How to raise the income from a short-term rental apartment in 2026

The short-term rental market grows year on year, and competition between apartment owners is getting sharper. Keeping occupancy high and profits at their peak now takes more than putting a listing on Airbnb or Booking.com. It takes a considered strategy.

1. Dynamic pricing: the key to maximising revenue

One of the biggest mistakes apartment owners make is holding prices fixed all year. The short-term rental market moves, and prices should reflect seasonality, local events, days of the week and current occupancy in the area.

• Raise prices at weekends. Demand is usually 30% to 50% higher than on weekdays.
• Watch local events. Concerts, festivals, trade fairs and conferences are a chance to lift rates considerably.
• Use last-minute pricing. If the apartment is standing empty 3 or 4 days before the date, cut the price by 15% to 20% rather than lose the revenue entirely.
• Charge more for early bookings. The earlier someone books, the more likely they are to pay extra for the certainty of the stay.

2. Professional photos and copy: your front line of selling

A guest decides whether to book in a matter of seconds. In that time they judge the photos and the first sentences of the description. Investing in a professional photo session usually pays for itself within a few bookings.

Apartments with professional photos let faster and defend a higher rate than those shot hastily on a phone.

What should a good description contain?

• The apartment's distinctive features: the view, the location, the fittings.
• Distances to key attractions and public transport.
• Information for specific groups of guests: families, couples, business travellers.
• Clear rules on pets, parties and check-in and checkout times.

3. Automation: get your time back and keep guests happier

Managing a short-term rental apartment can eat up many hours a week. Modern tools let you automate most of the repetitive work:

• Automatic messages to guests. Booking confirmation, check-in instructions, a reminder before checkout.
• Smart locks. Generating an individual code for each guest removes the trouble of keys and handovers.
• Calendar sync. Avoid double bookings when you are present on several platforms at once.
• Automatic review requests. Regular messages after checkout significantly increase the number of reviews you get.

4. Spread your listings: do not keep all your eggs in one basket

Airbnb and Booking.com are not the only options. Consider listing your apartment on several platforms at once:

• Vrbo/HomeAway. Popular with families from the USA and Western Europe.
• Nocowanie.pl. A strong position on the Polish market.
• Expedia. Excellent for reaching business travellers.
• Direct bookings. Your own website lets you avoid commission (typically 15% to 20%).

Working across several platforms requires a solid calendar management system, so that conflicts and double bookings do not happen.

5. A loyalty scheme for returning guests

Winning a new guest costs several times more than keeping an existing one. It is worth building relationships with the guests who want to come back:

• A 10% discount for returning guests who book directly.
• A small welcome gift on repeat stays.
• Priority treatment: early check-in, late checkout.
• A newsletter with seasonal offers for regular guests.

6. Optimising your position in platform results

The Airbnb and Booking.com algorithms work much like search engines. Updating the listing regularly, replying to messages fast and keeping your rating high all feed directly into how visible your offer is.

The key ranking factors:

1. Response speed to enquiries. The target: under an hour.
2. Booking acceptance rate.
3. Overall rating and number of reviews.
4. Profile completeness and regular content updates.
5. Instant Book switched on.

Strategy instead of chance

Success in short-term rental comes from a deliberate strategy, not from chance. Dynamic pricing, professional presentation, automated processes and a presence on several platforms raises revenue markedly compared with a passive approach.

If you want to know more about managing short-term rental apartments professionally, visit erphome.pl, a platform built specifically for property owners.