Cuenca festivals: why November is the month that lifts your rates the most

If your property is going to be on short-term rental this November, there is a decision worth making in September rather than in the last week of October: what rate you are going to ask during the Cuenca festivals.

The data says something fairly clear about that month, and most listings in the city do not act on it.

The figure: supply almost doubles

Research by the University of Cuenca PREIT-tour project, which tracked short-term accommodation across the city, found a very marked seasonal pattern: around 1,500 active listings in April and close to 2,800 in November, coinciding with the festivals marking the founding of the city.

Almost double the supply in the same market. That means two things at once, and both are worth understanding.

What it means for your rate

The first reading is the obvious one: demand in November is high enough to attract thirteen hundred listings that do not exist the rest of the year. Owners who open their home just for the festivals, rooms that appear for two weeks and disappear. It is the month when you can charge the most.

The second is less comfortable: in November you are competing against twice as many listings. And many of those occasional listings come in at low prices, because for their owner any income is a gain. Simply raising your rate is not enough; you have to raise it from a better position.

What to do, and when

In September: open the calendar and set the rates

Travellers coming from abroad for the festivals book months ahead, because they are buying flights too. If in September your November calendar is not open or still carries your base rate, you are selling those nights at the price of a Tuesday in May.

Also in September: set minimum stays

It is the adjustment that protects the most income and the one fewest people make. Without a minimum stay, a one-night booking in the middle of the long weekend splits your calendar into two gaps that can no longer be sold. With a three-night minimum on the busiest days, the whole block fills.

In October: review the photos and the title

With twice the competition, the thumbnail decides. If you are going to change your cover photo once in the year, do it before October. And add the walking distance to the historic centre to your title or description, because in those dates that is what people search by.

In November: do not lower anything

The classic mistake is panicking ten days out and cutting the rate because gaps remain. In a month with this level of demand, last-minute bookings do exist and they do arrive. Dropping the price early means giving away the best month of the year.

And the rest of the year

The same study shows the other extreme: April is the weakest month, with supply at its lowest. There the strategy inverts: more aggressive rates, one-night minimums, and it is worth considering weekly or monthly discounts to capture longer stays, which in low season hold occupancy better than weekend tourism.

A calendar with the same rate 365 days a year is, almost always, money left on the table twice over: you undercharge in November and sit empty in April.

If you want a concrete reference before setting your November prices, what an Airbnb really earns in Cuenca has the average rates by neighbourhood from our sampling of active listings in the city.