SmartRates is Evolve’s exclusive, proprietary technology that gathers real-time market data and automatically adjusts your pricing, so you get the most bookings and maximum revenue possible. It’s an essential component of our revenue optimization strategy, and our experts utilize this tool daily to help your vacation rental perform better.
Our SmartRates tool anticipates day-to-day guest demand trends with incredible precision — making us very in tune with industry shifts to keep you ahead of the market.
How Does SmartRates Work?
SmartRates constantly collects billions of data points on vacation rentals across the industry, including rates, amenities, bed count, calendar, and more. It compares your home to similar properties in your area to understand local trends and profit-driving opportunities for your rental.
SmartRates also evaluates your home’s rates every single day and adjusts them to maximize your income. Rest assured that we will never go below the Absolute Minimum Rate you set as one of the guiding parameters for our strategy.
What Data Does SmartRates Consider When Adjusting Rates?
The SmartRates algorithm uses four key factors to determine your rates:
1. Seasonality
SmartRates collects data on seasonal travel trends in your area, increasing your rates during “peak” seasons to capitalize on the boom and reducing them during slower times to encourage bookings from off-season guests.
2. Demand
SmartRates gathers intel on surges and dips in local interest. If we see a spike in guest demand, we’ll give rates a boost to capture more revenue from eager travelers. When there’s a lull, we’ll set lower rates to entice guests.
3. Availability
SmartRates keeps a close watch on how much inventory is still up for grabs in your area at any given time. We drop rates as unbooked dates on your calendar grow closer to keep you booked by attracting last-minute travelers.
4. Your Home’s Performance
SmartRates compares your vacation rental’s performance (reviews, revenue, bookings, etc.) with others in your area. If your listing is outperforming the competition, we raise rates to make the most of the high demand your property has. If your listing is new or performing a bit behind others, we lower rates to help you gain momentum.
What Unique Value Does SmartRates Bring?
Using a dynamic pricing tool is not new to the travel industry — airlines, hotels, and rental cars have been using similar technology to inform demand-based pricing for years.
But Evolve’s SmartRates algorithm is different from those tools, because we know we’re not working with more standard units like rooms or seats. Your home has its own unique value in a dynamic local market and an ever-changing travel landscape.
That’s why our proprietary technology is designed to capture every nuance at play — so we can always keep our finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the market, and maximize your income.
How Do Evolve’s Revenue Experts Work Together with SmartRates?
SmartRates doesn’t operate without a human touch. Unlike other automated pricing strategies that do it all alone, we combine SmartRates’ sophisticated data with our in-house experts to create a custom revenue strategy for your property.
We conduct a competitive analysis during your onboarding process, and plug strategic recommendations into our SmartRates tool to guide strategy for new Evolve listings. Then, our regional revenue experts continually review SmartRates data in real time, making any adjustments needed to help maximize the revenue potential of your home.
Our regional revenue experts also use data from SmartRates to identify opportunities to adjust dynamic listing policies like cancellation flexibility and length-of-stay requirements (never dropping below your Absolute Minimum Stay). While these policies don’t shift automatically each day, our team is always looking for ways to fill gaps in your calendar and keep you booked.
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