Andrew Kitchell, Founder and CEO of Wheelhouse: “We’ve had people earn 100% more revenue by using our platform.”
The journey of a short-term rental (STR) host sometimes feels like a rollercoaster. But even the most thrilling ride needs a boost — maximizing revenue and profits!
In the latest episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we buckled up for an insightful session with Andrew Kitchell, the mastermind behind Wheelhouse, who’s got the secret key to unlock your vacation rental’s full potential. Together we break down the story behind complex data points and competition analytics to figure out which revenue management strategy fits the current market.
Tune in to our Hospitable Hosts podcast now and get ready for a wild ride as your profits are about to soar to new heights!
Prefer to read the highlights? We’ve got a summary of the key takeaways below.
Financial Intelligence for STR Hosts
Why is financial intelligence crucial in the short-term rental business? Andrew conjures the answer with wisdom — demand signals and market pressures can increase your earnings significantly when combined with the power of algorithms and automation.
“We’ve had people earn 100% more revenue by using our platform. Now, that’s not everyone’s experience, right? Certainly, no machine is perfect. It’s incredibly hard. We need to predict the future for about 21 million unique assets per night. That’s not easy science.”
Andrew stresses that data science provides an opportunity to boost the revenue streams of both the largest of the large and the masses of small hosts: “98% of our users have one or two listings. But about 60% of our listings come from the rest of the users — 2%, right? So, we invest in design… to make it super easy for anybody to come and use our system.”
How Time-Consuming Is Crunching Numbers?
According to Andrew, the time commitment in revenue management is entirely up to you. Modern tools cater to all kinds of hosts, from those who prefer the “set and forget” approach to the ambitious hosts with teams of revenue wizards fine-tuning every detail.
“The deeper you get into it, the more you can use it. I would say that the best practice for someone who’s using a pricing or revenue management system is, certainly, on a weekly basis to come into a system like Wheelhouse and evaluate whether the prices look right to you.”
Andrew contrasts the revenue management habits of small-scale hosts and big property managers in detail. Listen to the full episode now and see where you fit.
Get more of your time back with Hospitable’s powerful tools.
All Things Considered: Big Data of STR
Andrew explains that creating the perfect pricing strategy is all about utilizing the accessible metrics and letting the right tools assess those for you. Here are some starting points:
Evaluate each unique asset: Decipher the worth of every charming attribute — your porch, pool, patio, WiFi, parking and pet policy – all factors that dance in harmony with local demand and seasonal fluctuations.
Set your base price: What’s your home’s value on a normal day? Modify this figure according to such factors as booking patterns, competitor pricing and market trends.
Monitor performance and adjust on the go: You can always modify your strategy as you wish — perhaps you desire more risk next season or find solace in a more conservative approach.
Peer into the competitive intelligence: New tools can allow you to glimpse into the pricing strategies of others. Build your unique local monitoring set, whether you compete with those on the beach, offer mid-length pricing or tango with luxury.
Look into the future: Use market reports, the crown jewels of top-down insight, to reveal the future bookings of every asset in your realm.
As Andrew puts it, “If you wanna read a 30-minute white paper on it… It’s actually kind of fun.”
If not — you can just listen to the full episode and discover all the nitty gritty details first-hand.
Driving Revenue as Easy as It Gets
“Our goal is to make it easier than changing a light bulb,” ambitiously concludes Andrew.
With the industry pioneers like Andrew and their tools that empower STR hosts like never before, it seems that we are just some steps away from holding the keys to pure wizardry.
Curious about which of these keys are currently forged at Wheelhouse? Learn all about top-notch STR revenue management and its future in the new Hospitable Hosts podcast!
Looking to maximize your vacation rental profits and minimize your efforts?
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