Bed and Breakfast Pricing: How to Tell If Your Room Rates Are Too High, Too Low, or Just Right

Bed and breakfast pricing can make you question yourself in both directions. An empty room makes you wonder if you’re charging too much. A weekend that sells out quickly makes you wonder if you charged too little. Neither result tells the whole story, especially when you have only a few rooms to sell.

In this episode, Gerry MacPherson helps you look beyond a competitor’s headline price or a gap in your calendar. You’ll learn how to consider the cost of serving a guest, what a comparable stay actually includes, and how bookings are coming in for a particular date. You’ll also hear why the amount you keep from a reservation matters more than the rate a guest sees.

The aim is a calmer pricing decision you can explain. Instead of changing every rate at once, you’ll choose one room and one upcoming date, check the evidence, and decide whether to keep the price or take another look. You can use this week’s Pricing Confidence Worksheet to put that decision on paper.

Four key takeaways

• An empty room is a reason to investigate, not automatic proof that your price is high.
• A fast sell-out may be a sign to review similar future dates.
• Compare stays with similar rooms, inclusions and booking terms.
• Check what you keep after costs and channel fees.

One practical action: Review one uncertain room rate for one upcoming date. Record why you decide to keep or change it.

Free resource: The Bed & Breakfast Pricing Calculator helps you put your own figures around a room-rate decision.
Get the resource here: https://bedsbreakfastsbusiness.com/free-resources

Direct calculator link: https://bedsbreakfastsbusiness.com/bed-breakfast-pricing-calculator

This week’s Pricing Confidence Worksheet is available on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/BedsBreakfastBusiness

Keep listening

What Are the 3 Numbers Every B&B Owner Must Track to Stay Profitable?
https://bedbreakfastbusiness.transistor.fm/episodes/what-are-the-3-numbers-every-b-b-owner-must-track-to-stay-profitable-132

How to Handle Low Bookings in Your B&B: What to Do When Rooms Sit Empty
https://bedbreakfastbusiness.transistor.fm/episodes/how-to-handle-low-bookings-in-your-b-b-what-to-do-when-rooms-sit-empty-128

Next episode: Seasonality Made Simple — how should you adjust prices throughout the year?