For Oasis’s 2025 reunion tour, Ticketmaster implemented dynamic pricing, causing ticket prices to surge dramatically—some tickets jumped from £148 to £355 within minutes. Fans felt blindsided, leading to accusations of price gouging. This resulted in the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launching an investigation into whether Ticketmaster misled consumers and failed to be transparent about its dynamic pricing system.
Why it’s relevant for short-term rental managers:
Many short-term rental managers also use dynamic pricing, which raises concerns about potential backlash. However, the way dynamic pricing operates in short-term rentals is far more transparent and fair compared to the Ticketmaster controversy. Here’s why:
1. Market-Driven Fairness, Not Monopoly Pricing
In short-term rentals, dynamic pricing adjusts based on local demand, supply, seasonality, and competition. Unlike Ticketmaster, which holds a monopoly on concert tickets, short-term rental markets are diverse, with many property options available for guests. This competition keeps pricing fair, as customers can choose from a variety of accommodations, preventing the kind of steep, sudden increases seen with Oasis tickets.
For example, if there’s a local festival, dynamic pricing helps you adjust your rates to match the increased demand, but the wide variety of available rentals keeps the market balanced.
2. Price Adjustments, Not Extreme Spikes
In short-term rentals, dynamic pricing tools adjust rates incrementally and in response to local factors like seasonality or events. Unlike Ticketmaster’s dramatic price jumps, rental dynamic pricing results in smoother, more gradual price adjustments. Hosts can also set price floors and ceilings, ensuring that changes remain within a reasonable range.
Example: If a local event raises demand, dynamic pricing may increase rates gradually over time, but it won’t cause the sudden, extreme jumps fans experienced with Oasis tickets.
Related read: Revenue Management Tactics for High-Demand Event Pricing: From Local Events to the 2024 Paris Olympics
3. Transparency and Control
Rental managers maintain significant control over their dynamic pricing tools. You can set boundaries such as minimum and maximum price limits, apply rules for different lengths of stay, and even manually override the algorithm’s suggestions. This level of transparency allows you to explain price changes to guests, helping avoid negative feedback or claims of price gouging.
In contrast, many Oasis fans were unaware that dynamic pricing was even being used, which led to shock and frustration when ticket prices jumped unexpectedly.
4. Consumer Choice
Short-term rental customers have multiple options across a range of price points, giving them more freedom to choose accommodations that fit their budget. If one property raises its prices due to dynamic pricing, guests can find another rental at a lower price. With event ticketing, like the Oasis tour, fans have no alternative vendor, leaving them feeling exploited when prices surge without warning.
This competitive landscape keeps rental pricing more balanced, offering consumers flexibility that they don’t have when buying concert tickets.
5. Sustainability in Long-Term Relationships
In short-term rentals, dynamic pricing helps maintain long-term relationships with guests. Overpricing can lead to negative reviews, which can harm your business over time. Hosts focus on balancing revenue maximization with guest satisfaction to ensure repeat bookings and positive feedback.
Platforms like Ticketmaster, however, often prioritize short-term profits without considering the long-term relationship with customers. In the Oasis case, fans felt exploited and misled, damaging their trust in the platform.
Bottom line:
Dynamic pricing in short-term rentals is designed to be transparent, controlled, and consumer-friendly. It helps optimize revenue while maintaining fairness and guest satisfaction. Unlike the Oasis-Ticketmaster scenario, where lack of transparency and sudden price hikes led to accusations of price gouging, dynamic pricing in short-term rentals allows you to manage price changes in a competitive, balanced way, ensuring your guests stay happy while you maximize revenue.
