Welcome to our latest blog post, a month after the exciting launch of our Breakthrough Release. Your feedback has been invaluable, and we’re here to delve deeper into the ins and outs of our product based on your experiences and queries.
We address some of the most frequently asked questions that have surfaced since the launch. We understand that with the introduction of 27 new features, some gems might have slipped under your radar. So, we’re going to spotlight a few standout features that deserve your attention.
Exploring exclusive features that only PriceLabs brings you
With the introduction of the Breakthrough Release, we have unveiled a set of unprecedented product features that are unique in the market. Here’s our team’s top picks:
Market-driven Last-Minute and Far-Out Customizations:
In hospitality, nights are a perishable product – if a night goes unbooked, that potential revenue is lost forever. The timing of a booking, known as the booking window, is a key factor in your pricing strategy.
Without dynamic pricing, you might set rates too high for last-minute inquiries, which could prevent potential bookings. However, in markets where demand outstrips supply, lowering prices excessively could lead to missed revenue opportunities.
Similarly, offering significant discounts isn’t always necessary for far-out bookings made well in advance, especially in markets where people are likely to book regardless.
Our new feature, Market-Driven Dynamic Last-Minute and Far-Out Customizations, is here to help. Here’s where PriceLabs stands out: unlike competitors who apply a one-size-fits-all approach to discounts and premiums across all markets, our feature adjusts your pricing based on real-time conditions in your specific local market.
To understand more, check out this article from our data science team.
Exciting New Customizations for Multi-Unit Operators: Introducing Hotel Weights and Hotel CompSets
If you’re operating multi-unit accommodations like aparthotels or serviced apartments, we have some thrilling updates tailored just for you. Under our Smart Presets, when you select “Multi-Unit” as your property type, you can access advanced customizations to fine-tune our pricing algorithm.
These innovative customizations – Hotel Weights and Hotel CompSets – are unique features exclusively available on PriceLabs. They set us apart by offering multi-unit operators an unmatched level of control and flexibility in their pricing strategy tailored to the specific dynamics of their local market.
How to get there? Simply toggle on “Demand Factor Sensitivity“, and voila, two new options – “Hotel Weights” and “Hotel CompSets” will be displayed.
- Hotel Weights: Decide the degree to which hotel pricing trends should influence your property’s rates. Balance or adjust the impact of hotel-related pricing data on your listings, benefiting those with hotel-like establishments.
- Hotel CompSets: If local hotel rates hold a greater influence on your property’s prices than nearby short-term rentals, our “Hotel CompSets” customization is your solution. Choose which neighboring hotels should affect your pricing strategy.
Quick Tips and Clarifications on the Breakthrough Release
Choose Your Calendar Start Day
We’ve been listening, especially to our European users who have long requested this feature: the flexibility to choose the start day of their week. You asked, and we delivered! Now, you can customize your pricing calendar to begin on a Monday or any other day that suits your preference. Go to Your Account, then Account Settings, and then Advanced Settings, and use the “Select First Day of the Week” field.
Expiry Date Option for Date-Specific Overrides (DSO)
You may already know that a Date-Specific Override (DSO) allows you to manually adjust the price recommendations made by our algorithm for specific dates. Often, a DSO is used to increase prices for one or several days above PriceLabs’ price recommendations. This could be due to expected high demand, local events, or other factors that might not be fully captured by the algorithm.
However, if the anticipated high-demand bookings do not materialize as expected, your DSO might inadvertently block potential last-minute bookings by maintaining higher prices. This can counteract discounts intended to fill vacant slots close to the date.
To cater to this, we have introduced an advanced setting that allows you to set an expiry timeframe for a part of the DSO. Higher prices won’t obstruct potential last-minute bookings as they’ll automatically expire after a certain period.
Consider scenarios like Milan’s Fashion Week, where last-minute pricing can skyrocket due to a surge in demand. By implementing an override with an expiry date closer to the event, you ensure you don’t underprice in advance while also avoiding being overly expensive last-minute, allowing you to sell based on real-time information from PriceLabs.
Smart Presets:
To give you control over our algorithm, we provide more than 30 customization options. For newcomers, navigating through all these options can be overwhelming.
Smart Presets allow you to define your listing type – be it short-term rental, mid-term rental, or a multi-unit building. Based on this, they offer a recommended set of customizations and advice on value selections. This feature streamlines the process of navigating multiple settings, saving time and helping you get the most out of PriceLabs.
For our seasoned users, this is an invitation to explore overlooked features and receive suggestions for potentially better settings.
Note that any changes made in the Smart Presets will also apply to other areas where these customization options exist, ensuring a consistent and efficient user experience.
Performance Metrics: Where to start? What is the difference between Occupancy and Adjusted Occupancy?
We’re thrilled to introduce enhanced Performance Metrics in our latest Breakthrough Release, offering you over 40 tailored metrics. Given the extensive options, we’ve set ‘Listing Occupancy’ as the primary metric to help you gauge property health. It represents the proportion of booked dates to total dates, and a 100% value indicates all dates, even those reserved for the owner, are booked.
If you’re looking for a more detailed perspective, ‘Adjusted Occupancy’ is available, which excludes owner-occupied dates, providing a transparent view of paid or adjusted stays.
Seeking a creative way to use our metrics? Here’s a tip: Take the ‘last booked date’ (the most recent date when a guest booked your property) and combine it with ‘forward occupancy’ (the upcoming dates when your property is available). By doing this, you can spot those listings that have openings in the near future but haven’t been getting any new bookings lately. It’s a great way to see which properties might need a little extra attention or a promotional push.
Desktop App
The new PriceLabs Desktop App has sparked discussion among users regarding its differences from the browser version and its platform availability. To clarify, this standalone application provides a more dedicated and efficient PriceLabs experience, distinct from the browser version.
The free app can be downloaded directly from PriceLabs, not from any app stores. However, to view the download link, you must access PriceLabs via a Chromium-based browser like Google Chrome. Once downloaded, this app is compatible with all computers, regardless of whether they are Microsoft or Mac-based.
PriceLabs connects with 5 more PMSs
Here are the 5 PMSs joining our list of 100+ integrations:
- Hoone
- LiveRez
- RentalWise
- Vesta
- VRBookings
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