What is NYC & Brooklyn High/Low Season for Travelers?

[Marcella26]

Hey fellow NY Hosts!  I have a Bed & Brekfast in Brooklyn that I opened this past March 2017.  Since this is my first year hosting in NY (5 years hosting on airbnb total) every month is a learning experience on demand and interest.  This summer, which I'm guessing is high season, I was booked every night 3 weeks in advance and I had my prices high.  October slowed down major for me and November is even slower.  I wanted to know from any NY hosts who have experiencesd hosting through Autumn and Winter if:

1. it drasticaly changes for them every year?  
2. I thought NY is always a year round interest for travelers, but am I wrong?  
3. I'm curious whether simply people do not travel to NY in the cold months so it wouldn't matter if I lower my rates, or...
4. if I lower my rates $10-20 less per night would I then get back to full occupancy?  
5. Is being in Brookyn and not Manhattan a factor?

Any insight you could give I would appreciate and let me know what your busy months and slow months are 🙂

Thanks!

Marcella

[Jacklyn1]

Hello Marcella,

I just wanted to say I am a fellow NYC Co-host and our bookings have slowed down too.

We are in Queens near JFK.

We are normally fully booked 3 - 4 weeks in advance since starting in March 2017.

But now we have a few dates available in November, which is unusual for us. 

I think that there are a couple of factors.  For us, there are more hosts in the area. And I also found this:

According to the NYCEDC hotel occupancy rates drop in November, go back up in December, then fall off a cliff for January and February. They start coming back up in Mid March to normal levels. 

https://www.nycedc.com/economic-data/travel-and-tourism

Let me know your thoughts.

[Califa-Anu0]

Hello, Marcell.

I am interested in doing hosting in my Brooklyn property and have been doing tons of research with the same questions.  Now my biggest concern is the new law that is cracking down on short term rentals.  How are hosts handling that new law?  I have not started hosting as yet but want to make sure it is a safe place to do it.  Any advise? 

[Kim330]

Hi Marcella! I just read your feature in Bushwick Daily - and then saw you here too!

I've been experiencing the same thing. Have been fully booked for almost a year and now since just before Christmas have been incredibly slow.

I've lowered my prices, keep my calendar updated and post on social media yet nothing seems to be improving. I'm also grateful to be a superhost with very positive reviews so I'm not sure what's going on. I attributed some of it to the horrible weather we've been having and I've also read that January is the worst year for booking. Hope things have gotten better for you. 

[Elizabeth1181]

My story seems similar to the above.  I started March 2019 and I live in UWS Manhattan one and a half blocks from the subway.  I only host on weekends and long holiday weekends and have been booked solid all summer through Sept (reserved 3-6 weeks out) with high rates.  But now my Oct-Dec is wide open (even with lowering rates).  Personally I think the summer months are a beast here with the city heat.  I'm pretty shocked people are not wanting to take advantage of crisp fall days and children back in school (less crowds).  

Good to better understand the seasonal trends.  I hope it picks back up in Dec.  Thank you for the landscape.

[Tc9]

Host in NYC for 4 years here,  and in Chicago 3 years before that.  I just moved to Williamsburg from east village,  and this winter has been particularly abysmal for me.  I'm a super host and NY Williamsburg location is right on the train, so either there's that sharp off a drop between Manhattan and Brooklyn,  or it's just that bad this winter.

[Tesha11]

Hello Admirable super hosts I just started and these conversations are helpful in terms of expectations. Can I ask if Ian not fully booked for July and august by now should I expect this to be the norm?