by Daniela Derin
June started with a problem I wasn’t prepared for.
By the second week, it was clear: our regular North European families—the ones who’d booked our apartments year after year—simply weren’t coming. The bookings that should have been flowing in were gone. And I remember the exact moment I realized how serious it was: I had occupancy dropping in real time, and no clear reason why.
Later, we’d figure it out. The European economy hit families hard. And paradoxically, the summer weather up north was actually good—which meant families had less reason to fly south. But in early June, all I knew was this: our most reliable guests had evaporated, and I had the 40% of 110 apartments to fill.
That’s when I made a decision that surprised me by how quickly it paid off.
The moment I spotted opportunity in the data
I started seeing Airbnb and Booking.com from East of Europe—a pattern emerging from an entirely different part of Europe.
Eastern European markets were lighting up. Searches and bookings from Prague, Warsaw, Sofia, Bucharest, and Latvia were increasing. People were looking and booking. They were interested.
What fascinated me most was the speed. Within days of noticing this trend, I realized: these weren’t just random searches. This was real, concentrated demand from specific cities—cities that all had something in common: direct flights to Málaga.
Geography + demand + accessibility = opportunity.
So I did something I hadn’t done before. I launched Meta campaigns—Facebook and Instagram ads—specifically targeting those five cities with one clear message: sun, beach, gastronomy, and healthy lifestyle.
Not “book now.” Not “cheapest rates.” Just: come experience Marbella
The price conversation I didn’t want to have
Here’s where the hardest decision of June comes in: pricing.
To fill that empty 40% while competing in markets we’d never actively targeted before, we had to lower prices. Between 20-30%. But only on 40% of our inventory in June.
That hurt. I’m not going to pretend it didn’t. Every property manager knows that conversation with themselves: Do I hold the line on price and watch occupancy drop? Or do I discount and keep the lights on?
I chose volume. Because empty apartments generate zero revenue. Discounted apartments at least generate something—and they keep your operation running, your team employed, your reputation intact.
Looking at the numbers now, it was the right call. June 2025 was 69.7% occupancy. June 2026, despite the price cuts, we hit 72%—actually higher than the year before. We went from 420 bookings to 448. We added 28 more bookings while our regular market disappeared.
But we paid for it in margin. That’s the trade-off I made.
What happened next was the real story
The Eastern European campaigns worked. Not just in June—they carried momentum through mid-July. Direct bookings from Prague, Warsaw, Sofia, Bucharest, and Latvia kept coming. People who saw our sun-and-gastronomy message on Facebook clicked through to our website and booked directly with us. Not through Airbnb. Not through Booking. Straight to Skol.
That distinction matters more than people realize.
When someone books through a platform, the platform owns the relationship. They own the guest’s data, the review, the repeat booking opportunity. When someone books direct from your website after seeing your ad, you own all of that.
The campaigns worked because we targeted something specific: cities with direct flights to Málaga. We didn’t waste budget on places where logistics were complicated. We found the overlap between where people were and how they could reach us.
And we spoke their language—not literally, but culturally. Sun and beach and good food and wellness. That resonates across Europe, but especially when you’re coming from gray, cold cities.
What this taught me about adaptation
What surprised me most was how quickly the market responded. Within days of launching the campaigns, we started seeing direct bookings from those countries. It wasn’t a slow build. It was almost immediate proof that we’d identified a real need.
And here’s what I’m doing differently as we head into the autumn-to-Christmas season: I’m not waiting. I’m not watching analytics passively. I’m running the same campaigns proactively to Ireland, England, and Scandinavian countries—the northern markets where autumn rain is setting in. But this time, I’m adding Eastern Europe into the mix from day one.
And I’m not just repeating what worked in June. The message is different. Instead of summer beach vibes, it’s autumn sunshine—come escape the rain and enjoy Mediterranean warmth with good food and healthy living.
Same regions. Same targeting. Different season, different angle.
The lesson: when you discover a market works, don’t treat it as a one-time solution. Build it into your strategy. Adapt the messaging to the season. Make it repeatable.
The uncomfortable truth about being dependent on one market
June forced me to confront something I’d been avoiding: we’ve been relying heavily on one guest profile—North European families and digital nomads who booked in predictable patterns. When that market evaporated, I had to scramble.
The property managers who panic are the ones who have no Plan B. The ones who thrive are the ones who diversify—who know their data well enough to spot opportunity when the primary market falters.
Eastern Europe wasn’t my Plan B because I had one. They were my Plan B because I was paying attention to the numbers.
If I faced the same scenario next summer—and honestly, based on October, I might—I’d be ready. I’d start the campaigns earlier. I’d have multiple markets warmed up before peak season even begins. And I wouldn’t wait until crisis mode to diversify.
Because that’s really what June taught me: adaptability isn’t something you do in an emergency. It’s something you build into how you operate.
About the Author
Daniela Derin is Holiday Rental Manager at Skol Apartments Marbella, operating 110 beachfront units on Spain’s Costa del Sol. She specializes in direct booking strategies and has built her operation to generate 80% of bookings without platform dependency. Her approach has become a case study in market resilience and guest diversification for vacation rental operators across Europe.
