HouseTrip Blog – Holiday apartment news, travel and rental tips

View on gondolas while haveing breakfast at the Giudecca Mare Riva

This week we asked three hosts from Venice if they applied special booking conditions (rates, length of stay, etc.) during high and low demand periods for accomodation in the city. Below are their answers.

Carlo from bed & breakfast Fujiyama

The charming patio in Carlo's Fujiyama bed and breakfast

Having spent many years in China & Japan, Carlo has clearly been influenced by asian culture. One can easily see the tie through his well designed webpage & carefully selected pictures and symbols on the site. Carlo is proud of being able to recreate a special oriental atmosphere in the center of Venice, in contrast with the predominant Venitian style. His efforts clearly pay because his B&B is full all the time.

When being asked about his pricing strategy, Carlo does apply different rates during high & low seasons. The rate are flexible from 60 Euro to 160 Euro / night. He also offers a 10% discount if his guests stay more than three night during low season. Carlo doesn’t have special events’ rates although he recognizes that all the city’s accomodations are full during such major events as the biennale.

Susan from Apartments-Venice

Window on the canal at Susan's Miracoli apartment

A property manager, Susan is in charge of many rentals throughout the city. She proudly introduced some apartments in her portfolio : Madonna Near Madonna dell’Orto, Accademia behind the Accademia Gallery in Dorsodure, Miracoli near the Miracoli Church in Cannaregio. Most of her apartments are rented weekly except in some cases when a three days rental is also possible. Due to the fact that the properties are not hers, it is harder for her to play with the rates so they generally stay fixed.

Carlo from We Nice Venice

View on a canal from Carlo's We Nice Venice apartment

Carlo keeps his rates rather stable during high demand periods and offer discounts during low seasons. He says that, when his guests dates are flexible, he warns them that such or such periods will be busier and recommend a close by but quieter period: “Most people will appreciate it a lot. This way, I still have requests for traditionally busy times by people coming on purpose, and can sort of make those busy times longer and neither I (nor the guests) have a bad feeling from me making rates higher now and then”. His feeling is that “with most hotels and apartments raising their rates up during special periods, a good way to make guests happy is being different and to not follow the main stream”. To Carlo, word of mouth is the most effective marketing tools and it helps to keep his rates high: “I want people to like their stay, to tell their relatives and friends about this place and to plan coming again. I live in the same building where our apartments are and am always available for further information or for any trouble guests might experience (be it lost luggage, drugs or a doctor needed, a good restaurant in another district, warm water troubles or mosquitoes).”