Das Wohnzimmer

Tell us about your property.

We are Das Wohnzimmer, based in Innsbruck, specializing in rentals and property development. Since 2018, we’ve used short-term rentals initially as an interim solution for some of our real estate projects.

In the meantime, this part of our business has grown, and we now offer nearly 25 accommodations across different standards.

What sets our apartments apart is exactly that: we put a lot of care into making them feel like a true home. Each one is thoughtfully decorated, filled with artwork, vibrant colors, local crafts, and handmade furniture—like custom-blown glass lamps.

Our guest base is mixed. We cater to tourists in the high seasons—summer and winter—and during quieter months like fall and spring, we attract business travelers thanks to trade fairs and events. Many of them stay longer, between two and six months.

About 60% of our bookings come through Airbnb, and 40% through Booking.com.

Smartpricing really stood out because of how tailored the solution is. What convinced me is the idea that pricing works a bit differently for every property—and Smartpricing recognizes and accounts for those subtle differences.

Since when have you been using Smartpricing?

We first discovered Smartpricing at the FAFGA trade fair in 2022 and officially started using it in February 2023, initially with about 10 of our units that fall into a similar price range.

Since then, Smartpricing has proven itself so well that we’re rolling it out across all our accommodations. We’re genuinely very satisfied.

How did you manage pricing before Smartpricing?

Before Smartpricing, everything was done manually. We managed our own calendar and based prices around events and holidays.

We had a general sense of when demand would drop, but basically, like many others, we priced based on gut feeling.

Later, we invested a bit in AirDNA’s insights. Through their market data, we could see how competitors were pricing and used the averages to set our base rates, adjusting prices for each apartment accordingly.

What need or problem were you trying to solve?

Our main goal was automation. Managing pricing was just too time-consuming. Spending several hours every week on it, when a software can actually do it better—that didn’t make sense to me.

We’re not a hotel operation, where you can easily delegate the task to multiple people.

We also wanted to ensure certain key dynamics were reflected in our pricing: that we wouldn’t offer rates too low for bookings far in advance, and that prices would automatically drop as the check-in date approached if necessary.

It was clear to us—and Smartpricing confirmed it—that we had sometimes priced too high in the low season or too low during peak periods.

So, we needed a solution with strong forecasting capabilities, one that could really track what’s happening with demand, events, and competitor occupancy.

What convinced you to choose Smartpricing?

What really convinced us was how personalized the solution is. Right from onboarding, I could see how Smartpricing adapted to our specific location and business—factoring in local events, for example.

I’m also impressed by the approach that pricing isn’t one-size-fits-all; Smartpricing picks up on the nuances that make each property unique.

The use of AI and data analysis really appealed to me, too. When comparing different providers, it was clear I wanted to go with the more advanced technology. Smartpricing’s true AI capability sets it apart from others on the market—it simply does more.

And finally, the cost was another deciding factor. We’d tried quite a few solutions in the automated pricing space, but many providers were priced too high for us to justify. Smartpricing hit the sweet spot.

What results have you achieved with Smartpricing?

We’re selling our rooms better and with less effort—that’s how I’d sum it up.

This year, we had our strongest summer ever in terms of revenue.

That’s where we’ve seen the biggest difference so far—the price per night is significantly higher than what we would’ve set manually. We’ve really benefited from high-demand periods, like long weekends, where there was huge demand.

Have you saved time with Smartpricing?

The time savings are really starting to show now. Since the end of the season, I barely check the system and rarely adjust prices anymore.

At the beginning, I was checking in every couple of days—partly because we started right before the peak winter season, and of course, I wanted to see how things were going.

It’s a big shift at first—you’re tempted to double-check every decision the software makes. But as the results come in, you start trusting it more and more.

Smartpricing in a word (or short phrase)?

AI-based pricing.

Would you ever go back to managing prices manually?

Setting prices by hand is definitely no longer an option. We’d recommend Smartpricing to anyone.