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Fix Your Thanksgiving Listing
Thanksgiving might still be 38 days away, but flight prices are already at a 10-year high. Hopper, a travel app that tracks fares, says the average round-trip flight in the US is $402, up 31% from last year.
Searches for cabin and mountain towns are growing fastest, says HomeToGo, a vacation rental search site. Leavenworth, WA, is up 347%, Boone, NC, is up 275%, and Jackson Hole, WY, is up 213%. These are searches, and bookings aren’t counted. The average Thanksgiving group is 6 guests.
Flight prices swing by day. Leaving Monday, November 23, averages $370. Coming home Sunday, November 29, averages $604, against about $350 on Monday or Tuesday.
So what does this mean for your listing? You’ll have flyers and drivers. A driver needs to see how far you are, and a group of 6 needs to see where everyone sleeps and eats. A flyer is working around flight prices, so the days you let them book matter. The 3 fixes below cover all of these, and Hopper says to book before Halloween, so check them this week.
Fix These 3 Things
1. Put your drive time in the first line.
Look up how far you are from 1 or 2 big cities near you. Add it to your title or first line, like this: “2 hours from Atlanta, GA.” A guest who is thinking about driving needs to know how long the drive is. If your first line only says “cozy cabin with a hot tub,” they have to open a map.
2. Show where 6 people sleep and eat.
The average Thanksgiving group is 6 guests. Check that your listing says how many people it sleeps, shows every bed, and shows your kitchen and dining space.
3. Check your minimum stay and your calendar days.
AirDNA’s data shows 45% of stays during last Thanksgiving week were 4 to 6 nights long. This year, HomeToGo says the average Thanksgiving trip people search for is 7 days. Check that your minimum stay fits both. Then check that guests can book the days with cheaper flights, like arriving Monday or staying Sunday night to fly home Monday.
Not sure what to charge for Thanksgiving week?
The Comp Set Worksheet is a complimentary template that can help. List 4 to 6 listings near you with the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and mark the ones that are a true match. Then compare their nightly price, reviews, and best feature with yours. It takes about 1 sitting, and when you finish, you know where your price stands.
