Boarding revenue is concentrated. Three weeks a year — Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Year, and Spring Break — typically deliver 25–35% of annual boarding revenue. Pricing those weeks at the same rate as a random Tuesday in February is leaving real money on the table.
Static peak pricing — "all stays during the marked weeks are $X" — is simple, easy to communicate, and easy to enforce. Dynamic pricing — "rate goes up X% as occupancy passes 70%" — captures more revenue but creates a worse client experience and a billing nightmare. Most operators land on static pricing for peak weeks.
Start with your standard rate. Peak weeks: +15% on weekday rate, +25% on weekend rate, +35% on holiday days themselves. So a $42/night standard becomes $48 weekday, $52 weekend, $57 on Christmas Eve. The math works without scaring people, and the holiday-day surcharge captures the highest-demand single nights.
The clients who were going to grumble about peak pricing were already going to grumble. The clients who matter understand and book early.
Publish them on your site 90 days before the peak week. List them in the booking confirmation. Include a single line: "Holiday weeks book up early. Reserve by [date] for guaranteed availability." The transparency is the point.
Peak weeks: 3-night minimum. Some operators go to 5-night for Christmas. The minimum protects you from one-night bookings that block a slot a 7-night booking could have used. The minimum is also why peak weeks book solidly instead of in fragmented pieces.
For your top 10–15% of recurring clients (FurPlan members or equivalent), waive the holiday surcharge or apply a smaller surcharge (+5% instead of +15%). The lifetime value of those clients is wildly higher than the marginal peak-week revenue, and the loyalty signal pays back across the year.
Pair this with consistent photo updates and a strong exit bath upsell.
Animal Friends OS supports per-date pricing rules and member-tier overrides. See boarding software.
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