If you own a vacation rental, peak season is the most important time of year for you because this is when the demand for rentals is very high and booking rates are soaring. As with most oceanfront destinations, Encinitas, a beach city in Southern California, is popular all year round, thanks to its stunning shoreline, fabulous weather, and eclectic downtown. Peak season falls in July and August, and around spring break, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s very clear that there’s a lot of potential for increased profits during this period, but first you have to properly prepare for it. Effective strategies include price optimization, improving gust communication, simplifying check-in and check-out procedures, hiring professional cleaners, and improving guest experience by making property upgrades.
Pro Tips on How to Increase Your Vacation Property Revenue During Busiest Times of the Year
In this blog post, we will explore how you can best prepare for the busiest season of the year and how to successfully accomplish business goals. We will also talk about how to maximize your rental profit and how to provide exceptional guest service. Most importantly, you will learn how to stay ahead of challenges and make the most of peak season for your short term rental in Encinitas. Use information provided here or hire a professional property management agency to become an amazing host with lots of 5-star ratings and repeat business in the future.
Boost Occupancy & Profitability All-Year Round with Our Professional Help
Swell Property is a widely recognized company that manages short-term rental properties in Encinitas and other locations in Southern California. We help hosts gain more profit and earn better reviews by professionally handling all aspects of vacation rental business. Our comprehensive services include advertising, handling booking reservations, professional cleaning, housekeeping, guest check in and check out services, tenant placement, rent collection, maintenance services, and many others. Since our beginnings in the early 2000’s, we have helped hundreds of landlords reach their financial goals, grow their business and become top-rated hosts. Our expert property managers possess extensive experience and comprehensive understanding of all matters of vacation rental business and can help owners like you in managing your vacation property not only during peak season, but throughout the year. To learn how you can increase profit, have better occupancy rates, and reduce expenses, fill out a form, or contact us directly at (760) 452-2345.
What is Considered as the Peak Season?
In vacation rental industry, seasonality is divided into peak season, off season, and shoulder season, which falls right before and immediately after the peak point.
Peak season is very important part of the year for everyone in tourism and accommodation industry. In tourism, this term denotes the time of year when a large number of tourists travel to certain destination. For beach destinations and vacation markets that rely heavily on body features, this happens during summer months, when the weather is favorable, and for ski locations, it’s in winter time. Other busy travel periods include holidays, special events, and local festivals. At this time, travel costs tend to be higher than usual, and popular tourist spots are much busier.
Seasonal Tourism in Encinitas
Encinitas, which is heralded for its spectacular coastline, beautiful weather, and lively cultural scene, is a magnet for visitors throughout the entire year. Still, like many tourist-reliant destinations, the dynamics of this short-term rental market is largely impacted by seasonal tourism patterns.
Encinitas is a year-round paradise destination with lots of tourists throughout the year, and not only during the summer. The busiest periods are months of July and August, spring break, holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter), and holiday weekends.
Benefits for Accommodation Providers
Peak season in vacation rental industry leads to premium prices, considerably higher occupancy rates and highest influx of potential guests who are willing to pay increased rates. However, it also means that you should invest more in advertising if you want to outshine the competition. You must also manage considerably more reservations, so it’s also the most stressful and frantic period for you. To avoid stress and to make the most out of peak season, without overwhelming stress, the key is to plan ahead, use technology, and set realistic goals.
Let’s see some of the benefits when the season is high:
- Gaining more profit – You have the opportunity for better occupancy rates.
- Setting premium rates – Analyze the market to adjust prices and set longer minimum stays to earn more revenue.
- Counterbalancing low season – Revenues made now can offset slow periods.
- Earning ratings quickly – This is a chance to earn lots of reviews and build reputation for future.
- Improving reach & visibility – You have the potential to appeal to a large audience.
8 Tips on How to Take Full Advantage of Peak Season
As we have mentioned earlier, for those who offer accommodation in a highly seasonal market, the height of season means more business and more revenue, but also more operational challenges. For this reason, it’s essential to come up with effective strategies which will help you make the most out of your rental business, because seasonality can be a blessing in disguise. Your success depends heavily on knowing how to set prices effectively during both high and low season. In addition, it’s critical to prepare for unforeseen situations which may negatively impact your business.
1. Prepare your property for the season – Smart upgrades
Your goal is to beat the competition which can be truly fierce during high season. Start by researching what they offer and what guests are looking for in order to determine what the most profitable upgrades would be. Travelers today typically want comfort and convenience, but you could also look at luxury amenities or even adding a pool. The key is to figure out what brings you profit throughout the entire year. For instance, you don’t want to build a pool in the back yard if its yearly maintenance will cost you a lot more than you can afford.
Essential upgrades include:
- High-speed internet (300 Mbps minimum)
- Smart TV with pre-installed apps (Netflix, Hulu, Disney, etc.)
- Eco-friendly appliances
- USB charging stations
- Luxury vacation rental amenities – game consoles, home theatre, kid-friendly amenities, beach gear (beach towels, umbrellas, beach toys)
2. Adjust rates to maximize revenue
High season is the time to optimize rental rates based on market demand. As most guests are ready (and expect) to pay higher rates during this time, use this opportunity to adjust prices by analyzing competition and current market trends. You can also use information from the past to anticipate how and when to modify prices. Start by setting minimum and maximum rate thresholds to avoid going too low or too high.
- Set premium prices – You rates should be market reflective. Research the competition and use data from previous seasons to set reasonable prices.
- Implement minimum stay requirements – It’s a good idea torequire a minimum stay to reduce turnover costs while securing a steady revenue flow.
- Increase minimum stay – Don’t pass up an opportunity to increase minimum stay to 3 to 5 nights. During long weekends or local events, a minimum stay of 3 nights can prevent less lucrative bookings from blocking your calendar.
- Encourage longer stay – To boost longer stays and minimize turnover, offer discounts for longer stays. For instance, for stays longer than a week, offer a 5 – 10% discount. This will attract guests and secure you higher occupancy at increased rates.
3. Automation
If you want to offer stellar customer service, you have to make sure to remain available for them at all times – when they make the reservation, during their stay, and also after their stay. For guests, it’s very important that their host is easily accessible and responds timely to their inquiries and concerns. During busy seasons, for some landlords it may be difficult to keep track of everything they need to do, so it’s best to use automation. Automation takes care of repetitive tasks and saves valuable time for landlords.
Automated responders can be used for:
- Booking confirmations, reservation updates
- Guest communication (to acknowledge receipt of their message)
- Availability calendar synchronizations across platforms to prevent double bookings
- Reminder notifications
- Guest screening
- Keeping track of inventory
- Check-in and check-out
4. Protect your property
Increased occupancy and frequent turnovers during peak season inevitably lead to property wear and tear. Because of this, you need to think of ways of you can protect and insure your property against normal wear and tear but also against damages that go beyond regular landlord insurance.
There’s three ways to do this:
- Request security deposit – Not only does security deposit help you cover damages but it also instills a sense of responsibility in visitors, so you can have peace of mind during hectic seasons.
- Verify identity – perform thorough screening and verify guests’ identity to maximize security.
- Have rental agreements – To add another layer of security, ask guests to sign rental agreements.
5. Simplify check in and check out procedures
Set up a keyless entry system to accommodate guests’ needs. Travelers today want easy and convenient property access, so you can either install a keyless entry where they enter the unit by entering the code, or have a lockbox with keys inside. Quick and simple check-in is extremely important for the guests and can greatly improve their first impression on your property.
- Install Wi-Fi enabled locks with temporary PIN codes (Schlage Encode, August Smart Lock, Yale Assure)
- Enforce strict check-out procedure (late check-out fee, automated reminders, check-out checklist for guests)
- As a special touch, provide your guests with video tutorials or guidebooks on how to self-check-in.
6. Become exceptional at customer support
From the first inquiry to post-stay feedback, let your guests know that you are there for them and that you care for their needs throughout the entire process, and not only while they are staying at your vacation rental. Prioritize quick responses and clear communication, and go the extra mile whenever you can. For example, if you know what the purpose of your guest stay, you might include a welcome basket for the occasion. For family reunion you could put together a basket of local snacks and beverages, or for romantic trip include chocolates and champagne. This will show them how much you care about them and how excited you are about them staying at your property. Being great at customer service builds great rapport, and leads to 5-star reviews, loyal guests and future referrals.
Here’s several strategies on how to become better at customer service:
- Proactive communication – Clear and prompt communication, pre-arrival contact, personalized welcome messages, local recommendations, information regarding peak season limitations (such as limited parking)
- Improved guest experience – Supply lists of nearby attractions, transportation, and places to eat. Offer flexibility when possible (such as early check-in), and provide small welcome gifts.
- Provide clear guidelines for house rules – Include noise policies, local regulations, and safety protocols.
- Ongoing support – Address issues promptly and be available to assist guests with urgent needs.
- Post–stay follow-up – Always follow up to ensure guest satisfaction, thank them for their stay, and encourage them to leave reviews. You could use surveys to gather information on how you can improve in the future.
7. Arrange professional cleaning
During peak season, be prepared to clean property more often than usual. You will most likely have to work with tight deadlines, so consider hiring a reliable professional cleaning company which can ensure smooth turnovers and pristine clean places in short amount of time.
Key strategies include:
- Look for experienced cleaners – Hire cleaning companies that have experience in quick vacation rental turnovers to accommodate tight deadlines.
- Arrange services well in advance – Knowing destinations like Encinitas can get quite busy during peak season, ensure you contact and arrange the cleaning service on time.
- Confirm details – Include details on turnaround times, provide cleaning checklist, discuss cleaning expectations.
- Have backup – Finally, have alternatives in case your main provider cancels on you or becomes unavailable.
8. Be ready for cancellations and changes
Last, but not least, it’s important to prepare yourself for last-minute cancellations and changes to reservations and protect yourself from financial losses. Keep in mind that these things happen and you have to remain focused to handle these unexpected situations efficiently.
Specific strategies to employ:
- Flexible cancellation policies – Have moderate cancellation policies to easily attract guests.
- Offer discounts for last-minute bookings – Be ready to adjust pricing as needed and offer reduced rates if needed to fill vacancies.
- Promote last-minute bookings – Make sure you advertise and promote special last-minute deals so you can reach out to wider audience.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
When you are managing a vacation rental during peak season, it’s not uncommon to make mistakes because you are doing so many responsibilities on your own. With careful planning and knowing what to anticipate, you can stay on top of your game.
Some common mistakes you should avoid include the following:
- Overbooking – Avoid poor calendar management by synchronizing all platforms through channel managers such as Lodgify.
- Not scheduling maintenance – It’s imperative to schedule maintenance service before peak season in order to avoid major disruptions and vacancies during the most profitable time of the year.
- Ignoring guest feedback – Use guest feedback to improve and to make your property stand out in highly saturated markets.
Commonly Asked Questions
1. How do I set the right price for peak season in Encinitas?
In order to come up with adequate price it is important to take into account several factors – competitor prices, historical data, market trends, and your financial goals. Be ready to adjust the rate as needed, potentially using a tiered system.
2. What is the best way to handle a large number of bookings?
To handle a large influx of reservations efficiently, try automating the process through management software, optimize listings, and simplify the booking process as much as possible. Consider creating your own website to potentially offer exclusive deals.
3. What’s the best way to handle emergencies during peak season?
Before the season begins, ensure you have all emergency contacts and protocols in place. Keep your handyman on call and stock up on backup small appliances (such as A/C, toaster, coffee maker).
For Your Further Read:
- 12 Essential Tips on How to Make Your Home in Encinitas a Vacation Rental
- Must-Have Luxury Vacation Rental Amenities For Exclusive Clientele
- Vacation Rental Cleaning Checklist & Tips for Landlords in San Diego
- Vacation Rental Security Tips For Owners
- Is Adding a Pool to Your Vacation Rental Worth It? Find Out!
- Sustainable Property Management Tips For Landlords in Coastal Areas
About the Author
David Miller is Real Estate Advisor at Swell Property. Whether you’re eyeing a new home, an investment property, securing the best mortgage, or aiming to enhance your property’s value, my focus is on providing personalized guidance and strategy for your success. I listen to your needs attentively, ensuring that my expertise aligns perfectly with your real estate goals. My clients’ satisfaction and referrals are the true measure of my success in San Diego’s dynamic real estate market. If you’re searching for a real estate professional who’s deeply committed to your success, I’m eager to demonstrate my expertise and win your trust. Let’s connect and start this journey together.
