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Integration with PriceLabs

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We're very excited to announce our integration with PriceLabs! We've been hard at work on features to support this integration -- like the new Spot Rates concept that lets you "paint on top" of seasonal rates to set rates for specific days.

To learn more and set up the integration, follow the instructions in our PriceLabs Integration Guide.

PriceLabs is a powerful revenue management & dynamic pricing solution for vacation and short-term rentals. A data-driven approach, automation rules, and customizations to manage pricing and minimum-stay restrictions help vacation rentals increase revenues and save them hours in the process.

The customization options layer on top of market data help you automate things like cascading minimum stays (e.g., lower min-stay as a date gets closer, reduce min-stay to fill gaps), last minute discounts, orphan gap discount/premiums while still giving you good control over your pricing strategy. Learn more in this short video demo!

35 Comments (add yours)

JTVRs
Oct 24, 2018 8:32 PM
Joined Jun, 2018 385 posts

You're welcome *smile*

Don't forget to ask then to add OwnerReservations to their page. https://www.pricelabs.co/

It is a valuable Back link for you! Or any other dynamic pricer you use, usually have a list.

To others, PriceLabs has a good reputation. That is why I asked for them to be integrated.

BlueMtnCabins
Oct 25, 2018 9:50 AM
Joined Jun, 2016 1129 posts

exciting, I have been using Wheelhouse (tripadvisor, Airbnb), and beyndPricing (VRBO). If I can use PriceLabs (provided that their fee is not too high) and then push Pricelabs driven pricing via channels to VRBO, TA, Booking etc , that would simplify life immensely! My observation lately beyodnPricing was wildly off the mark coming up with unrealistic prices. So I am hoping for better solution here :)

Chris Hynes
Oct 25, 2018 6:50 PM
OR Team Member Joined Oct, 2012 1401 posts

We can currently push to booking and TA (although TA requires the 5+). We'll have a channel bridge based rate push for VRBO, Air, TA etc. around the end of the year.

Sasquatch
Oct 30, 2018 7:10 PM
Joined Feb, 2018 18 posts

So, if I understand this correctly, I can use PriceLabs to update my OwnerRez pricing (provided I want to pay their fees), and then around the end of the year I can use OR to push those prices to AirBNB and VRBO, as long as I'm using the new channel integrations?

Chris Hynes
Oct 30, 2018 7:26 PM
OR Team Member Joined Oct, 2012 1401 posts

Yep, that's the gist. You can also actually push to Airbnb right now because PriceLabs can do that push for you: http://blog.pricelabs.co/feature-update-mapping-listings-between-channels/

Sasquatch
Oct 30, 2018 7:30 PM
Joined Feb, 2018 18 posts

Yes, I noticed that. I'm not sure if they charge per property, or per property pushed to a certain PMS/OTA. So I think for now while I'm trying them out I'll push to AirBNB only. Once OwnerRez can push to AirBNB and VRBO, I'll switch over to pushing to OR only and have OR push everywhere else.

Chris Hynes
Oct 30, 2018 7:44 PM
OR Team Member Joined Oct, 2012 1401 posts

It's per property + an extra dollar to push to two.

BlueMtnCabins
Oct 31, 2018 1:32 PM
Joined Jun, 2016 1129 posts

I looked and they are way too expensive IMO. says $49 for 3 properties and I do not even know if that includes all channels + OR or ??? I I have used wheelhouse (good), beyondpricing (wild a..s guesses, don't like, will disconnect) for over a year. Wheelhouse charges .75% per booking, beyondpricing 1%. No bookings- nothing to pay, I like it that way.

being disappointed with beyondpricing (I used on VRBO, it just set lower than normal price for spring break, but sets some wildly high prices for other periods and they don't book), I think I will just use wheelhouse for trpadvisor (it never books anyhow) and go back to manual pricing like before. Just my 2 cents.

JTVRs
Oct 31, 2018 8:39 PM
Joined Jun, 2018 385 posts

Depending on your monthly revenue, pricelabs can be cheaper or more expensive than wheelhouse. If you are seasonal, you can turn them off part of the year I think? It is fixed monthly.

3 properties 12 months a year would be you say $49 monthly? If they make 7500 monthly, that is similar to wheelhouse. Turn it off 5 months a year, it is much cheaper.

If you have property with high revenue, OK makes sense. If low revenue, WH makes sense.

To me, pricelabs and wheelhouse are the only two games in town.

BlueMtnCabins
Nov 1, 2018 1:28 PM
Joined Jun, 2016 1129 posts

Well the plus is that if I have no bookings via WH-managed site, I do not pay. Sounds like PL wants to pay whether I have bookings or not. I also did not understand whether paying for multiple channels pricing is extra on top of $49. Mine are year round, but at this point I do not think that my own pricing is so wrong that I absolutely need the pricing tool.

JTVRs
Nov 1, 2018 11:00 PM
Joined Jun, 2018 385 posts

I looked at wheelhouse, they say 1% per booking up to 10 properties.

The claim for using these dynamic prices is a yield mgmt. As hotels do. The claim is perhaps 30-40% more revenue.
Of course, I did not start yet, so not really sure of the truth.

Chris Hynes
Nov 2, 2018 7:53 AM
OR Team Member Joined Oct, 2012 1401 posts

Yep, I haven't locked in to a dynamic tool for my properties yet either. It seems very cool, and I've looked at some of what it says to do and gotten some good ideas.

But I'm not sure that these tools do substantially better than a few simple rules, like -50% for < 7 days from arrival, -30% for < 14 days, + 20% for > 90 days, + 35% for > 120 days.

That's basically what all of these tools end up doing, right? I wish I had a couple of identical properties so I could run an a/b test between hand setting rates, rules based rates, and demand based rates.

We are talking with BeyondPricing and Wheelhouse to see if we can get integrated with them as well. Are there any other similar tools that are used?

BlueMtnCabins
Nov 2, 2018 9:40 AM
Joined Jun, 2016 1129 posts

supposedly a little more than that. Since they are plugged into other properties and can "see" occupancy your competition (and supposedly even hotel occupancy), they can tweak price based not only on how far/close in advance, but also based on competitor's occupancy AND they take into account local events. Like having some local festival that may increase tourism (like here in the smoky Mountains few times a year we have antique car shows that draw people from al over the place). Wheelhouse does it better. Like I said BP is very so so esp for my larger property, their price swings are too wildly unrealistic and they do not make suggestions on your suggested base price (Wheelhouse does using some algorithm and gives you several options). .
did using them increase revenue? a little bit but not by 30-40% as they claim. You have to be totally clueless about your own market and seasons and your own prices have to be totally wrong if using the tool increases your revenue by that much.

If I were to look into it, I would focus on Wheelhouse. BP is just not working that good at least not in my market. I would not spend time on it.

Paul W
Nov 2, 2018 9:52 AM
OR Team Member Joined Jun, 2009 845 posts

Some of it is about market coverage (ie. geographical coverage). We've been told by users that Wheelhouse and PriceLabs do not cover their market but BeyondPricing does. Vermont came up recently in one such conversation. BeyondPricing had coverage there but not the other two. That affects the situation as well.

JTVRs
Nov 2, 2018 9:03 PM
Joined Jun, 2018 385 posts

In your market definitely is probably the main differentiator

The 30-40% is a nice claim, but another factor is time savings. I am not sold on the concept of simple rules X days out charge this amount or do this in certain seasons. I also don't want to spend time tweaking prices for 7 rentals.

If a dynamic pricer gets me 10% improvement for 1% of the revenue and I don't have to think about it, that has high value to me.

I am leaning towards putting several properties on PriceLabs and similar ones on Wheelhouse, and let them run a year. If one is significantly better, then put them all on that one. I don't believe a couple months is adequate and I am a very very patient person!

JTVRs
Nov 5, 2018 6:40 PM
Joined Jun, 2018 385 posts

"But I'm not sure that these tools do substantially better than a few simple rules,"

I do not agree with this. There is a lot of aspects of seasonality, particular markets, events, how far out, ability to customize, and actual sampling in your market, and other things. And they are able to be practically "Set and forget", preventing you from having to test and tweak. My time also has value on 7 future properties. Even if they cost 1% of your revenue and brought an additional 2%, that would seem worth it!

"Are there any other similar tools that are used?"

EverBooked. But based on a lot of research, I would say Wheelhouse and PriceLabs are the top two, However, 1 of these 4 may be better in certain areas. For example, Wheelhouse coverage centers on a town 13 miles away from mine. But of course, that means they also average in properties in the opposite direction. And mine is a very specific, hip tourist town with whitewater rafting, amazing history, rail-trail, cycling, events, etc. So even being this close, it might price very differently from that town to my town.


BlueMtnCabins
Nov 7, 2018 6:48 PM
Joined Jun, 2016 1129 posts

Ross C said:

And they are able to be practically "Set and forget", preventing you from having to test and tweak.

As is said I did "set and forget " with BP and just got several spring break dates booked about $40-50/night LESS than I would have charged (and got, historically) myself .

About WH: Last year they did not set prices correct for local event (solar eclipse) that was crazy popular and could have fetched prices about $40/night more than those they set..

So yes, my time is worth money, but it is definitely worth several nights X$40 doing it myself Vs BP. very disappointed.

JTVRs
Nov 7, 2018 8:12 PM
Joined Jun, 2018 385 posts

That is why I said "practically". There are going to be hiccups like your solar eclipse. But one-off things like eclipses or one-time events are certainly not the fault of the dynamic pricer.

I am on board with not using BP or Everbooked. My research leads me to PriceLabs and WH only. And certainly not the builtin dynamic of something like Airbnb. The OTAs have made themselves almost the enemy of the VR owner.

The following may be insightful on software review site Capterra about 3 of the dynamic pricers.

Wheelhouse: https://www.capterra.com/p/171266/Wheelhouse-Pricing/

PriceLabs: https://www.capterra.com/p/158348/PriceLabs/

BeyondPricing: https://www.capterra.com/p/141284/Beyond-Pricing/

Everbooked: Not reviewed there.

JTVRs
Nov 7, 2018 8:15 PM
Joined Jun, 2018 385 posts

Wouldn't let me edit post. I added:

Standard disclaimer about fake reviews. 1 and 5 star may be faked. I find most wisdom between 2-4 star reviews.

Julie B
Jul 14, 2019 10:11 AM
Joined Feb, 2017 13 posts

Has anyone turned on PriceLabs with AirBnb and OR? How's the success rate? Would like to hear of someone using them and how they are doing with their pricing.

Thank you,
Chad