Revenue management, answered

Should I build more than one comp set - a tight one and a wider one - and compare them before choosing?

Yes, run both. A tight comp set tells you where you sit on price right now; a wider one tells you where demand is flowing when your tight market tightens or softens. Comparing them catches blind spots either set alone would hide.

By Jack Murphy, Head of Revenue Management at UpRev. Running pricing for US vacation rental managers since 2017. Last updated September 1, 2026.

What Each Set Is Actually Doing for You

Your tight comp set, usually five to eight properties with closely matched bedroom count, location, and amenity tier, anchors your nightly rate decisions. Your wider set, perhaps fifteen to twenty properties across a broader radius or slightly different tier, tracks directional demand signals and tells you whether compression or softening is a market event or just a local one. Running them side by side is standard practice in hotel revenue management and transfers cleanly to vacation rental portfolios.

Where the Comparison Actually Changes Your Pricing

When your tight set shows strong occupancy but your wider set is soft, that is a signal to hold rate rather than chase volume with discounts. The reverse situation, tight set soft but wider set filling fast, often means you have a positioning or amenity problem worth investigating before you cut price. For your managed portfolio, this comparison should be part of every weekly rate review, not a one-time setup exercise.

Building the Sets Without Polluting the Data

Keep the two sets intentionally separate and resist the urge to average them together. Each set answers a different question, and blending them produces a number that answers neither well. Document your inclusion criteria for each set so that anyone on your team pulling data applies the same logic, which matters especially when you are managing dozens of properties across multiple markets.