Revenue management, answered

Should I discount through platform promotions or lower the nightly price itself?

Default to platform promotions over base price cuts. Promotions are time-boxed, targeted to specific booking windows, and don't permanently anchor guest price expectations the way a lower nightly rate does across your entire portfolio.

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

Why Base Price Cuts Hurt You Long-Term

When you lower the nightly rate itself, that price becomes the new anchor in the platform's search ranking and in guest memory. Future rate increases feel like overcharging rather than a return to market value. Across a managed portfolio, even a modest permanent cut compounds into significant lost revenue across dozens of units over a full season.

How to Use Promotions Strategically

Early-bird and last-minute promotions let you stimulate demand in specific booking windows without touching your base rate structure. Apply them surgically to units with weak forward pace rather than portfolio-wide, which preserves rate integrity on properties already performing well. Always set a clear expiration and review whether the promotion actually moved occupancy before renewing it.

When a Base Price Adjustment Is the Right Call

If a property has been chronically overpriced relative to its comp set for multiple consecutive periods, a deliberate base rate correction is legitimate revenue management, not capitulation. Document the reasoning, set the new floor with intention, and treat it as a repositioning decision rather than a reactive discount. The difference is that you are driving the change, not reacting to an empty calendar at the last minute.