5 Ways to Drive Bookings and Increase Profit in Low Season

Natural lows and highs in hotel demand are inevitable. To protect low-season profit, hotels can use five key tactics: guest value-adds, stronger OTA visibility, dynamic pricing, SMERF group sales and demand forecasting.

You can’t stop demand from dipping, but you can influence how much it dips and how profitably you operate while it does.

If you’re looking to protect your profitability against low-season demand, we present five tried-and-tested ways to reinforce your strategy in this area.

Key takeaways

• Low season is the period when a hotel’s demand and occupancy are lowest, but you can still influence how much revenue and profit you keep during it.

• Five tactics work together: value-add packages, OTA visibility, dynamic pricing, SMERF group sales and demand forecasting.

• Packages and upgrades raise spend per booking, so adding value often works better than cutting your price.

• OTA visibility matters more in low season, because you and your competitors compete for fewer guests.

• Set rates date by date using demand and competitor prices, and use forecasting to spot short spikes such as long weekends and local events.

Enhance the guest experience with value-adds

By offering value-added services and amenities, you can strategically drive bookings and boost revenue during your low season.

This will differentiate your hotel from your competitors, meaning you can attract more guests while creating upselling opportunities that increase overall spend per booking.

Value-adds don’t just entice travelers looking for a great deal; they also encourage guests to spend more on-site.

Research shows that ancillary services can contribute 10 to 15% – maybe more – of total hotel revenue, depending on your property type and market. Whether it’s an upgraded room package or an exclusive experience, these extras make a guest’s stay more appealing while subtly increasing your profit.

How to add value without discounting

To implement an effective strategy, you could consider introducing:

• Packages and special offers: Create seasonal promotions that include perks like free spa treatments, dining credits or late check-out, perhaps tapping into your loyalty program or catering to new customers.

• Personalized upgrades: Encourage direct bookings by offering discounted room upgrades, welcome amenities or early check-in.

• Exclusive experiences: Partner with local businesses and attractions for bundled experiences, such as wine tastings or guided city tours.

• Premium services: Provide concierge add-ons like airport transfers, in-room dining enhancements or romantic getaway packages.

Exceptional customer service also plays a key role. Training staff to personalize guest interactions – such as remembering guest preferences or offering tailored recommendations – can lead to better online reviews and referral upticks, which in turn attract more bookings.

And don’t forget about technology. Leveraging hotel revenue management software like Lighthouse can help optimize pricing strategies for upsells, package deals, length of stay discounts, and more raising profitability while maintaining guest satisfaction.

By strategically enhancing the guest experience, you not only fill rooms in the low season but also drive long-term brand loyalty.

Optimize your presence on OTAs to boost visibility

Online travel agencies (OTAs) serve as pivotal marketing and acquisition channels for hotels, significantly enhancing visibility and driving bookings, especially during the low season.

By listing on platforms like Booking.com and Priceline, you tap into a vast target audience actively seeking accommodation, thereby increasing your exposure beyond your direct marketing and social media efforts to boost sales.

During peak seasons, travelers often book well in advance, with direct bookings a key component of the booking process.

By contrast, in the low season competition intensifies as you and your competitors vie for fewer guests. While your direct channels remain important, this elevates the role of OTAs for reaching potential customers who might otherwise be unaware of a property.

According to recent research, OTAs accounted for approximately 20% of the total travel market and 50% of the online travel market in the US in 2024, underscoring their significant role in consumer booking behavior.

How to optimize your OTA listings in low season

Let’s review some strategies that will help you to effectively leverage OTAs and boost visibility during the low season:

• Optimize OTA profiles: These don’t have to be fixed the whole year round. So ensure your OTA listings feature high-quality, seasonally relevant images and up-to-date information. For instance, showcase winter amenities during colder months, enhancing credibility and relatability.

• Run targeted OTA campaigns: Utilize sponsored ads on OTA platforms to increase visibility among travelers planning their low-season trips. Tailored email campaigns highlighting special offers can also attract previous guests.

• Invest in OTA advertising: Allocate budget to OTA advertising options to promote exclusive deals or packages, making your property stand out from the crowd.

• Use tech tools: Solutions like Lighthouse’s Channel Management for independent hotels will help you manage how you appear on OTAs, keep your listings up to date and adjust tactics effectively, ensuring optimal visibility and occupancy.

By strategically enhancing your presence on OTAs, you can effectively increase bookings during the low season, ensuring sustained revenue and a competitive edge at challenging times of the year.

Ensure competitive room rates with a dynamic pricing strategy

A dynamic pricing strategy allows you to adjust your room rates in real time based on demand, market conditions, competitor pricing and other external factors. Unlike static pricing, which remains fixed, dynamic pricing ensures that rates are always optimized to attract guests while maximizing revenue.

This approach is particularly beneficial in the low season, as it helps you remain competitive and capture price-sensitive travelers who may otherwise book elsewhere.

Implementing dynamic pricing isn’t just about adjusting room rates; it also applies to add-ons, amenities and packages. For instance, let’s consider:

• Room rates: If you lower prices slightly during the slow season, you can drive occupancy, then switch them back up for high-demand dates.

• Upgrades and amenities: Offering discounted spa treatments, meal packages or late check-outs during off-peak times should encourage on-site spending.

• Special packages: By introducing bundled deals that combine accommodation with local experiences, you create a more appealing value proposition.

How to set low-season rates with dynamic pricing

Make sure to protect your margins with guardrails. Set a minimum rate so low-season discounts never undercut your costs or drag down your average daily rate (ADR), and check price changes against your occupancy targets. Track competitor rates for the same dates, so you can see whether your price is out of line with the market.

To execute a dynamic pricing strategy successfully without drowning in manual work, you need a price recommendation tool like Lighthouse’s Pricing Optimization. By accessing data like forward-looking demand, competitor rates and historical booking patterns, the tool enables real-time room price adjustments that keep you ahead of the market and maximize revenue, no matter the demand conditions.

This approach to pricing not only drives more bookings during low-demand periods, but optimizes revenue overall – again, while maintaining rate integrity.

Adjust your marketing strategy to target SMERFs and other groups

SMERFs – an acronym for social, military, educational, religious and fraternal groups – represent a valuable and often neglected audience for hotels, especially during the low season.

Unlike leisure travelers, these groups often have fixed travel schedules for conferences, reunions, retreats and training sessions. If you can identify these patterns, tapping into them can offset some of the seasonal dips in demand you experience.

SMERF groups tend to book in bulk, often reserving blocks of rooms well in advance. This not only helps maintain occupancy during slow periods but also increases ancillary revenue through catering, meeting space rentals and extended stays.

SMERFs are typically budget-conscious but reliable, potential loyal customers, making them an ideal market segment if – as you should be! – you’re focused on sustaining revenue during off-peak months.

How to attract SMERF groups

There are many ways to attract SMERFs; here’s a flavor of the strategies at your disposal:

• Identify key groups: So that you can target these guests more effectively, research local event calendars, business conferences and community organizations to find groups planning off-season travel.

• Tailor your messaging: Adjust marketing materials to highlight amenities that appeal to specific groups, such as discounted meeting spaces, group dining options or free shuttle services.

• Leverage the right channels: Use targeted email campaigns, LinkedIn for corporate events and Facebook groups for social or religious gatherings. Establishing partnerships with local event planners can also increase your hotel’s visibility.

By actively marketing to SMERFs and other group travelers, you can secure consistent bookings during the low season, drive incremental revenue and build long-term relationships with repeat customers.

Know when your low season is and plan accordingly

Understanding when your hotel’s low season occurs – and how it can fluctuate – is crucial for protecting your revenue and making informed business decisions.

A hotel’s off-peak period isn’t always a uniform drop in demand; there may be microspikes, such as long weekends, local events or school breaks that can still drive bookings.

Pinpointing these patterns helps you implement targeted pricing, special promotions, email marketing and other marketing strategies to maximize revenue even during generally slower periods.

And this matters. It matters because by accurately identifying your low season, you’re better equipped to:

• Plan revenue-saving strategies in advance: Examples include staffing adjustments and budget allocations.

• Optimize pricing and promotions: This will attract demand when occupancy is low.

• Capitalize on unexpected spikes: Prepare targeted offers for short bursts of increased bookings.

How to forecast your low season

Planning relies on prediction and forecasting. So how can you predict low season trends to assess how they’ll affect your revenue and budget accordingly?

To anticipate the impact of the low season, analyze historical booking data, competitor trends and market demand. This will help forecast occupancy levels, expected revenue shortfalls and opportunities to offset losses through strategic pricing and promotions.

Lighthouse analyzes real-time, forward-looking travel search data and other market data to:

• Predict low-season performance and compare against historical data.

• Identify recurring booking trends and demand fluctuations.

• Adjust pricing and marketing efforts proactively to match market demand.

By leveraging data-driven forecasting, you can approach the low season strategically, thereby ensuring consistent revenue flow and mitigating downturns in seasonal business.

Strengthen hotel performance in the low season with better data

Low-season performance doesn’t just affect a hotel’s revenue during off-peak months; it has a direct impact on annual profitability. Unfilled rooms, reduced ancillary spending and lower occupancy rates can create revenue gaps that are difficult to recover from, putting pressure on peak-season performance to compensate.

A well-executed low-season strategy, however, ensures a steady cash flow and maximizes revenue year-round, reducing reliance on high-demand periods to stay profitable.

This further underscores the importance of the right technology in not just weathering the low season, but thriving in it.

Lighthouse’s solutions help you leverage real-time data, competitive insights and demand forecasting to make smarter pricing, distribution and marketing decisions with automation tailored to your needs.

By adopting a data-driven approach, you can maintain occupancy, optimize rates and capture untapped demand, turning the low season from a challenge into an opportunity for sustained success.

If you would like to know more about Lighthouse’s tools and industry leading data sets, contact us today.

Hotel bookings in low season – FAQWhat is low season in the hotel industry?

Low season is the time of year when a hotel’s demand, occupancy and room rates are at their lowest. It’s also called off-season or off-peak. When it falls depends on your destination: beach resorts often slow in winter and ski hotels in summer. Check your own booking history to find yours.

How do you increase hotel revenue in low season?

Combine five tactics: add value with packages and upgrades, boost your visibility on OTAs, adjust rates with dynamic pricing, target SMERF and other group bookings, and forecast your low season early. Together they fill more rooms and raise spend per booking without relying on deep discounts.

How do you increase hotel occupancy in low season?

Give travelers a reason to book now. Offer packages with perks like dining credits or late check-out, refresh your OTA listings with seasonal photos, and market to groups that travel off-peak, such as SMERF groups. Then price by demand, so you lower rates only on the dates that need it.

Should hotels lower rates in low season?

Not across the board. Slightly lower rates can lift occupancy, but blanket discounts erode revenue. Adjust prices date by date based on demand and competitor rates, set a minimum rate you won’t go below, and add value with packages or upgrades instead of discounting alone.

How do you predict your hotel’s low season?

Start with your own booking data from past years to see when occupancy dips, then compare it with competitor rates and market demand for the coming months. Look for short spikes too, such as long weekends, local events and school breaks. Use these patterns to plan staffing, budgets, pricing and promotions early.

Which hotel revenue management features support dynamic pricing with guardrails like minimum rate and occupancy targets?

Look for minimum and maximum rate limits, occupancy targets that raise or lower prices as rooms fill, and demand forecasting that anticipates busy and quiet dates. Competitor rate tracking and the ability to review or override price changes also matter. Together these keep automated pricing within limits you’re comfortable with.

Femke Nollet

Femke Nollet is a content specialist, passionate about helping independent hoteliers thrive. With a passion for visual storytelling and industry insights, Femke translates complex trends into practical strategies so hoteliers have the tools to navigate the evolving digital landscape.

About Lighthouse

Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight) is the leading commercial platform for the travel & hospitality industry. We transform complexity into confidence by providing actionable market insights, business intelligence, and pricing tools that maximize revenue growth. We continually innovate to deliver the best platform for hospitality professionals to price more effectively, measure performance more efficiently, and understand the market in new ways.

Trusted by over 65,000 hotels in 185 countries, Lighthouse is the only solution that provides real-time hotel and short-term rental data in a single platform. We strive to deliver the best possible experience with unmatched customer service. We consider our clients as true partners – their success is our success.

Source: View the original article at Lighthouse.