Most owners of guest houses and small hotels have the same argument with themselves: should we put a price on the website, or leave people to ask? The fear is understandable. A price can scare the guest, and a competitor can see it and undercut it. On the other side is the practical fact that every “how much does it cost” question takes up your time and the guest’s patience. This article is about how the guest reads a “from” price and when the decision to show it is the right one.
What the guest sees when they see “from €80”
The guest does not read the price as a number. They read it as an answer to the question “Can I afford this?” That is why “from” is a useful word: it says that there is a starting point and that there will be variations. People usually understand “from” as the lowest price in the cheapest season for the smallest room. If that is true, the guest accepts it calmly and keeps reading. If the lowest price applies on two Tuesdays in January, while in summer the usual price is twice as high, the guest will notice at the first enquiry and will feel misled.
The first rule follows from this: “from” must be an honest starting point, not bait. It is better to write “from €80” for a price that actually occurs often than “from €50” for a price that is almost never available.
Why “ask for a price” puts people off
When there is no price, the guest does not know whether it is €60 or €200. Nor do they know whether the price is the same for everyone or depends on the mood of whoever answers. Some people will write to you. Others will open the next property and compare there, where the price is visible. Nothing indicates that they would have refused your price. They simply do not want to take a step before they know whether it is worth it.
There are cases where “ask for a price” is honest: a whole house for a group, an event, a wedding or a room with an individual package. There the amount really does depend on conditions that cannot be described with a single figure. But for an ordinary room for two nights this is not so, and the guest senses it.
What you gain and what you risk with a “from” price
You gain three things.
- A guest who sees the price and still writes asks more often about specific dates. Enquiries are less “how much is it, I’m just asking” and more “we want these dates”.
- You reduce the repeated question about the price, which you would otherwise answer by phone or message in the same way each time.
- You show that you have nothing to hide. This is part of the trust the guest builds even before they have called you.
You also risk three things.
- Competitors will see your price. That is true, but they can find it in other ways too, and for people who are hesitating, a visible price often decides.
- The “from” price may turn out to be lower than what the guest later hears. If the difference is large, trust drops.
- If you change your prices and the old amount is left on the website, you will have an unpleasant conversation. That is why the price on the page should be made easy to update, without waiting for someone.
How to write a “from” price so that it does not mislead
A good indicative price has four parts: what it is for (room, number of guests), what it includes (breakfast or not), from when to when it applies, and what the final amount depends on. For example: “double room from €80 a night with breakfast, outside the busiest dates; at weekends and on public holidays the price is higher”. This way the guest gets both a figure and an honest explanation of why it is not final.
Also think about a few everyday things.
- If you have three types of room, show a “from” price for each room separately, not one overall price for the whole property. The overall price is the most misleading.
- If the price depends mostly on the season, write “from” for the low season and “to” for the high season. A range says more than a single figure.
- If there is a minimum number of nights in some periods, say so next to the price, not further down the page.
- Check how it reads on a phone. There the guest does not scroll through the page or look for “Terms”.
When not to show a price
If half of your rooms are sold at an individual price, if you offer only packages for groups, or if you do not know what you will charge next season, it is better not to write a number. In that case replace it with something else: say who the property is suitable for, what is included and how to ask for a quote.
A short check before you decide
Ask yourself three questions. If a guest contacts you by phone and asks “how much is a room for two”, do you have an answer in one sentence? If so, write it on the website. Can your price change without the website changing? If not, think about how you will maintain it. And finally: has anyone ever said to you “I saw €80 on your website, and now you are telling me 120”? If there has been such a person, the problem is not the price itself but the way it is written.
Where the website fits in
If you run the website yourself, the most practical approach is for the price to be part of the room description, not a separate page with a table. That way the guest sees it together with the photos and decides at a glance. ISKA Website shows the rooms with photos and a “from” price, and showing the price is optional. The website is offered by individual quote, and an enquiry from the form is not a reservation: it does not hold a room.
What to do this week
- Open your website on a phone and try to find a price for one room. If it takes you more than a few seconds, it takes the guest even longer.
- Note down where the most frequent enquiry about the price comes from, and write the answer as text on the page.
- Decide whether the number you are going to write is an honest starting point. If you are hesitating, choose the higher number: it is more pleasant to surprise the guest with a lower price.
- After a month, look at the enquiries: have they become more specific, or are the same people writing to you with more questions?