At certain times of year, hotels enter a kind of purgatory between seasons, when demand is softer than during high season but stronger than during low season.
Shoulder seasons don’t always get the attention they deserve, especially since they often arrive when hoteliers are either recovering from peak season or gearing up for the next one.
But there can be significant potential to boost performance. A strong shoulder season can help offset downturns during low season and make a meaningful difference to annual results.
So, how do you make the most of shoulder season? Here are some insights and strategies to consider.
Start by Defining Your Shoulder Seasons
Typically, shoulder season occurs twice a year, between peak and low seasons.
But there’s no universal shoulder-season calendar. In parts of the Northern Hemisphere, for example, this may fall in October and November after the summer peak and again in April and May before summer gets underway.
In the Southern Hemisphere, seasonal patterns occur at different times of year, while in tropical destinations, demand may be shaped more by wet and dry seasons than by spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Shoulder-season dates can also vary by destination and accommodation type. Even hotels in the same region may experience different patterns. A mountain resort, beach hotel, and city-center hostel can have very different peaks and valleys in demand.
For any property or hotel group, the important thing is to identify periods when demand typically transitions between high and low season, map them on your annual calendar, and develop customized revenue strategies around them.
Learn more: Seasonal Hotel Prices: How to Set the Prices
Price Dynamically Throughout the Season
When demand slows, it’s tempting to wind down your pricing activity too. But if you set a seasonal rate in September and leave it there until November, you’re leaving revenue on the table.
Demand fluctuates day to day during shoulder season, often more than it does at peak. When you’re near full, every date looks the same. When you’re at 60%, the difference between a Tuesday and a Friday is real money.
Dynamic pricing means adjusting rates as demand changes: lower to stimulate bookings when demand is soft, higher to capture more when it’s strong.
Start by setting a base rate for each room type over the season, plus a floor and a ceiling you’re comfortable with. The floor matters most. It’s what stops a quiet Tuesday from turning into a rate you’ll regret when the OTAs cache it.
Then adjust from there based on demand, booking pace, and what’s happening in your market. If you’re doing this by hand, you won’t get to every date, so prioritize. Focus on the next three to four weeks, your weekends, and any dates with local events. Those are where the movement is.
Learn more: Hotel Dynamic Pricing: Everything You Need to Know in 2026
Update Demand Forecasts Regularly
Demand forecasts can be a tremendous help with dynamic pricing, providing a day-by-day projection of future demand for rooms.
A demand forecast takes into account the many factors that influence demand, such as historical patterns, rooms on the books, booking pace, holidays and events, and market conditions.
It helps identify periods when demand is strong and there may be an opportunity to increase rates, as well as periods when demand is soft and you may need to lower rates or launch a promotion to stimulate bookings.
Throughout the shoulder season, update your forecast and review your pricing regularly. Once a week, look at the next 30 days, compare where you are now against where you were at the same point last year, and act on the gaps. This will help ensure your pricing stays aligned with changing demand.
Learn more: Complete Guide to Hotel Demand Forecasting
Target Shoulder-Season Travelers
The mix of travelers often changes during shoulder seasons, so you’ll want to adjust your marketing and pricing strategies to target the most active segments.
Depending on your property and destination, this may include:
- Business travelers: People coming to town for sales calls, customer visits, or meetings and conferences.
- Off-season leisure travelers: People traveling outside peak periods to avoid crowds, high prices, and extreme weather.
- Event attendees: People attending concerts, festivals, reunions, weddings, birthday celebrations, or other special events.
- Blended or “bleisure” travelers: People combining business and leisure, such as extending a work trip for some R&R or adding remote-work days to a vacation.
- Weekend leisure travelers: Couples, families, or friends taking a quick escape, often within driving distance or a short flight away—or even local residents.
Learn more: Market Segmentation in Hotel Revenue Management
Launch a Shoulder-Season Campaign or Promotion
Much like in low season, hotels often have to work harder to capture bookings during shoulder seasons. And because the mix of market segments may be different, activities should be tailored to the behaviors and preferences of these travelers.
Here are a few ways to capture more shoulder-season business:
- Offer targeted discounts. Travelers may be more rate-sensitive, but rather than extending blanket discounts, create targeted, time-sensitive offers for low-demand dates.
- Target specific traveler types. Customize offers to incentivize desired booking behavior, such as “Stay Three Nights, Pay for Two” to encourage longer stays, an early-bird special to attract advance bookings, or a weekday offer targeted to business travelers.
- Offer value-adds. Instead of always discounting, use value-adds to help protect your average rate, such as free breakfast or parking, early check-in or late check-out, or a room upgrade.
- Develop seasonal packages. Tailor packages to the season, local holidays, or special events. This might mean a fall- or spring-themed package or bundling rooms with dining credits, spa treatments, or tickets to local events, attractions, or recreational activities.
Learn more: Discounting: What to Offer and When to Maximize Revenue
Monitor Key Revenue Metrics
Many hotels focus on maximizing either occupancy or rates during shoulder season, but another important measure of room revenue performance is RevPAR, or revenue per available room. Because RevPAR incorporates both ADR and occupancy, it helps show how effectively you’re generating room revenue from your available inventory.
Throughout the shoulder season, monitor ADR, occupancy, and RevPAR alongside other important metrics such as rooms on the books (OTB), pickup, average length of stay, and average booking window.
Looking at a broad set of performance metrics will provide a clearer picture of how you’re performing during shoulder season and where there’s room for improvement.
Compare monthly actuals with forecasts and previous years to see how closely performance is tracking expectations and where adjustments may be needed.
Learn more: 7 Leadership Strategies for Hotel Revenue Management Success in 2026
From Shoulder-Season Purgatory to Revenue Heaven
Of course, being RoomPriceGenie, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention that an automated revenue management system (RMS) can make shoulder-season pricing much easier by continually monitoring demand and adjusting rates as conditions change to help you maximize revenue.
And one final note: As shoulder season comes to an end, take time to review your activities and performance. Identify what worked, what didn’t, and what you would do differently next time.
Then document those lessons while they’re still fresh. When the next shoulder season rolls around, you’ll have a stronger strategy ready to go.
To learn how RoomPriceGenie can help your property increase your property’s profitability, start your free trial of our automated pricing solution today!
