Seasonality in vacation rentals is almost identical to that of tourism and hotel units.

Rents begin around Easter, followed by a small gap, and from June to September there is work for almost all properties rented for this period. There are exceptions. In areas with high demand, such as the center of Athens, where rents continue throughout the year. In other areas, such as in places where winter tourism flourishes, bookings are more limited, for example only in the winter months there is interest in renting apartments and houses, depending on location,  and those wo become interested are usually domestic tourists.


In less demanding places there are reservations only in the period for July and August.

This is what is known as the seasonality of vacation rentals.

But there is also seasonality in prices.

Let me remind you that many people prefer to go on holiday in June or September because it is cheaper than in July or August.

This seasonality should be taken seriously when preparing rental prices. Usually, the prices for the season are entered in pairs, i.e. for each pair of months mentioned, the night price is the same. There is also seasonality in the booking process. In places where there is demand all year round, bookings do not stop at all. In more summer places where demand is only in the summer season, there are reservations that can start from the previous summer, especially for the days of July and August. But bookings usually start in full force from January, and those tenants that book are mostly for the July-August period. As winter progresses, and we enter Spring, bookings continue and usually take place on weekends. When spring comes and the property is filled with reservations, for the dates that are available, reservations continue and in fact September and October nights reservations begin. At the beginning of the summer we are entering the last minute booking phase, at least for the three months of the summer, and from the beginning of July onwards, tenants are booking either for September and October, or for the next season. Of all the different versions of seasonality mentioned so far, the most important seasonality is this one. Because in order to have a good start in short-term rentals, perhaps the most important thing is to do everything at the right time. Of course, when there is a lot of demand and bookings all year round, it doesn’t make sense when one takes the initial steps to get started. But for those aiming for bookings in the summer season, everything has its special time. If, for example, the goal is to book accommodation for the coming summer and start all the necessary work so that it is ready, things should be done in the right order, so that at least shortly before the Christmas the property is photographed and posted and be visible everywhere, to take full advantage of the booking season from the beginning – the coming month of January; this way  the property has the maximum possibilities to be filled with reservations with the best quality tenants. Photography should be carried out in the summer months (if the house is ready for photography) to take advantage of the clear weather and the blooming nature surroundings. 

In the next and last article, I’ll talk a little bit about your independence: what alternatives are there to drastically reduce your dependence on platforms along with the negatives that this entails i.e. to gain as much control as possible. The right thing to do is to have multiple alternatives that work at the same time to increase your booking capacity and turnover in the best possible way. I am sure at least some of the things I will mention have never crossed your mind. 
 

You can contact me directly through the site.

Konstantinos Papachatzis .