamic pricing actually does
Pricing software reads market signals — comparable listings, booking pace, local events, seasonality — and moves your rate daily against them. It is standard across the industry and it is why professionally managed listings tend to outperform on revenue rather than on occupancy.
It is not automatic money. It needs a sensible base rate, minimum and maximum limits so it cannot do anything foolish, and someone checking that its assumptions match the property.
We use it on every property and it is mandatory under our agreements at £15 a month, deducted from payouts. We would rather be straight that it is a cost than present it as a free benefit.
The settings that matter more than the nightly rate
Most owners obsess over the nightly figure and leave the settings that actually shape revenue at their defaults.
- Minimum stay, varied by season and day. A two-night minimum on a peak weekend and a longer one in a quiet month behave very differently.
- Length-of-stay discounts. Weekly and monthly rates should be materially below the nightly equivalent — a long stay costs you one changeover instead of ten.
- Orphan-night handling. A one-night gap between bookings sells for nothing unless the minimum stay drops to fill it.
- Lead-time pricing. Last-minute nights are worth less than nothing empty, so a floor rate close to the date usually beats holding out.
- Cleaning fee. A high separate fee kills short bookings; folding it into the rate often converts better.
The number to optimise is not occupancy
It is revenue per available night — what the property earns across every night it could have sold, occupied or not. A property at 95% occupancy can earn less than the same property at 75% priced properly, and it will cost more to service because it turned over more times.
Chasing occupancy is the most common self-managing mistake, partly because occupancy is the figure the platforms display most prominently.
Judge a pricing change on revenue per available night across a full quarter, not on how quickly the calendar filled.