August 2025 was a turning point for my STR portfolio. Not because I acquired new properties or launched a marketing campaign, but because I fundamentally changed how I price guests.
The result: $47,890 in additional revenue from identical bookings.
Here's exactly how it happened, with real numbers and specific examples.
August 2025 Results Summary
The Setup: Same Properties, Different Approach
My portfolio consists of 17 luxury villas in Da Nang, Vietnam. Here are three representative properties:
- 5BR Horizon Villa: Beachfront mansion, typically $1,666/night
- 6BR Seaside Reserve: Premium beachfront villa, typically $1,571/night
- 3BR Oceanic Suite: Coastal sanctuary, typically $1,079/night
In July 2025, I was using standard seasonal pricing across all 17 properties. High season, low season, weekend premiums. Every guest booking the same dates saw identical rates—whether they were browsing on a $3,000 MacBook Pro from Singapore or an Android phone from Ho Chi Minh City.
August changed everything.
The Behavioral Pricing Implementation
Instead of pricing dates, I started pricing guests. The ApexAlpha system analyzes 140+ behavioral signals in real-time:
Key Signal Categories:
Device Intelligence
- • iPhone Pro Max: +69% premium indicator
- • MacBook Pro: +143% willingness to pay
- • Android budget: Standard pricing
Geographic Signals
- • Singapore/Hong Kong: +43% premium
- • Australia/UK: +28% premium
- • Regional traffic: Standard rates
Real Examples: Same Villa, Different Rates
Let me show you three actual bookings for my 5BR Horizon Villa on the same weekend in August:
Booking #1: Singapore Executive
$2,893/nightSignals: iPhone 15 Pro Max, Singapore IP, LinkedIn referral, fast booking decision (<2 minutes)
Original rate would have been: $1,666/night • Additional revenue: $1,227/night
Booking #2: Australian Family
$2,133/nightSignals: iPad Pro, Melbourne IP, direct website visit, multiple property comparisons
Original rate would have been: $1,666/night • Additional revenue: $467/night
Booking #3: Local Weekend Guest
$1,666/nightSignals: Android device, Vietnam IP, price comparison behavior, longer decision time
Rate maintained: Standard pricing applied • Additional revenue: $0
Same villa. Same weekend. Three different guests paying what made sense for their profile.
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The Full Month Breakdown
Here's how the $47,890 additional revenue broke down across my top-performing properties:
What Surprised Me Most
Three insights from this experiment shocked me:
- No guest complaints: Zero feedback about pricing. Guests saw rates within their expected range.
- Higher satisfaction scores: Premium guests who paid more actually left better reviews.
- Referral increase: High-value guests referred similar travelers, creating a quality spiral.
The system wasn't gouging anyone—it was simply matching price to value perception.
September Results (Spoiler Alert)
As I write this, September is tracking even higher. The system learns guest patterns and becomes more precise over time.
Current projection: $58,000+ additional revenue for September.
The difference between $1,666/night and $2,893/night isn't luck—it's understanding that a Singapore executive and a budget traveler have fundamentally different value perceptions.
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Read Article →Singapore Executive vs. Backpacker
Deep dive into why different guests should see different rates for identical properties.
Read Analysis →About the Author
Leon Freier
CEO & Founder, ApexAlpha
German entrepreneur who moved to Vietnam with a one-way ticket and built DaNangBeachVillas.com into the premier luxury villa operator in Da Nang. Experienced first-hand how existing pricing tools fail by pricing calendars instead of guests, leading to the creation of ApexAlpha to solve his own business needs.