It can be difficult to work out appropriate pricing for holiday let accommodation. The obvious first step is to check out what similar properties are charging. Having done this, you have to decide whether you are pitched at the budget end or the luxury end of the market and adapt your prices accordingly.
A further complication, which is a major issue in Edinburgh particularly, is differential pricing by date. What are the times when you can charge higher prices – commonly in Edinburgh the festival, Hogmanay, the Marathon weekend and some rugby weekends – and when do you need lower prices because there are fewer visitors? You need to decide how much extra you can charge in the high season and how much you are prepared to charge in lower seasons.
Our advice is that you need to have your pricing worked out for at least a year ahead. Now in August 2010 we are getting enquiries from people who want to book August 2011. After any event we find people who want to book for the next year. They have either loved their accommodation and want to secure it for next year, or hated it and want some thing better next year!
