1. Start with a base rate per room type
Set a sensible everyday price for each room type — your standard, or “rack”, rate — before any seasonal adjustment. Anchor it to what comparable rooms in your area charge and to your own costs, so even your lowest price still makes the stay worth hosting. This base rate is the number every later adjustment moves up or down from.
2. Adjust for season and demand
Prices should move with demand, and you know your calendar better than any algorithm. Set higher rates for your high season, weekends, and local events when rooms sell themselves, and softer rates for the quiet weeks when a filled room at a lower price beats an empty one. In PeakRooms you set these seasonal rates yourself — you stay in control of every price, rather than handing it to automated pricing.
3. Use minimum-stay rules deliberately
A minimum length of stay protects busy dates and can lift your average booking. Require a longer minimum over peak weekends and holidays so you don't lose a high-demand night to a single one-night booking, and drop the minimum in slow periods to catch last-minute and short trips. PeakRooms lets you apply a stay-length rule across your rooms at once, so you're not editing them one by one.
4. Keep your direct rate at or below the OTA rate
If your own website is pricier than the OTA listing, guests book the OTA and you pay commission on a guest who was already yours. Hold rate parity — your direct price should match or beat the OTA price. You don't have to undercut publicly; a quiet book-direct perk or members rate rewards direct guests while staying within the OTAs' parity rules.
5. Review each season with real numbers
Rates aren't set once. Watch how far ahead guests book (your booking window) and how full you end up (occupancy), then adjust: if you sell out weeks early, you left money on the table and can raise next season's peak rate; if rooms sit empty, soften the rate or shorten the minimum stay. A few reviews a year keeps your pricing honest to real demand.
Key takeaways
- Start from a clear base rate per room type, then adjust up or down from it.
- Raise rates for high season, weekends and events; lower them to fill quiet periods.
- Use minimum-stay rules to protect busy dates and fill gaps — apply them across rooms at once.
- Keep your direct rate at or below the OTA rate so booking direct always wins.
- Review each season using your booking window and occupancy — pricing is never set once.
Related questions
- What's a good starting room rate?
- Start from what comparable rooms in your area charge and what covers your cost to host the stay well. That everyday “rack” rate is your anchor; you then raise it for high demand and lower it to fill quiet dates. There's no universal number — it's set by your market, your rooms, and your season.
- Should I charge more on weekends and in high season?
- Usually, yes. When demand is high — weekends, holidays, local events, your peak season — rooms sell without a discount, so a higher rate simply captures value you'd otherwise give away. The reverse also holds: softer rates in quiet weeks fill rooms that would otherwise sit empty. In PeakRooms you set these seasonal rates yourself.
- What is a minimum-stay rule and when should I use one?
- A minimum length of stay stops a single one-night booking from blocking a high-demand weekend or holiday. Set a longer minimum over your busiest dates, and a shorter one (or none) in slow periods so you can catch last-minute and short trips. It's one of the simplest ways to lift your average booking value.
- How often should I update my rates?
- Review them at least each season, and around big local events. Look at how early you're selling out and how full you end up: sell out weeks ahead and you can raise your peak rate; rooms sitting empty means it's time to soften the price or shorten the minimum stay. Pricing is a habit, not a one-time setup.
More guides
- How to get more direct bookings
- How to reduce OTA commission
- How to beat OTAs on your own hotel name
- Rate parity, explained
- Card payment or request-to-book?
- How WhatsApp booking works for hotels
- Will guests trust booking directly?
- Channel manager or booking website: which do you need?
- How to write a hotel cancellation policy
- How to get repeat guests for your hotel
- How to write room descriptions that convert
- How to get your hotel on Google
- What a hotel booking website really costs