Thibault Masson, Chief Editor of Rental Scale-Up and Head of Product Marketing at PriceLabs, recently spoke on stage at the 2024 VRMA International Conference about how AI can transform the vacation rental booking funnel. Joined by Bart-Jan Leyts, CEO & Founder of Autorank, and Braeden Flaherty, Global Hospitality Program Manager at Aidaptive, they explored how AI can help turn lookers into bookers by optimizing every step of the guest journey.
Here’s a breakdown of their insights on how AI is empowering vacation rental managers like you to drive more conversions and maximize revenue.
Understanding AI’s Power to Drive Pricing and Performance
Why it matters: AI enhances decision-making by spotting trends and optimizing based on real-time data. It’s like a creative assistant that picks up on what guests want—and delivers it before they even ask.
- Tailored Pricing Models: Think of AI’s pricing approach as unique as a Taylor Swift song. AI creates a custom model for each listing, analyzing local demand, guest preferences, and performance to set prices that attract without undercutting value.
- Hyper-Local Pricing and Performance Adjustments: AI tracks neighborhood trends, nearby events, and seasonal changes, ensuring that each listing’s price aligns with demand without compromising your conversion rate.
- Portfolio-Level Strategy: AI doesn’t just focus on individual listings—it looks at your entire portfolio. If most properties are fully booked, it avoids discounting the last few, prioritizing overall revenue without losing sight of your strategy.
Flexible Control: You’re in charge. Set custom rules to guide AI based on your goals. You decide when it’s aggressive with price adjustments or when it prioritizes occupancy, allowing you to balance bookings and profitability effectively.
Top of Funnel: Keep Guests Engaged on Your Website
Your website is the first impression. AI-powered personalization keeps guests on the page and moves them closer to booking.
- Personalized Content: AI tailors what each visitor sees—like showing family-friendly properties to parents or workspace photos to business travelers.
- Smart Search and Predictive Recommendations: Predictive search suggests properties or dates that align with guests’ previous behaviors, simplifying their search and boosting conversion.
Why it works: AI-powered recommendations draw visitors into your site, making it easy to find the perfect property. The result? Guests stay longer and move faster toward booking.
Top of Funnel: Standing Out on OTAs
Visibility on OTAs is essential because 75% of bookings go to the top 15 listings. AI can boost your ranking, making your properties easy to find.
- Keyword Optimization: AI-powered keyword research helps ensure your listings match high-performing search terms, improving your ranking on platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com.
- Booking Window Optimization: AI adjusts descriptions to fit booking windows—for example, shorter, bulleted descriptions for last-minute guests—making your listings more attractive at every stage.
Real-life example: In Paris, AI-optimized descriptions between 100-300 characters improved conversion by 43% for last-minute bookings, showing how the right length and keywords drive results.
The Bottom Line
AI makes your pricing, listings, and guest experience smarter and faster. By tailoring content and pricing for each guest and each listing, you keep guests engaged, improve rankings, and drive more direct bookings.
The result? A more efficient conversion funnel that turns lookers into bookers and builds long-term loyalty.
