Gambling With Results: What can you do when the football doesn’t go your way?

For any football fans amongst you, this week Chelsea only managed to draw with Paris Saint-Germain, meaning that the French team progresses in the Champion’s League and the English club are out of the competition. At this point, you might well be asking ‘What does this have to do with vacation rentals?’, and you’d be right to ask. From the outside, the result of one football match means nothing to anyone but London based hosts. But, this could be a goal that ends up costing them bookings that they were relying on. This result could end up taking a major chunk out of their expected revenues for the month. In this blog, we’re looking at the risks of saving your most sought after days for last minute and the very highest price.

There is a tendency to exaggerate the importance of football, but its impact on people cannot be denied. The Champion’s League is a global force. Every game is attended by up to 60,000 people. Even just one game can have a huge impact on the demand for accommodation. Wednesday’s game in London will have brought thousands of visitors into the city, the travellers are not just French fans but people from around the country drawn in by the game. And there are all people that are all looking for accommodation at short notice and are willing to pay top prices to be close to the stadium.

Many hosts may leave their properties open, gambling on getting a higher price if the local football team manages to progress. Meaning that this loss could have had them screaming to the heavens even if they don’t follow football at all. Chelsea’s exit means that they will play no more part in the competition, missing out on the visits of thousands of potential fans coming to watch the English leg of the next round.

So, at this point we are asking if you gamble on results with your properties and what can the hosts that gamble and lose then do? The matches are never more a few weeks apart so now instead of having thousands of European fans looking to rent last minute accommodation, you have empty accommodation with only a few weeks and a normal level of demand.

We’ve talked before about last minute tactics like auctioning off stays in your property and selling entire weeks at a discounted rate but what seems clear is that if you experience a sudden drop in demand for your property, you will have to drop your prices to reflect this. This is a basic principle of managing the revenue of a vacation rental and it doesn’t have to involve gambling on the outcome of sporting events to capitalise on it.

But if you do want to try this tactic, it is worth remembering that holding out for the maximum price from popular events can pay off, and it’s not just football matches and sporting events that can cause a sudden spike in demand. Why not look for other events that will bring an extra raft of visitors to your city and your property? Check listings for upcoming concerts, popular events or exhibitions and make sure that your current system allows for day to day price alterations to make sure that you are able to make the changes that the demand requires. Create content surrounding the event to maximise the SEO potential and try to drum up interest over social media.

If you don’t like to gamble with your business but still want to maximise the revenue from every single night then have a look at Kigo’s guide to revenue management here and, you’ll be pleased to hear, we will be adding a specifically designed revenue management service very soon!

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