by Megan Natt
posted on February 8, 2018
Insights & demand patterns
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in February, 2017 and has been updated with fresh tips and data.
Winter can be rough on us all. Luckily, there are long weekends to help us muscle through the dreary days. And long weekends — like the upcoming Presidents’ Day weekend — are some of the busiest times of the year. Whether folks are heading up to the mountains for a ski trip or going south in search of warm waters, long weekends see booming demand from weekend warriors in all corners of the country.
We’ve pulled some stats and insights into our top US markets from coast to coast, including how much more demand there is on long weekends versus regular weekends, which categories are most frequently searched, and the most filtered features. We’ve also pulled together an easy checklist with tweaks to make your listing all the more appealing to travelers for the upcoming weekend.
Long weekend checklist
MAKE SURE YOUR FEATURES ARE VISIBLE
Travelers actively filter by vehicle feature to find the best car for their trip. Ski racks are handy to have in Denver, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Reno, and pretty much everyone loves a GPS. Make sure you’re giving your car its best chance to be seen by including all of its features in your description.
To update your car’s features, go to the “Details” tab on “Your car” page, pick and choose your features, and fill out all the details you can with the freshly renovated car details options.
TURN ON BOOK INSTANTLY
If your car is available this weekend and you want to boost the chance of booking, let your car be booked instantly. Because travelers often filter by instantly bookable cars so they can just book and go, turning on “Book Instantly” will help your listing float to the top of searches.
To turn on “Book Instantly”, go to the “Trip preferences” tab on “Your car” page and adjust your settings.
TURN ON AUTOMATIC PRICING
Our Automatic Pricing option lets you set it and forget it. The pricing algorithm will automatically adjust your pricing according to seasonality and demand patterns, meaning your listing price will be as competitive as possible to earn you as much as possible during demand spikes.
To turn on Automatic Pricing, go to the “Pricing” section of “Your car” page and toggle “Automatic Pricing” on. You can revert back to Manual Pricing whenever you want.
CONSIDER DELIVERING YOUR CAR
Delivery is a perennial hot-ticket feature that travelers love. Adding delivery options to your listing (especially airport delivery) will make your listing more desirable. Offering free delivery will make your listing even more enticing to travelers, and will really incentivize them to book your car.
To turn on delivery, click “Delivery & airports” in “Your car” page and tweak your various delivery settings and prices.
ADJUST YOUR LEAD TIME SETTINGS
Many travelers may book last-minute rentals before the long weekend. By adjusting your lead time and minimum and maximum rental durations, you’ll show up in more search results and increase the likelihood of getting a booking next weekend.
To adjust your settings, go to the “Trip preferences” tab in “Your car” and adjust the “Advance notice” and “Trip duration” settings.
UNAVAILABLE DATES
Did you know you can book trips over dates you’re out of town? That means your car could be earning while you’re on vacation.
To add your unavailable dates, go to the bottom section of your “Owner settings” and set the days you’re on vacation, so travelers can only request trips that start and end when you’re around.
Alright! Let’s gear up for the big weekend ahead!
