Every rate a pricing tool recommends starts from three numbers you set: the base rate, the minimum and the maximum. The base is where an ordinary night starts before the calendar shapes it. The minimum and maximum are the limits no adjustment can cross. Set them from comparables and the rest of the plan has something sensible to work from; set them from a guess and every adjustment inherits the guess.
Start with the right comparables
A median only means something if the listings behind it are like yours. Filter by property type first, then bedrooms, then distance. JokerPrice matches comparables on type, exact bedroom count, optional district and floor area, and real distance within the radius you choose, from 0.5 to 20 km, and it never widens that radius on its own. At least three matching listings collected within the last 24 hours are needed before the market can influence a night's price. The guide to choosing comparables covers radius and spread in more detail.
Reading p25, the median and p75
JokerPrice describes comparable prices with three points: the 25th percentile (p25), the median and the 75th percentile (p75). A quarter of comparables ask less than p25, half ask less than the median, and a quarter ask more than p75. The distance between p25 and p75, the middle half, tells you how much prices agree.
- A narrow middle half means listings like yours compete on similar prices. Small differences in position matter, and a base far from the median needs a reason.
- A wide middle half usually means the comparables are not one product. Look at them on the map: a cluster with private pools, sea views or newer finishes can pull p75 up. Tighten the filters before you trust the median.
- Few comparables make every percentile unstable: with five listings, one change moves the median. Widen the radius a step, keep the type filter, and read the result as a range rather than a number.
You can read these figures for each destination on the pricing data page, by bedroom count on each city report, by district on the district pages, and for your own pin and radius in the revenue calculator.
Asking is not booked
Every one of those figures is an asking price: what listings advertise before fees and discounts. Listings that stay open are, almost by definition, the ones that have not sold yet, so a median of open listings includes nights priced too high to book. That is why JokerPrice calls it the median asking rate and never revenue. Where tracked calendars nearby are mature, the calculator uses the average price of nights that actually closed, the booked-night ADR, instead of the asking median, and says which one it used. When both exist, compare them: a booked ADR well below the asking median tells you the market's asking prices are hopeful. The article asking price is not achieved price explains the method.
Choosing a base
JokerPrice offers two ways to set the base. In fixed mode it uses the base you enter. In market mode it sets the base from fresh nights at the position you pick, the 25th, 40th, 50th, 65th or 75th percentile of comparable prices, rounded to the nearest five riyals and kept within your limits. Market mode needs at least three fresh dates; until then your own base applies.
- Below the median (the 25th or 40th percentile) suits a new listing without reviews, a property with a weaker spot within the radius, or a period when you need bookings more than rate.
- At the median suits a typical listing that matches its comparables on size, finish and reviews.
- Above the median (the 65th or 75th percentile) suits a listing with advantages guests can see in the photos and reviews, such as a private pool or a better view.
Revisit the position as reviews arrive. A listing that books its open nights far ahead at the median is telling you it can sit higher.
Setting the minimum and maximum
The minimum is the price below which you would rather leave a night empty. Work it out from your costs: cleaning, platform fees, utilities and the wear of a stay; the guide from gross to net lists what to include. Last-minute and gap discounts stop at the minimum, so it is also the floor for your late sales.
The maximum is not your hope for an ordinary night; it is the ceiling for your best night of the year. Set it high enough for Eid, the last ten nights of Ramadan in the holy cities or a headline event near you. If your plan shows peak nights held at the maximum, the limit is doing the pricing instead of the market, and it is too low.
When you paste a Gathern, Airbnb or Agoda listing link into the property form, JokerPrice looks the listing up in its stored inventory and, with at least three nearby comparables, suggests a starting point: a base at the comparables' median, a minimum at 0.8 times their 25th percentile (never above the base) and a maximum at 1.6 times their 75th percentile (never below the base). The listing itself never counts as its own comparable. The suggestion is applied only if you choose it, and it is a starting point, not a verdict.
Checklist
- Build the comparable set by type, then bedrooms, then distance, and check there are enough listings in it.
- Read p25, the median and p75 together, and investigate a wide middle half before trusting the median.
- Compare the asking median with booked-night ADR where tracking is mature.
- Choose a position, either a fixed base or a percentile in market mode, and note why.
- Set the minimum from your costs, knowing it is also the floor for late discounts.
- Set the maximum for your best night of the year, and raise it if peak nights reach it.
- Review all three before each season and after your first reviews.