Tis the Season!
For most pet businesses there is a seasonality to the business cycles. This is actually one of the reasons that dog daycare became so popular. The peak season for daycare was a great fit to low seasons of dog boarding so kennels began adding the service. Keep reading for tips on how creating a calendar of your business seasons can actually increase your revenue.
Most of you know that we feel pet care service providers offer too many and too high of discounts. Especially multiple pet discounts that tend to benefit the client much more than your business. In dog daycare each pet takes a limited spot in your space and staff ratios that you could sell to a client paying full rates.
The one time you will hear us recommending discounts or specials is during slow periods for specific services. If you are paying for the space and staff anyway getting another pet in the door at a discounted rate does help your business and your client.
Anticipating these slow periods and having special offers prepared in advance allows you to increase revenue when it is really needed. One of the best ways to do this is to create a seasonality calendar for your business.
Step 1: Define your Seasons
- Holiday or High Peak Season
- Regular or Moderate Season
- Slow or Low Season
Step 2: Define Seasons by Key Services Offered
- Dog Daycare
- Lodging
- Training
- Grooming
Step 3: Chart your Seasons by Service on a Calendar
- For holidays define the number of days before and after the holiday that are busy or high peak for you
- Assign a color for each season so peak and slow periods stand out for each service
Any month that is low season for two of your key services is a great opportunity to host a pet event that will generate extra visits. Another option is to offer a bonus for bookings during this time of year with those services (e.g., discounted departure bath for lodging stays or discounted nail trim or brush-out for daycare visits).
A seasonality calendar provides a visual snapshot of your business cycles so you can create a strategy in advance to minimize the financial impact. For those with a lot of courage you can even set your prices based on the business season.
This is a common strategy used by hotels, resorts and airlines, but less common in pet care. Some businesses do charge a peak holiday boarding rate, but few have three rate tiers for high, moderate and low seasons. The question is whether the rates would change the behavior of enough clients to book in low season to save money. This is a trend to watch as pet care rates increase and businesses focus on improving their overall occupancy rates.
