Mastering Calendar Management for Mid-Term Rentals

Hi, I’m Vivian Yip, founder of CRUHomes, formerly known as Corporate Rentals USA. Our business focuses on mid-term rentals (MTRs), offering a perfect solution for professionals, families, and anyone needing a temporary home away from home. In this blog post, I’ll share insights on managing calendars for furnished rentals, exploring different strategies, and highlighting the best practices to maximize your rental business.

Understanding the Three Rental Strategies

Successfully managing a furnished rental business involves choosing the right strategy to balance occupancy and profitability.

Here are the three main strategies:

Short-Term Rentals (STR):

Ideal for brief stays, usually less than a month.

Higher nightly rates but subject to frequent turnovers and variable demand. The short term rental model LOVES seeing future bookings, especially true for guests who loves that specific home and want to secure their vacation rental well in advance.

Mid-Term Rentals (MTR):

Perfect for stays ranging from one to six months, sometimes even as long as a year or more.

Offers stability and often attracts business travelers, relocating professionals, or families between homes like displaced due to insurance reasons like flood, fire, mold or other damage sustained to their primary property.

MTR/STR Hybrid:

Combines both strategies to maximize occupancy and income.

Flexible approach to cater to different market segments based on demand. This is my favorite and primary strategy for most of my homes as it allows me to attract long, low touch reservations and I can fill the gaps using short term stays.

Effective Calendar Management: Dual Listings vs. Dynamic Pricing Tools

Dual Listings

Some hosts use dual listings to separate their STR and MTR offerings. I'm personally not a fan of this approach as I've heard from others that sometimes Airbnb for instance, will use AI tools to detect repeat listings which can impact a host ability to be "live" on the site. There has been risk of getting listings taken down.

Here’s how it works:

Separate Listings: One listing is dedicated to STRs, and the other to MTRs.

Instant Book Off: Ensures MTR listings are not booked for short stays, maintaining availability for longer-term guests.

Risks and Challenges:

Platform Policies: Airbnb and other platforms may flag dual listings as risky or fraudulent due to AI algorithms.

Complexity: Managing two separate calendars can be cumbersome and may lead to double bookings or availability issues.

Dynamic Pricing Tools

I prefer leveraging dynamic pricing tools like Price labs or Wheelhouse. These tools allow for a more streamlined and efficient approach:

Single Listing: Manage both STR and MTR bookings from one listing.

Custom Settings: Use dynamic pricing to adjust rates and availability based on demand and market conditions.

Flexibility: Attract MTR stays during peak seasons and fill gaps with STR bookings during slower periods.

Best Practices for Using Dynamic Pricing Tools

Set Minimum Stay Requirements:

Adjust your listing settings to prioritize MTRs by setting minimum stay requirements during high-demand periods.

Regularly Update Pricing:

Use pricing tools to automatically update your rates based on real-time market data, ensuring competitive pricing.

Monitor and Adjust:

Continuously monitor booking trends and adjust your strategy as needed to maximize occupancy and revenue.

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If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out.

Let’s make your rental business a success!

Best regards,

Vivian Yip

CRUHomes

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