Since I’m your self-proclaimed real estate guy “on the inside” of the industry, my aim has always been to share some of the industry’s secrets with the average man or woman on the street, just so that you have a chance of getting value out of an industry which is often seen to be closed off to the masses. While I’ll definitely concede to the fact that fortunes within the real estate industry still favour those who have the big money capital and connections to go with, there’s no reason why the average person cannot get their own back from the industry.
And so in this post I’m going to discuss rent, but from the point of view of travellers who seek to enjoy a little bit more of the finer side of proceedings. I mean if you could stay on some beachside resort in Hawaii as opposed to a hotel right in the middle of a busy city with a window view of the wall of a building next to it, which one would you choose? Naturally you’d choose the beachside resort, but that’s what makes it all so interesting since choice is what you have to consider if you want to understand how luxury lodging is priced.
It’s all a kind of game which is deeply rooted in the supply-and-demand economic model and that’s one of the many reasons why if you book well in advance you’ll notice just how much cheaper a night’s stay is pretty much anywhere than when you book a day or two before your arrival. That’s if you can even get a vacancy…
Rent longer term
The discussion of choice comes to the fore once again as the major driving factor of the price you’ll ultimately have to pay for luxury lodging, this time influenced by time. The longer you tend to rent out a place, the cheaper it becomes. It’s not rocket science, but merely a matter of considering the admin the owners of the property you’re seeking to lodge at have to deal with. The less admin, the happier they are and that translates to their pricing model.
It takes time and effort to check-in and check-out guests as they arrive and leave respectively, so when you book for longer periods of up to a week or so then there’s less hassle for everyone involved to have to deal with and things just become cheaper!
Go for the premium option
Okay, so I’m not suggesting you mindlessly blow money on what is often just the perception of luxury lodging by mere virtue of it being expensive. Rather, you should compare the value you’d get per dollar spent between the premium options and the entry-level options. You’ll realise that the premium options often give you more value for each dollar.
You can put this to the test by running an online search for lodging at a Waikoloa Beach Resort in Hawaii, if that’s where you’re looking to live it up in a bit of comfort and style – you’ll realise that if you search for bookings of the whole property (maximum number of bedrooms) and you extend the period over a considerable amount of time, the per-night and per square-metre price works out cheaper.
