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- ⏰ Timing is Everything: Mastering Booking Windows for Maximum Profit
⏰ Timing is Everything: Mastering Booking Windows for Maximum Profit
Keep reading to learn how to analyze and react to booking lead times in your market- how far in advance guests typically book- and tailor pricing and marketing accordingly.
Community Perks with The STR Report
🏠 Top-Tier Property Management – Lower fees, higher payouts, and premium service. Built for investors who want performance and peace of mind. Mention The STR Report by 6/30/25 & get your first month completely FREE.
🔎 Personal Airbnb Investment Finder – Connect with an expert to handpick profitable Airbnb properties that match your criteria. With 213+ successful deals, all cash-flowing, you’re in good hands. Take 15 seconds to fill out the form to see how all of these properties are experiencing at least a 15% Cash-on-Cash return.
🤑 STR Loans & More – Need funding for your next short-term rental? Expect expert guidance, personalized service, and the best possible rates.
June 12th, 2025
Good evening STR Report Community!
In today’s issue, you will find:
📱Today’s Article: ⏰ Timing is Everything: Mastering Booking Windows for Maximum Profit
📈 Trending Market Highlight: Waco, Texas and Richmond, Virginia
✉️ STR News: Apple’s Travel Upgrades: New Digital Passport, Live Translation for Messages and Calls & more
💸 Mortgage Rate Watch
🌊 Unique Airbnb of the Week
🏫 Subscriber Perks: Go Live Playbook, including: Beginner’s Guide E-Book, Guest Communication Messaging Templates, Airbnb Welcome Guide Template, STR Buy Box Template, & Tax Savings E-Book
✅ Community Perks: Top-Tier Property Management, Personal Airbnb Investment Finder, and STR Loans & More
📬 See our collection of newsletters here: Prior Newsletters
⏰ Timing is Everything: Mastering Booking Windows for Maximum Profit
When it comes to short-term rental success, it’s not just about how many bookings you get—but when you get them.
Your booking window—aka how far in advance guests typically reserve your property—is one of the most overlooked data points in STR investing. Yet, it’s packed with insights that can boost revenue, reduce vacancies, and help you market smarter.
Here’s how to make booking windows work for you, not against you:
1. 📊 Know Your Market's Booking Behavior
Booking lead times vary wildly by location and season. Big city stays? Often last-minute. Ski town getaways? Guests book months in advance. Use your market’s historical booking window data (available through tools like AirDNA or PriceLabs) to understand trends by bedroom count, season, and day of week.
Why it matters: If you expect bookings too early or too late, you’ll misprice your property—either leaving money on the table or panicking with unnecessary discounts.
2. 💰 Adjust Pricing by Lead Time
Once you know the average booking window in your area, adjust your rates accordingly:
Early-bird discounts: Offer a slight break to lock in bookings 60+ days out (especially for shoulder seasons).
Last-minute premiums: If your market tends to book late, raise rates for bookings made 0–7 days out—travelers in a pinch often pay more.
Dynamic pricing tools can help automate these shifts based on lead time sensitivity, but make sure the logic aligns with your data.
3. 📣 Time Your Marketing Efforts
Your emails, Instagram posts, and listing boosts should line up with when guests are actively searching. If the average guest books 45 days out, that’s your sweet spot to start ramping up visibility.
Pro tip: Promote seasonal guides and event-based stays (like festivals or holidays) just before the typical lead time. Guests are more likely to convert when they’re already in planning mode.
4. 🔍 Watch for Booking Window Changes
Booking behavior isn’t static. Lead times may shrink during economic uncertainty or spike during travel booms. Pay attention to real-time shifts in guest behavior—especially during peak season transitions—and adjust pricing/marketing strategies in response.
5. 🧠 Use It to Vet New Properties
Analyzing booking window trends is also a great tool when considering new investments. If a market has a super short lead time, you may need cash reserves to ride out booking volatility. Longer windows offer more revenue predictability—and more time to adjust strategy.
6. 📅 Fill Gaps Before They Happen
Let’s say your typical booking window is 30 days. If your calendar still has holes within that range, it’s a red flag—it means you may miss out on your ideal guests. Use this insight to trigger automated discounts, retargeting ads, or push last-minute promotions to drive bookings before the window closes.
Bonus tip: Set up calendar alerts to notify you when you're approaching your market’s average lead time with open dates.
7. 🤝 Coordinate with Cleaners and Ops Teams
A clearer understanding of lead times lets you better prepare your turnover and operations schedule. If most guests book a week out, you’ll know when your team needs to be on high alert—or when they can expect some downtime. It’s a small shift that can reduce burnout, improve guest experience, and tighten up your response times.
Final Thoughts
Smart STR operators know that revenue is all about timing. By understanding how far in advance guests book—and aligning your pricing, marketing, and expectations—you’ll stay ahead of the competition and keep your calendar (and wallet) full.
Waco, Texas 🏠
Downloadable Waco, Texas Short-Term Rental Market Report
|
Average Daily Rate (ADR): $251.73 per night
Occupancy Rate: 48.59%
Annual Revenue Potential: Around $44,616.83 per year
Read our full Waco, Texas Short-Term Rental Market Report attached above.
Richmond, Virginia🌳
Downloadable Richmond, Virginia Short-Term Rental Market Report
|
Average Daily Rate (ADR): $215.53 per night
Occupancy Rate: 57.70%
Annual Revenue Potential: Around $45,477.19 per year
Read our full Richmond, Virginia Short-Term Rental Market Report attached above.
📬 See our collection of 50+ market reports here: Prior Trending Market Reports
📱Apple’s Travel Upgrades: New Digital Passport, Live Translation for Messages and Calls
Apple is rolling out travel-friendly updates in iOS 26—including the ability to add your digital passport to Wallet—and introducing on‑device live translation for Messages, FaceTime, and Phone calls to help users communicate seamlessly across languages.
💸 Airbnb Accused of Poaching Tour Guides From Rival Platforms to Grow Experiences
Airbnb has been accused by rival platforms ToursByLocals and Withlocals of targeting their tour guides—via company emails and recruitment efforts—to bolster its newly relaunched Experiences offering.
🌃 Hotels Shrug Off Airbnb's Push Into Experiences – But They Still Need to Compete
Hotel executives remain skeptical that Airbnb can match the consistency and service levels hotels provide, but they acknowledge that traditional lodging providers still need to ramp up their own experience‑focused offerings to keep up.
💸Mortgage Rate Watch – June 12th, 2025
Current Mortgage Rates (as of June 12 , 2025):
30‑Year Fixed: 6.89% (–0.04%)
15‑Year Fixed: 6.20% (–0.01%)
30‑Year Jumbo: 7.02% (–0.02%)
30‑Year FHA: 6.43% (+0.00%)
30‑Year VA: 6.44% (–0.01%)
7/6 SOFR ARM: 6.41% (+0.03%)
Market Overview:
Rates softened slightly on June 11 following a lower-than-expected CPI report that boosted bond markets and pulled mortgage rates down across the board. The 30‑year fixed rate dipped 4 basis points, offering a modest reprieve for borrowers, while jumbo and ARM products saw minor shifts amid mixed lender responses.
The 52‑week range for the 30‑year fixed stands between 6.11% and 7.26%, with today’s average near the lower edge of that spectrum.
Rate Trends & Forecast:
Short‑Term: Bond market gains from cooler inflation data could continue to ease mortgage rates—especially if MBS strength persists and Treasury auctions remain favorable.
Long‑Term: Unless inflation drops sharply or the Fed pivots, expect rates to hover in the mid‑6% range for much of 2025. A sustained downward slide would likely require a significant economic shift.
For real-time mortgage rate updates, visit Mortgage News Daily.
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Subscriber Perks:
📖🏡💰 Go Live Playbook
The "Go Live Playbook" is your all-in-one guide featuring a beginner’s guide e-book, messaging templates, Airbnb welcome book, STR buy box template, and tax savings tips to kickstart your short-term rental success.
Community Perks with The STR Report
🏠 Top-Tier Property Management – Lower fees, higher payouts, and premium service. Built for investors who want performance and peace of mind. Mention The STR Report by 6/30/25 & get your first month completely FREE.
🔎 Personal Airbnb Investment Finder – Connect with an expert to handpick profitable Airbnb properties that match your criteria. With 213+ successful deals, all cash-flowing, you’re in good hands. Take 15 seconds to fill out the form to see how all of these properties are experiencing at least a 15% Cash-on-Cash return.
🤑 STR Loans & More – Need funding for your next short-term rental? Expect expert guidance, personalized service, and the best possible rates.
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