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 › Help Center › Dynamic Pricing › Setting Your Base Price
Dynamic Pricing · Basic Setup

Setting Your Base Price

Your base price is the average nightly rate you'd charge across the whole year — not your peak rate, not your lowest. It's the single number PriceLabs adjusts up or down every day based on demand, seasons, and market data. Everything flows from here.

Why this step is non-negotiable
📐
It's your pricing foundation
Every nightly price PriceLabs sets is a % adjustment on top of your base. Get it wrong and every price is wrong.
🏆
It signals your listing's quality
A luxury 2-bed should have a higher base than a basic 2-bed. This positions you correctly in the market.
⚖️
It keeps you competitive
Too high → lose bookings in slow periods. Too low → leave money behind when demand spikes.
🔄
The algorithm learns from it
PriceLabs calibrates recommendations around your base price. Frequent changes reset that learning process.
⚠️
Without a base price, PriceLabs cannot generate any recommendations for your listing. It is the most important number in your entire setup — set it before doing anything else.
✅ How to set it 🚫 What not to do 🧠 How it's calculated 💬 FAQ
Step-by-step
How to set your base price
Follow these steps in order — takes about 5 minutes
1
Open the Base Price Help tool
Go to Pricing Dashboard → Review Prices and click "Help me choose a base price."
You can also access it from the Multi Calendar under the More Actions column.
2
Choose your starting method
Pick the option that matches your situation:
My situation
Use this
New listing or unsure where to start
Market-Driven Price
Listing was live and performing well before connecting to PriceLabs
Imported Base Price
Been live on PriceLabs 2–3 weeks, want a data-backed suggestion
Recommended Base Price
I know my market and have a specific number in mind
Custom
💡
Market-Driven is the best starting point for most users. PriceLabs may ask for your Airbnb Listing ID, Cleaning Fee, and PMS Markup — provide these for the most accurate result.
ℹ️
Using Seasonal Base Prices? The Recommended option gives you a percentage change to apply to each seasonal price rather than a single absolute value. After turning seasonal pricing off, allow 14–21 days before the algorithm resumes generating absolute recommendations.
3
Enter your cleaning fee
PriceLabs needs this to compare your total guest price (nightly + cleaning) against competitors — not just the nightly rate in isolation.

It may auto-import from your PMS or Channel Manager, but always verify it's correct. If you ever update your cleaning fee anywhere, update it here too.
4
Refine your comparison group (optional — defaults are usually fine)
Three filters control which listings PriceLabs compares you against:
🏠 Property Category
Economy, Midscale, or Upscale. PriceLabs auto-detects this. Only change it if you're confident your listing belongs in a different quality tier.
🛏️ Bedroom Count
Defaults to your count. Auto-expands ±1 if fewer than 50 listings match. Aim for at least 30 listings in your comp set.
🗺️ Market Map
Shows all comp set listings on a map. Your listing is the square icon; others are color-coded by price trend. Hover any to see its average price, bedroom count, and listing ID. You can draw a custom geographic boundary to narrow the area — useful if your neighborhood has distinct pricing dynamics.
5
Check the percentile, review the seasonality graph, then save
The percentile shows where your price sits in the local market. Start within the 25th–75th percentile range.
Too low25th50th75thToo high
Before confirming, review the seasonality graph — it shows projected average monthly prices across the year so you can sense-check your base for high and low seasons. Then click Save & Refresh, go to the Neighborhood Data tab, filter by bedroom size, and confirm your prices look competitive.
6
Respond to nudges and revisit regularly
PriceLabs monitors your base price continuously. If it detects a gap of more than 5% from its recommendation, you'll get a Base Price Nudge.

Nudges never auto-apply — you always choose to accept or reject. Click "See recommendation in Base Price Help Tool" to review the reasoning before deciding.

Revisit every couple of weeks at first, then every few months once stable. Your full price history (min, base, max) is on the right side of the Calendar page.
💡
Date-specific overrides: Need a different base price for specific dates only? Use Date-Specific Override in Price Settings. Contact support@pricelabs.co if you don't see this option.
Avoid these mistakes
What not to do with your base price
The most common ways hosts get their pricing wrong
✕
Don't change it frequently or make large jumps
Every manual change forces the algorithm to restart its learning process. If you need to adjust, do it in 5–10% increments and wait 2–3 weeks between changes. Large, frequent adjustments prevent the system from ever calibrating properly.
✕
Don't raise your price when occupancy is low
Slow bookings usually signal low demand — raising your price will make things worse. During low-demand periods, pricing below the market median may be necessary just to attract bookings. Only raise your base price when occupancy is already high.
✕
Don't include taxes in your base price
Taxes are added on top by the platform. Including them inflates your rate and makes your percentile comparisons inaccurate.
✕
Don't ignore platform commission fees
On a Host-only fee model you bear Airbnb's 15% commission. On a Split-fee model you bear 3%. PriceLabs accounts for this automatically — but if you've added a PMS Markup to cover OTA costs, enter it in Neighborhood Data Settings to avoid double-counting.
✕
Don't skip setting a minimum and maximum price
Without guardrails, dynamic adjustments can push your nightly rate unexpectedly low or high. Always set a min and max price alongside your base price.
✕
Don't block large chunks of your calendar without knowing the impact
For most integrations, blocked dates count as booked when calculating occupancy. Too many blocks make your occupancy incomparable to the market — the algorithm may pause recommendations until they clear up.
🧮 How the Market-Driven price is calculated ▼

PriceLabs starts with a Starting Price — the average price of comparable nearby listings including their cleaning fees. It then applies positive or negative adjustments based on how your listing compares to the local market average.

Outperform the market on a factor → positive adjustment. Underperform → negative adjustment. Impact level controls how much each factor shifts your final price.

FactorSub-factorImpactWhat's measured
PerformanceADRHighYour past & future average daily rate vs. comp set
OccupancyHighHow full your calendar is vs. the market
Past 30-day PickupMedFuture bookings made in the last 30 days vs. market average
Reviews & RatingsReview CountLowTotal reviews vs. comp set average
Review RatingLowStar rating vs. comp set average
Overall ReliabilityLowConsistency of reviews over time
Physical ParametersAmenitiesMedHigh-impact amenities present vs. comp set
Property TypeMedRevenue impact of your property type (cabin, apartment, chalet, etc.) locally
BathroomsLowNumber of bathrooms vs. comp set
FeesCleaning FeeMedCreates a negative adjustment — Starting Price already includes comp set cleaning fees, so yours is subtracted to keep your total guest price competitive
Airbnb Fee ModelMedSplit-fee: +3% added. Host-only: +15% added. PMS Markup applied if entered in Neighborhood Data Settings.
Platform TrustGuest FavoriteLowHaving the badge → positive adjustment
SuperhostLowSuperhost status → positive adjustment
💡
Hover the (i) icon next to any sub-factor in the tool to see exactly how it's affecting your specific price.
📈 How the Recommended Base Price is generated ▼

After 14–21 days of consistent price syncing, PriceLabs generates a personalized recommendation based on your listing's performance vs. the market. It analyses a 60-day window, weighting more recent data more heavily. Recommendations update weekly and apply for 7 days — there's always a short lag before recent changes are fully reflected.

Blocked dates: For most integrations, blocked dates are treated as booked when calculating occupancy. Too many blocks make the occupancy comparison unreliable — recommendations pause until blocks clear.

Below the recommended price, green upward pyramids (1–3) indicate suggested increases; red downward pyramids indicate decreases.

ℹ️
If you recently changed your base price, the recommendation may go blank temporarily. The algorithm needs a few days to recalibrate before generating a fresh suggestion.
📊 Percentile Score vs. Percentile Rank — what's the difference? ▼

The same dollar amount can mean different things depending on which mode you're using:

Percentile Score — Market-Driven
A market benchmark. If $250 is the 75th percentile, it means $250 separates the top 25% of listings from the bottom 75%.
Percentile Rank — Custom
A relative rank. If $250 is the 75th percentile rank, your price is higher than 75% of listings — but lower than the top 25%.

Market-Driven always shows 25th, 50th, and 75th markers. Recommended and Custom modes show the exact percentile your selected price falls into.

🗺️ How the comp set is built ▼

Your comp set only includes listings that meet all of these criteria:

CriterionRule
ActivityMust be active for the past 1 year and next 1 year
OutliersRemoved automatically to prevent distorting market trends
Map pricesMean price over past 6 months + next 6 months (annual average)
New listingsActive less than 6 months → won't appear on the Market Map
Bedroom sizingDefaults to your count. Auto-expands ±1 bedroom if fewer than 50 listings match
💡
Aim for at least 30 listings in your comp set. Expand bedroom categories or widen the map boundary if needed.
How often should I change my base price? ▼
Your base price should be a stable, year-round average — seasonal fluctuations are handled automatically. When you adjust, use 5–10% increments and wait 2–3 weeks between changes. You'll receive a nudge if a change is recommended.
It says "low historical occupancy" but my occupancy looks fine right now — why? ▼
Recommendations are based on a 30-day trend over the past 60 days — not just today. They update weekly and apply for 7 days, so recent improvements take a little time to show up.
Why isn't my recommended base price changing? ▼
If your occupancy is stable and aligned with the market, the algorithm concludes no change is needed. This is the correct outcome — your price is well-calibrated.
Why does the recommendation always mirror my manually set price? ▼
When you change your base manually, the algorithm reinforces that price while collecting fresh data. Frequent changes prevent proper recalibration. Keep your price stable for 2–3 weeks after any change.
The recommended price seems way off — what do I do? ▼
Start fresh with a Market-Driven or Custom price. After 2–3 weeks the algorithm recalibrates from that new starting point.
I'm below the market median and still not getting bookings. Should I raise my price? ▼
Generally, no. During low-demand periods, pricing below the market median may be necessary just to attract bookings. Raising your price in a slow market typically makes things worse.
When will I get a Recommended Base Price for the first time? ▼
After 14–21 days of consistent price syncing. If it's blank after a recent base price change, give it a few days to recalibrate.
Where can I see my base price history? ▼
Your past minimum, base, and maximum prices are on the right side of the Calendar page.
How do I set a different base price for specific dates only? ▼
Use Date-Specific Override in Price Settings. Contact support@pricelabs.co if you don't see this option in your account.

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