Hotel Rate Plans Are Failing on Airbnb — Here’s How to Fix It (and Increase Revenue)

Most hotels are losing bookings on Airbnb and VRBO — and they don’t even realize it.

Why? Because vacation rental platforms weren’t built for hotel pricing logic. Multiple rate plans? Tiered discounts? Length-of-stay promos? They all break down when filtered through a platform that only supports one rate per listing.

The result: confused guests, underperforming listings, and revenue left on the table.

But this isn’t a dead end. It’s a solvable problem — and we’ve spent the last five years proving exactly how.

Why Hotel Rate Plans Break on Airbnb & VRBO

Here’s a typical rate plan setup for a hotel in June:

• Flexible BAR (Best Available Rate) for 1-night stays
• 10% off for 3-night stays
• 15% discount for midweek bookings
• 20% off for 4-night, non-refundable rates

Now try pushing that structure to Airbnb. Most platforms only allow one rate plan per listing. That usually ends up being BAR. So when a guest searches for a 5-night stay? They never see your discounted offer. They just see your highest price.

📉 Outcome: high impressions, low conversion.

How to Spot the Problem (and Its Impact)

Not sure if your listings are affected? Try this:

1. Compare your Airbnb prices to your direct site and Booking.com
2. Run a test search for longer stays or specific promo periods
3. Ask: “Would I book this room at this price if I were the guest?”

Guests comparison-shop across multiple platforms. If your rate doesn’t reflect your best offer, you’re losing the booking.

The Tech Mismatch: More Than Just One Rate

Hotel rate complexity doesn’t stop at pricing:

• Vacation Rental platforms don’t support seasonal cancellation policies
• Limited support for LOS pricing logic
• Restricted promotions & blackout flexibility

Airbnb’s multi-rate API exists — but in our experience, it creates more problems than it solves for hotels.

A Smarter Framework: From Complexity to Conversion

So what’s the solution?

You convert your multi-rate plans into a single base rate — and layer discounts and promos on top, using platform-native promotional tools.

The structure looks like this:

• Use BAR as your base rate
• Identify top-performing discounts from your direct and OTA data
• Create time-bound, LOS-based, or advance-purchase offers on Airbnb/VRBO
• Monitor performance and adjust weekly

This keeps your pricing strategy intact while playing by Airbnb’s rules.

Manual Approach: Possible, But Costly

You can do this manually, but it requires serious team bandwidth:

• Manually enter LOS-based discounts into Airbnb and VRBO extranets
• Repeat across every room type and date band
• Re-check listings weekly to prevent rate drift
  
  

Jetstream’s Solution: Automating the Hard Part

Jetstream’s JSM (Jetstream Synchronous Mapping) makes this process seamless.

Every night JSM:

• Pulls rate feeds from connected PMS/CRS systems
• Analyzes and ranks eligible rate plans
• Converts into platform-friendly promotions
• Pushes live updates for the next 365 days

That’s 110 million calculations daily, executed automatically.

📈 Result: 2x conversion and bookings rate growth for many of our partners.

What Getting Started Looks Like (On Your Own)

Ready to test STR platforms without overwhelming your team?

Here’s how to start smart:

• Choose 1 hotel or 1 room type
• Set up API integrations with Airbnb & VRBO
• Ensure your listing content is optimized
• Coordinate with front desk staff on communication protocols
• Create promotional incentives that align with your revenue strategy

Biggest mistake we see? Hotels overthinking their rate plan delivery. Simplify first, scale next.

The Hidden Bonus: Better Guest Experience

Optimized rate plans don’t just improve revenue. They reduce confusion for guests.

When rates align across platforms, guests trust what they see. They book faster, stay longer, and plan ahead.

Our clients have seen significant uplift in longer bookings and advance reservations when discounts are clearly shown on listing pages.

Future-Proofing Your Pricing Strategy

These platforms will evolve. But your strategy shouldn’t wait.

Jetstream maintains direct contact with Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com product teams to anticipate changes. But even now, we can help you optimize today without needing to wait for future functionality.

Final Takeaways

• Understand the fundamental limitations of these platforms
• Simplify your rate structure into a single base rate + promo layer
• Measure success by conversion, not just views
• Go manual only if you have the bandwidth (and patience)
• Or let Jetstream handle the complexity and deliver results
  
  

Want to See It in Action?

Connect with our revenue team. Make your listings work as hard as your team does.