6 Reasons Short-Term Rental Owners Should Review Pricing in January

For short-term rental owners and operators, pricing is one of the biggest drivers of revenue. Yet it’s also one of the most commonly neglected areas once a property goes live. January presents a rare opportunity to reset, review, and refine your pricing strategy using fresh data and clearer market signals.

Whether you manage a single property or a growing portfolio, starting the year with the right pricing foundations can significantly impact occupancy, revenue, and long-term performance.

Below are six reasons why January is the ideal moment to revisit your short-term rental pricing strategy.

1. You have complete visibility of last year’s performance

By January, you have a full 12 months of booking data to work with. This includes occupancy levels, average daily rates, length of stay, booking lead times, and cancellation patterns.

Reviewing this data allows you to identify where pricing was misaligned with demand. Common issues include underpricing during peak periods, overpricing in shoulder seasons, or failing to adjust rates when demand spiked. January is the moment to turn those insights into a more accurate pricing model for the year ahead.

2. Demand trends are easier to forecast early in the year

Travel behaviour evolves year on year. Booking windows shift, guest expectations change, and demand patterns rarely stay static. January gives operators the chance to assess how seasonality is shaping up before calendars fill.

By adjusting pricing early, you can plan for peak periods, shoulder months, and quieter windows rather than reacting once bookings slow. This proactive approach helps stabilise occupancy while protecting revenue during high-demand periods.

3. Event-driven demand can be priced in ahead of time

Local events play a major role in short-term rental demand. Conferences, festivals, sporting events, school holidays, and long weekends often lead to sharp increases in bookings.

Identifying these dates in January allows you to adjust rates before demand surges. Operators who wait too long often miss the opportunity to maximise revenue, especially when bookings come in months in advance.

4. Staying competitive requires regular pricing reviews

January is when many operators refresh their pricing strategies. If your rates remain unchanged from the previous year, your listings can quickly become misaligned with the market.

A pricing review ensures your rates remain competitive while still reflecting your property’s quality, location, and offering. It also prevents reliance on heavy discounts later in the year to compensate for poor early-stage pricing decisions.

5. Rising operational costs need to be accounted for

Operational costs rarely stand still. Housekeeping, linen, utilities, maintenance, compliance, and insurance costs often increase year on year. If pricing does not reflect these changes, margins shrink quickly.

January is the natural point to reassess costs and ensure nightly rates still support a sustainable operation. This is especially important for professional operators managing multiple properties where small pricing gaps can have a large financial impact.

6. Dynamic pricing tools perform best with a strong baseline

Dynamic pricing and revenue management tools are most effective when they are built on a solid pricing foundation. January allows operators to recalibrate base rates, minimum prices, and seasonal adjustments so automated tools can optimise effectively throughout the year.

Rather than correcting poor pricing later, setting strong parameters early allows technology to fine-tune rates in response to real-time demand and market movement.

Updating your pricing strategy in January is not about short-term wins. It’s about creating a stable revenue framework that supports occupancy, profitability, and operational efficiency throughout the year.

At Opago, we work with short-term rental operators to ensure pricing decisions are supported by reliable operations, clean data, and scalable systems. Strong pricing only works when it’s backed by efficient housekeeping, linen logistics, maintenance, and guest services. If you’re reviewing your pricing strategy this year, get it touch with our team today.

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