Sherri runs a boutique vacation rental portfolio on a Washington island. It is a premium market, in her words “considered like the Martha Vineyard of the West Coast,” where large five and six bedroom homes book far in advance for summer and the off-season goes quiet. Before we started in July 2024, Sherri set prices herself on top of running every other part of the business.
How we measure this
Sherri added seven listings during the engagement. To show what pricing did on its own, this case study compares only the seven homes that earned revenue throughout the baseline year: identical inventory, one year apart. The whole-portfolio number is below.
The honest part: the first six months were down
Most case studies skip this chapter, so here it is. Holding rate through a quiet island fall and winter costs bookings before it pays off, and the portfolio ran behind the prior year through its first months.
Summer proved the bet. Premium rates held, the following season’s pricing was locked before early bookers could grab the big homes at old rates, and minimum stays protected peak weeks from turnover gaps.
Results, same homes only
On the seven homes active in both years, revenue grew from $627K to $723K, up 15%, with $96K added.
The sharper signal is the market gap. Those homes climbed from a revenue index of 120 to 147 against their market, meaning they now earn nearly one and a half times what comparable listings around them do.
- $627K to $723K, up 15%, on identical homes
- Revenue index vs the market up from 120 to 147
- Premium held through the slow season instead of discounting it away
The whole portfolio
Sherri grew from 11 to 18 listings, and each new cottage launched on the same pricing system from day one, so none of them opened at a guessed rate. Including all of them, revenue went from $1M to $1.8M across the same twelve-month windows.
Where they are now
Sherri is onboarding new cottages and has brought on social media help. She spends her time on guest experience and launches while her revenue manager handles pricing week to week.
“The numbers look great. I’m grateful for the increase in revenue because it’s awesome.”
- Sherri