A major festival is approaching, but a property manager still has gaps in the calendar. Should they lower the nightly rate to secure bookings, or wait for guests willing to pay more closer to the event? It is a familiar decision in short-term rental pricing across Europe, from trade fairs and concerts to sporting events and city festivals.
Munich’s Oktoberfest provides a timely case study. As of 23 September, 65.8% of available rental nights during the festival had been booked, compared with 71.6% at the equivalent point last year, according to an analysis by PriceLabs. Yet the median rate paid for booked nights had risen 9.2% to $283.90.
The question is whether those higher rates can make up for the nights that remain empty.
Higher rates are only just offsetting lower occupancy
PriceLabs projects that occupancy could finish at around 73.3%, down from 79% in 2025, if late bookings follow last year’s pattern. On that basis, revenue per available rental night would reach an estimated $208.10, compared with $205.40 last year: an increase of just 1.3%.
That is a projection, not a final result. Oktoberfest runs until 4 October, and the remaining bookings will determine how the season actually performs.
For managers, the narrow gap matters more than the headline rate increase. Charging more per booked night may compensate for weaker occupancy, but it provides little cushion if late demand disappoints. Revenue per available rental night is also a measure of revenue, not profit; it does not account for operating costs.
The weekend and the weekday are different markets
Festival-wide averages conceal a more useful pricing signal. Friday and Saturday nights were, on average, 74.5% booked, compared with 61.9% for Sunday through Thursday. Despite that difference in demand, the median advertised weekend rate was only around 10% higher than the weekday rate.
That pattern is relevant well beyond Munich. Demand for a conference, concert or sporting event rarely spreads evenly across every night. Applying the same price increase to the entire event period may leave money on the table on peak nights while making quieter nights harder to sell.
The PriceLabs analysis also found that guests who booked early paid more on average than those who booked later, particularly for quieter dates. That does not establish a rule that managers should always cut prices as an event approaches. It does show why they need to track which nights remain available and the rates at which bookings are actually being made. The prices still visible on unsold listings do not necessarily reflect what guests have paid.
A weaker year-on-year comparison may be a calendar effect
The final weekend of this year’s Oktoberfest is booking noticeably behind last year’s. But the comparison needs context: Germany’s Unity Day fell on a Friday in 2025, creating a three-day weekend. In 2026, it falls on a Saturday.
Some of the apparent weakness may therefore reflect the calendar rather than a change in underlying demand. For any recurring European event, comparing the same dates is not enough. Managers also need to compare equivalent weekdays and account for public holidays.
Munich’s figures do not predict what will happen at other events or in other cities. They do, however, sharpen a decision every short-term rental manager faces: when bookings arrive slowly, which nights still justify a higher rate, and which need a different approach? Occupancy alone cannot answer that question. Neither can the advertised nightly rate. The more useful measure is what each available night ultimately earns.
Source: Rental Scale-Up by PriceLabs, “Oktoberfest 2026: Munich Short-Term Rentals Book Slower but Earn More”. Booking data cited above was available as of 23 September 2026.
