What is 'the snowball effect'

What is the Snowball Effect?

When it comes to setting prices and managing availability in holiday cottage letting, there are a couple of key factors that can be tricky to explain. Let me break it down:

The more bookings you add to your calendar, the greater your chances of securing additional bookings around those dates. This is what I call the ‘snowball effect’.

Once a property starts filling up, it becomes easier to sell the remaining gaps. Guests browsing your calendar experience a ‘fear of missing out’ and are more likely to book impulsively when they see limited availability. Rather than viewing each week as an isolated sale, it’s important to focus on your total annual rental income. If your calendar appears too open, potential guests may hesitate, assuming there’s no urgency to book.

The hardest bookings to secure are the first few. But as availability tightens, filling the remaining spaces becomes significantly easier. Think of it as exponential growth—each booking increases momentum.

Pricing too high from the start can leave you with empty weeks, making it harder to build that momentum. But once you gain traction, bookings tend to snowball.