Pricing your holiday home by season

One price all year is the easiest way to lose money. In busy weeks your place books months ahead at a price that was too low; in quiet weeks it sits empty at a price that was too high. A few minutes of planning fixes both.

Know your seasons

Demand in Egypt follows a few clear patterns. Which ones matter most depends on where your place is.

• Red Sea (Hurghada, El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Marsa Alam): winter is high season for visitors from Europe looking for sun, roughly October to April, peaking at Christmas and New Year. Egyptian families travel there in summer and over every long weekend.
• North Coast (Sahel): a strong summer destination. July and August are the peak, with June and September on either side. Winter is quiet.
• Sinai (Dahab, Sharm El Sheikh): fairly steady all year, with remote workers and divers in winter and spring and domestic travellers at holidays.
• Cairo: driven by business trips, family visits and events more than by the weather, with summer bringing Egyptians who live abroad home for the holidays.

Across the whole country, the Eid holidays, mid-year school break, Sham El-Nessim and national-holiday long weekends push demand up sharply. The Eid dates follow the Islamic calendar and move about 11 days earlier each year, so check them when you plan your calendar.

Start from a base price

Your base price is what you charge on an ordinary weeknight. Look at similar places nearby (same number of bedrooms, a similar distance to the beach, a similar standard) and see what they charge for a normal week a month or two away. Then adjust for what makes yours different: a sea view, a private pool, a renovated kitchen, or fast wifi.

New listings with no reviews often start slightly below the market to win their first bookings and reviews, then raise prices once a few good reviews are in.

Weekend price

In Guestify you can set a separate weekend price for Friday and Saturday nights. Most holiday homes in Egypt see far more demand at the weekend; 15–30% above your weeknight price is a common starting point.

Custom prices for peak dates

For Eid, New Year, the summer peak and other busy weeks, set custom prices on specific dates in your calendar. A custom price always wins over the weekend and base price for that night, so you can raise a whole holiday week in one go.

Set these early. Guests who book Eid trips months in advance are exactly the guests who would otherwise get your place at the normal price.

Discounts that fill the gaps

Four kinds of discount help you fill quiet periods:

Discount	When it applies	Good for
Weekly	Stays of 7 nights or more	Families on holiday, remote workers
Monthly	Stays of 28 nights or more	Long winter stays, relocations
Early-bird	Bookings made a number of months before check-in (you choose how many)	Locking in bookings early in the low season
Last-minute	Bookings made a few days before check-in (you choose how many)	Filling nights that would otherwise stay empty

Guestify never stacks discounts: if a stay qualifies for several, the guest gets the largest one only. So you can switch on all four without worrying that they add up to a giveaway.

A simple yearly routine

1. Once a year: look up the Eid, school-holiday and public-holiday dates, and set custom prices for them.
2. Before each season: review your base and weekend prices against similar places nearby.
3. Every month: look at the next eight weeks. Empty weekends close to the date? Lower them a little, or rely on your last-minute discount. Fully booked weeks far ahead? Your price is probably too low for those dates next year.
4. After every few stays: read your reviews. If guests mention value ("great for the price"), you have room to raise it.

Don't forget the cleaning fee

If you pay a cleaner between stays, add a cleaning fee to the listing instead of building it into the nightly price. It keeps your nightly price competitive in search, and it's fair on longer stays, where it's charged once rather than every night.

Ready to set your prices? Create your listing. There are no host fees for now, so what you charge is what you earn.