However, there are strategies that allow you to maintain a high occupancy rate during your off-season, despite a limited market.
Identify your off-peak periods and your travellers
Off-peak periods
First of all, it is essential to use your booking data to identify your exact low season. It may depend on various factors such as school holidays, travel patterns, events near your accommodations, etc. The prediction tools of your PMS and OTAs can help you to plan ahead if you are not able to define precisely the months and weeks of your low season.
Your travellers
Next, it will be necessary to understand the habits of your travelers. Start by segmenting your customers by origin. Regional travelers do not necessarily have the same travel dates as your foreign guests. Identify how much of your bookings are from each segment and when they usually travel.
Knowing your ideal traveler is the best lever to maximize your occupancy rate!
Leverage your existing customer base
Property management inevitably pushes you towards acquiring new prospects and finding new customers. However, your efforts to provide your travellers with the best possible experience during their stay is an important retention lever, so use it!
It is easier to make a delighted traveller come back than to convince a new customer to choose you.
Contact in priority the customers who already stayed during your low season because they will be more likely to do it again. It is always effective to offer them a preferential discount for their loyalty!
If you can't convert them, don't be afraid to ask them to recommend you to friends who are also likely to have the same travel habits as them. Use referral programs as an example to get them to help you.
You can then focus on those prospects who have contacted you for information but have not stayed in your accommodation. Again, an approach that presents them with a special offer can make a difference!
Update your ads
Let's get to the heart of the matter: your ads!
The photos
It may seem insignificant to you, but updating the photos of your accommodation to match the current season is essential: A villa with a swimming pool against a background of blue skies and sunshine at its zenith will not seem very suitable for a cocooning weekend in All Saints' Day...
The facilities
It is also a good idea to highlight the advantages of your accommodation that match the season: warm bedding, fireplace, floor heating, etc. You must also prepare your homes for winter !
Take advantage of the benefits of your accommodations so that they appear to be an ideal choice for the booking period you are targeting!
Your cancellation policy
The low season is the opportunity for you to ease up on your cancellation policy. Travellers are fewer, give them more room to negotiate!
Unlike summer trips, which are usually planned well in advance, off-season trips are much more likely to be spontaneous. These travellers therefore have a greater need for flexibility. The latest figures also show that flexibility is a more important decision factor than price !
So think about pushing back the free cancellation deadlines to one or two weeks from the booking date. Of course, the goal is not to put yourself in a precarious position when it comes to last-minute cancellations. To compensate for this benefit to your travelers, engage them with personalized communications such as thank you emails and text messages at each stage of their booking. You can also advise them on their stay. These little touches will make all the difference!
Take advantage of business travellers
Since the introduction of telework and its continuation in many companies, we are witnessing the emergence of new travel trends. The ones we are interested in here are flexcations or workations.
As we mentioned in our article on these new trendsYou can take advantage of this to generate high value bookings: medium length stays and weekdays!
To attract them, highlight the work-friendly features of your ad: high performance WiFi, office space, etc.
In summary
As we have seen, there are many strategies that allow you to list your accommodations as prime destinations for the off-season. Segment your clientele, identify their habits, and present your accommodations in accordance with the period you are targeting.
As you may have noticed, many of our recommendations are based on the design of your homes. That's why we've made it the subject of next week's article!
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