Working within the Algarve’s villa rental space, it’s easy to see the summer peak season as the busiest rush of the year.
While this is the case for many destinations, it doesn’t mean ‘low’ or ‘shoulder’ seasons should be written off.
In fact, there are so many tourists who actually prefer the ‘low’ seasons for a multitude of reasons. Even if the weather doesn’t hit the highs of July and August, there is more peace to be enjoyed outside of these peak months.
At SandyBlue, we can see this trend growing even further. As such, our villa owner partners are also capitalising on the growing number of people who are travelling to the Algarve outside of the summer months.
The growth of low-season bookings
President of the RTA (Algarve Tourism Board), João Fernandes, shared some recent developments on this trend. According to his findings, many companies have reported higher reservations at this time of year compared to the same period in 2019.
Furthermore, passenger numbers landing in the Algarve were a positive record for January and February. This really speaks volumes. January and February are not considered popular times for travel at all. However, it is clear that more people are embracing more unorthodox times to enjoy a getaway to the Algarve. So, what can Algarve property owners do about this?
Understanding markets and the time of year
Every country’s market and audience will need to be approached with a different marketing approach. After all, school holidays differ greatly across the world. Another important factor in this is reaching them with the right messages, at the right time.
For example, Portuguese nationals living in the likes of Lisbon tend to book their Easter getaways much closer to the holiday than a UK audience would. Our marketing and reservations team work closely together to cater to each market and ensure we are attracting their attention at the right time. In turn, our owner partners are seeing a wider pool of guests than ever before. The detailed monthly analysis allows us to draw out these key trends and customer habits.
It’s also about showing guests what they will experience outside of the summer months. It means guests who are usually committed to a summer experience might consider a follow-up trip in the autumn. To ensure the properties are always at their best, our operations team work tirelessly following the peak rental season to have them ready for the post-summer guests. The key is to always be ready!
Open your property doors all year round
We are helping more owners find success outside of the peak summer season, helping them create a villa rental strategy that works 365 days a year. We really do encourage other owners in the Golden Triangle to do the same, as the benefits to them and the Algarve are too good to miss.
By Joe Mountain
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Joe Mountain is founder of Algarve villa rental specialists SandyBlue.
289 392 236 | www.sandyblue.com
