The Quibble blog
Revenue strategy, product deep-dives, and data on what actually moves rate for short-term rentals.
How do you know if your pricing model works?
Most property managers using a pricing tool cannot answer a basic question: is it working? Four methods for evaluating pricing-model performance, ordered by analytical rigor — and one common benchmark to avoid.
How to choose a pricing model
When you invest in revenue management, what you’re really paying for is the pricing model that sets the rates. All models are not the same — and the better one needs fewer manual changes and makes more revenue.
Dynamic pricing vs pricing
With perfect market information, pricing is trivial: test every price, pick the maximum. Nobody has that — so what actually makes pricing “dynamic,” and who needs it.
Pricing a new vacation rental property
A new listing’s price signals quality to the market — set it wrong and the property turns invisible. The right data, the ramp-up period, and how to onboard a new property well.
Common property-manager pricing mistakes
Underpricing, overpricing, stale prices, and hidden fees quietly cost property managers revenue and trust. The four most common mistakes — and how to avoid them.
Why do base-price models need so many comps?
Base-price models lean on 500–1,000 comps for a reason: it’s the only way to smooth a market-average curve. But that dependence is also their ceiling — and why optimization needs just 10–15.
Price sensitivity for STRs
When price rises, demand falls — but how much? Price elasticity is the answer, and Quibble’s research found STR demand splits into seven segments, each with its own elasticity.
The case against last-minute discounting
Airline fares rise as departure nears; STR operators do the opposite, programmatically cutting rates inside 21 days. That practice should stop — and forecasting is why.
Leveraging discounts for last-minute bookings
Discounts can drive last-minute bookings — but only if you protect the bottom line. A data-driven approach to finding the optimal discount range.
How base-price models work
The industry standard, explained: how scraped market data becomes a percentage curve applied to a base price you set — what makes it “dynamic,” and why it’s really a “follow your neighbor” model.
Pricing for last-minute bookings
Travelers are more spontaneous than ever, and last-minute bookings are a growing share of demand. Three data-driven strategies to capture them without giving away revenue.
Setting weekend rates
Weekends are prime time for vacation rentals — and the difference between attracting guests and watching the property sit empty. A six-step process for setting competitive weekend rates.