Running a seasonal rental business comes with a unique set of challenges, whether you’re open for just a few months, or experience sharp peaks in demand during specific times of the year. Some businesses shut down completely during the off-season, while others stay open year-round but need to ramp up operations for their busiest periods.
From bike rentals and kayak tours to ski shops and event equipment providers, preparing for your rental high season is critical to maximizing your annual revenue. And success during these periods often depends on how well you’re able to plan in advance.
At Booqable, we’ve worked with thousands of seasonal rental businesses, from surf shops in California, bike rentals in Amsterdam, to water-sports rentals in Australia. Over time, we’ve seen the patterns, pain points, and strategies that ensure your business can enjoy a smooth peak season.
That’s why we’ve developed features specifically designed to help rental businesses make the most of their busy months. Here are five Booqable features that help you optimize your seasonal rental business when demand is at its highest.
Creating seasonal pricing rulesets
Seasonal pricing is a key tool for rental businesses dealing with changing demand. For many rental businesses, understanding and managing seasonality means the difference between success and struggle.
Booqable lets you automatically adjust your prices based on specific times, events, or busy periods. Instead of manually changing prices for each item, Booqable lets you set up smart pricing rules that apply across your entire inventory. By setting up smart pricing, you can balance attracting customers with making money. Booqable’s pricing rules let you do things like increase prices during peak season, decrease them during quiet months, and exclude pickup or return days from being charged.
Take a ski rental shop in Aspen as an example. During Christmas and spring break, they can automatically increase their rates for premium ski equipment from $50 per day to $60 per day (a 20% increase), ensuring they get the most out of their busiest times.
The real benefit of seasonal pricing is simple - Booqable saves you time and helps you earn more during your busiest periods. You can set up pricing rules once, and let Booqable handle the rest, giving you more time to focus on helping your customers.
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Enabling away mode for off-season
Booqable’s ‘away mode’ is a helpful feature for seasonal rental businesses with clear busy and slow periods. It lets you pause your rental business during quiet times, stopping new bookings and managing customer expectations automatically.
This feature does more than just block bookings. Booqable helps you manage when your business is open, communicate your schedule, and reduce the work you do during slow times. You can set custom messages, block all bookings, and keep your online presence going without constant attention.
For example, a kayak rental business on the Maine coast can use away mode to handle their strictly seasonal business. From October through April, when kayaking is impossible due to cold weather, Booqable automatically blocks these dates in the calendar and prevents any accidental reservations.
Away mode takes the stress out of seasonal changes. It gives you a professional way to handle your business’s natural rhythm, so you don’t waste time dealing with impossible bookings or answering off-season questions. The feature gives you breathing room during slow times and helps you get ready for your next busy season.
Creating temporary stock for high season
Temporary stock management is a helpful tool for rental businesses with changing inventory needs. This feature lets you quickly add extra items during busy periods without permanently growing your core inventory. It gives you the flexibility to adjust your stock based on demand, helping you use your resources wisely during your peak season.
Being able to add and remove inventory quickly can make a big difference in how you handle your rental business during busy times. You can respond to increased demand without making long-term commitments or keeping extra stuff in storage.
For example, an event rental company specializing in wedding equipment could use temporary stock to manage their peak summer season. They can add extra tent packages with an Available from date of May 15th and an Available until date of September 30th. This allows them to add 20 additional wedding tent packages specifically for the summer wedding season, making these items available for booking during peak months and automatically removing them from inventory after September 30th.
Booqable’s temporary stock feature gives you the flexibility to meet demand without overextending your business. It’s a smart way to make the most of your inventory during busy times while keeping things lean during slower periods.
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Generating product performance reports
Performance reporting is a key tool for data-driven rental businesses understanding their seasonality. These reports give you deep insights into how your inventory performs, helping you make smart decisions about pricing, stock levels, and marketing. By looking at past data, you can understand exactly how your items do during different seasons.
Reports do more than just show numbers. They help you understand what customers want, identify your most popular items, and predict future demand more accurately. This information is crucial for planning your inventory and marketing during your rental high season.
For example, a mountain bike rental shop can use performance reports to analyze their previous summer’s rental data for the Trek Fuel EX 8. They discovered this particular model performed 30% better than other bikes in their fleet, with higher rental frequency and longer average rental duration. Based on these insights, the shop decided to purchase 10 additional Trek Fuel EX 8 bikes for the upcoming season to meet the proven customer demand.
Performance reports turn guesswork into a solid plan. They give you a clear picture of your business’s performance, helping you make smarter choices about inventory, pricing, and who you’re targeting during your busy season.
Allowing shortages for products
Reserving more stock than you actually have can be a smart way to capture extra revenue during peak season. Instead of turning away customers when items are unavailable, you can choose to allow shortages, giving you control over how much inventory can be overbooked.
This turns your inventory limits into opportunities. Customers can still place orders for unavailable items, offering you more flexibility during busy periods and helping you secure future bookings.
For example, a ski rental shop during peak winter might allow shortage orders on ski goggles. They have an agreement with a nearby hotel to sub-rent extra goggles if needed. By enabling a shortage limit of 10, they can accept additional orders even after their main inventory is depleted,ensuring they don’t miss out on demand.
Shortage order management helps you make the most of your rental stock. It reduces manual tracking, improves the customer experience, and gives you a structured way to handle high-demand situations.
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Handle your high season with confidence
High season doesn’t have to mean high stress. With the right tools, your seasonal rental business can run more efficiently, generate more revenue, and provide a smoother experience for your team and your customers.
Whether you’re navigating the summer rush, a winter boom, or festival season, Booqable helps you stay in control with smart, flexible features built for the real-world challenges of seasonal rentals. From automated pricing and inventory management to insightful reports and customer handling, these tools are all about helping you work smarter when it matters most.
When you’re running a seasonal business, it all comes down to being prepared and staying organized. With Booqable, you’re set up to handle the busy times and make the most of every peak season.
