For most short-term rental businesses, off-season means lower demand, fewer bookings, and more empty nights than you’d like to admit. Whether it’s a mountain chalet that slows down after ski season or a coastal villa that empties out after summer, seasonality can eat into your margins fast.
But here’s the thing: low demand doesn’t have to mean low occupancy. With the right strategy, you can attract guests year-round even when others are struggling to fill calendars.
Let’s do some quick math. If your property rents for €200 a night and you’re averaging 20% occupancy in the off-season, you’re leaving over €4,800 on the table each month per property.
Multiply that by a few units, and by a 3- or 4-month slow season, and the losses stack up quickly. Worse, OTAs won’t push your listing during slower months unless you drop prices or pay for visibility cutting into already thin margins.
For many property owners, that’s the difference between a profitable year and breaking even.
You can try the OTA Commission Loss Calculator to see the impact for yourself.
The first shift is mental: stop thinking of off-season guests as “less valuable.” Yes, the audience is smaller but it’s also more specific. In the off-season, you could be appealing to:
• Remote workers looking for a quiet escape
• Couples avoiding peak-season crowds
• Retirees or solo travellers with flexible schedules
• Locals wanting a weekend away nearby
They’re not just price-sensitive they’re experience-driven. So your listing, landing pages, and ads need to speak to why your place is perfect for a low-key, seasonal escape. Think:
“Cosy autumn retreat with fireplace and mountain views”
rather than
“3-bedroom chalet – sleeps 6”
This is where many hosts go wrong. They wait for OTA algorithms to do the work , but in off-season, that rarely delivers.
We recommend using targeted paid ads (like Google or Meta) to go directly after off-season guests. Here’s how:
• Use Meta Ads to retarget site visitors who didn’t book during peak season — but might still consider a stay at a better price
• Use Google Ads to appear for intent-driven searches like:
“off-season holidays in the Alps”
“quiet retreats October France”
“autumn chalet deals”
You can start with a small budget, even €10–15/day and optimise over time. The key is targeting people who are already looking, rather than trying to convince uninterested browsers.
Lowering your nightly rate is one way to increase occupancy, but it’s not the only lever.
In fact, it’s often more effective to:
• Offer longer stays at a discount (7-night stay for the price of 6)
• Include small perks (late checkout, welcome basket, local activity vouchers)
• Promote packages (e.g. “Work-from-retreat: €XX for Mon–Fri stays”)
These kinds of value-driven offers help you stand out in a sea of listings without racing to the bottom on price.
Off-season bookings don’t just come through OTAs especially if your listing falls in rank once demand drops.
Instead:
• Use your email list to target past guests with exclusive offers
• Post seasonal offers on your socials with a direct booking link
• Consider working with local businesses (like spas, hiking guides, or restaurants) to build package deals and boost visibility
This is where owning your audience starts to really matter and where direct booking strategies shine.
Too many rental businesses treat the off-season like downtime. But the most profitable operators use it as an edge.
By staying visible when others go quiet, you capture a higher share of a smaller pool and keep revenue flowing while your competitors take a break.
Even just a 15–20% improvement in off-season occupancy can change your yearly margin and help you grow faster the following year.
So don’t wait for OTAs to solve the problem. Run the strategy yourself.
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