Alaa Elhadi

Revenue Management

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Des Moines, United States

Revenue management consultant and pricing expert in Des Moines

Alaa Elhadi is an independent revenue management consultant for hotels, resorts, Airbnb hosts and property managers in Des Moines. He has optimized 100+ properties in and around the market, and works with you 1-on-1, remotely, in Central Time (UTC-6).

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Working with Alaa in Des Moines, at a glance

Alaa Elhadi is an independent revenue management consultant who works 1-on-1 with hotels, serviced apartments, Airbnb hosts and property managers in Des Moines: pricing strategy, PriceLabs and Wheelhouse setup, hotel revenue consulting and channel optimization. Demand in Des Moines peaks August (State Fair) and is softest January to March, and every plan he builds starts from that calendar.

Ask in the chat, or book a 1-on-1 strategy session from $125. Last updated .

100+

Properties optimized in and around Des Moines

Cornell certified

Master certificate in Revenue Management, 18 years of experience

Central Time

1-on-1 sessions scheduled in your local time

Consultant's view

Alaa's take on Des Moines

“Des Moines is a weekday city with one enormous August. Insurance and financial firms, the State Capitol and Iowa Events Center conventions fill Monday to Thursday, while the Iowa State Fair turns eleven days into the year's peak, especially for homes on the east side near the fairgrounds. I price the fair as its own season, keep business weeknights firm and set winter floors that still cover a February cleaning.”

Alaa Elhadi, revenue management consultant. Cornell certified, 18 years in hotel and short-term rental revenue.

Des Moines at a glance

Busiest
August for the Iowa State Fair, plus June and July event weekends and the Drake Relays in late April.
Quietest
December to February.
Dates to price first
  • The Iowa State Fair
  • The Drake Relays
  • Iowa Events Center conventions and concerts
  • State government and insurance-sector business travel
From Alaa's consulting sessions

How Alaa would price a property in Des Moines

The moves Alaa makes first when a hotel or host in Des Moines books a session, and the errors he corrects most often. Every one is set up inside your own pricing tool, so it keeps working after the call.

Alaa's pricing playbook for Des Moines

  1. 1

    Load the Iowa State Fair dates as soon as they are announced and price them with 2 or 3-night minimums, highest for homes near East University Avenue.

  2. 2

    Treat Drake Relays week in late April as a premium for the Drake neighbourhood, Sherman Hill and downtown.

  3. 3

    Lift weeknights during the legislative session and big Iowa Events Center conventions rather than only on weekends.

  4. 4

    Price the state high school wrestling and basketball tournaments at Wells Fargo Arena in late winter as short spikes inside a quiet season.

  5. 5

    Offer weekly and monthly rates from December to February for relocating insurance staff and contract workers.

Fully outsource your revenue management in Des Moines

Hand the daily pricing and these moves to me and my team, month to month.

Contact me

Mistakes Alaa fixes most in Des Moines

  • Pricing all of August like fair week, when the days either side of the fair fall back quickly.
  • Treating Des Moines as a weekend leisure market and leaving business weeknights underpriced.
  • Ignoring the winter tournament weekends that briefly fill the city in an otherwise slow season.
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Alaa's pricing calendar

How I price Des Moines through the year

Revenue management consultant in Des Moines, United States
  1. January to MarchLow

    Lawmakers, lobbyists and tournament families are the only real buyers, so I keep Sunday to Thursday rates steady for Capitol travel and lift the state wrestling weekend at Wells Fargo Arena on its own.

  2. April to MayShoulder

    Drake Relays and university commencements wake the calendar up; I raise the Relays Thursday to Saturday near the Drake campus and let the rest of spring ride on business demand.

  3. June to JulyHigh

    The Des Moines Arts Festival, the Principal Charity Classic, Iowa Cubs home stands and summer weddings fill weekends, so I hold Friday and Saturday together and keep weekday prices slightly lower for leisure families.

  4. August (State Fair)Peak

    Every one of the eleven fair days gets its own rate; opening weekend and the final weekend usually carry the most, and I avoid letting a single night split a longer fair booking.

  5. September to DecemberShoulder

    The World Food Festival, the IMT Des Moines Marathon and autumn conventions carry October, then I step down after Thanksgiving and push 30-night offers for the coldest weeks.

Where I price Des Moines differently

East Village and Downtown
Steps from the Capitol and the Court Avenue bars, so I price weeknights for government and business guests and add weekend premiums for concerts at Wells Fargo Arena.
Drake, Sherman Hill and Beaverdale
Older houses with character near the university; I lean on Relays week, graduation and visiting parents, and sell the porches and brick to couples on summer weekends.
West Des Moines and Valley Junction
Suburban homes close to the big insurance campuses and Jordan Creek; I price these for corporate weekly stays and families, with only a modest fair uplift.

What I check first in a Des Moines audit

  1. 1Which side of the river and how many minutes by car the home sits from the fairgrounds, because that single fact decides how much of the August premium the property can actually claim.
  2. 2Whether the listing shows parking clearly, since fair guests, wrestling families and business travellers in Des Moines nearly all arrive by car and skip homes with vague street-parking descriptions.
  3. 3Whether the city and state lodging taxes are being collected correctly on direct and platform bookings, so I know the rates I set are the rates the owner actually keeps.
Working with Alaa in Des Moines

A revenue management consultant, pricing expert and hotel specialist for Des Moines

One person does the thinking on your account. Choose the kind of help your property in Des Moines needs; everything is remote, 1-on-1 and scheduled in your time zone.

Hotels & resorts

Hotel revenue management specialist in Des Moines

Des Moines hotels balance corporate accounts from the insurance sector, legislative travel and Iowa Events Center groups against one August that sells itself. From my years in five-star hotel revenue I help set group displacement rules for fair weeks, negotiated rates that do not block peak dates and a comp set split between downtown and West Des Moines.

Packages and pricing

My PriceLabs strategy packages for Des Moines

One-time and 1-on-1 on Zoom, priced by the listings in your account: from $125 to $615.

Every package includes, built for your Des Moines listings

  • Pricing strategy setup and implementation
  • Revenue performance analysis
  • Competitor analysis
  • Gap-night solutions setup
  • Last-minute, early-bird and other promotions
  • Base, minimum and maximum price setup
  • OTA channel pricing optimization
  • Seasonal pricing setup
  • Expert revenue manager assigned to your account
PackageListingsSessionPrice
StarterUp to 2 listings45-minute Zoom session$125
Growth3 to 6 listings60-minute Zoom session$250
Portfolio7 to 10 listings90-minute Zoom session$370
Scale11 to 15 listings90-minute Zoom session$480
Pro16 to 21 listings120-minute Zoom session$615
Enterprise22 or more listings120 to 240-minute Zoom sessionFrom $635
See packages and book

Which package fits your Des Moines portfolio

Starter, $125

One home in East Village and Downtown

I build its seasons, floors and stay rules against its own comparable listings.

Portfolio or Scale, $370 to $480

Listings across several areas

For example Drake, Sherman Hill and Beaverdale plus West Des Moines and Valley Junction: I set each area up separately, with its own comp set, seasons and minimum stays.

22+ listings, from $635

More than 21 listings

The large-accounts calculator shows the exact price and session length for your listing count.

Large-accounts pricing

Questions about your Des Moines property?

Tell me what you run in Des Moines and what is not working. I reply in your time zone.

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Managed Airbnb pricing

Airbnb revenue management for Des Moines

Done for you and month to month: I run your Des Moines short-term rental pricing every week. From $225 a month, priced by listing count with no cap.

What I run for your Des Moines listings

  • Daily rate monitoring and 2-3 price changes a week for listings in East Village and Downtown, Drake, Sherman Hill and Beaverdale, and West Des Moines and Valley Junction
  • Peak rates and minimum stays set early for August (State Fair)
  • Base, minimum and maximum prices, gap nights and last-minute discounts
  • Run in PriceLabs or Wheelhouse, connected to your channel manager
  • Listing, promotions and Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo optimization on Plus
  • Monthly strategy call and a 12-month forecast on Pro; month to month, no lock-in
ListingsCorePlusPro
1 listing$225$305$395
5 listings$565$765$990
10 listings$965$1,305$1,690
25 listings$1,415$1,910$2,475
50 listings$1,865$2,520$3,265

Monthly prices. Managed plans start after the one-time PriceLabs strategy package above, so I build your Des Moines strategy with you first.

See Airbnb management plansAirbnb revenue management

Which managed plan fits your Des Moines rentals

Core, from $225/mo

Managed pricing, run for you every day

For hosts in East Village and Downtown who handle guests and listings themselves and want the pricing done every week.

Plus, from $305/mo

Pricing plus listing and channel optimization

For listings competing in Drake, Sherman Hill and Beaverdale: pricing plus listing content, promotions and channel work on every OTA.

Pro, from $395/mo

Full revenue management with a monthly strategy call

For portfolios across West Des Moines and Valley Junction and beyond, with forecasting, launch pricing for new listings and a monthly call.

Price your exact listing count
Hotel revenue management outsourcing

Hotel revenue management outsourcing in Des Moines

I work as your outsourced revenue manager in Des Moines, priced by property size rather than per room: from $650 a month, after a one-time hotel pricing strategy setup from $750.

What your Des Moines hotel gets

  • Daily rates and restrictions set against a Des Moines comp set
  • Group, event and length-of-stay strategy around August (State Fair)
  • BAR and rate-plan strategy by room type
  • Connected to your PMS and channel manager, no new software to learn
  • OTA, metasearch and direct-booking mix with rate-parity checks on Plus
  • Forecasting, pace reports and a monthly strategy call on Pro
Hotel sizeCorePlusPro
BoutiqueUp to 20 rooms$650$900$1,150
Small21 to 50 rooms$950$1,300$1,650
Midsize51 to 100 rooms$1,400$1,900$2,450
Large101 to 200 rooms$2,000$2,700$3,500
Large & luxury200+ rooms, luxury or multi-propertyCustom quote

Monthly prices, month to month. The one-time setup builds your Des Moines strategy before I take over.

See hotel plansRevenue management outsourcing

Which plan fits your Des Moines hotel

Boutique, from $650/mo

A boutique hotel or guesthouse in East Village and Downtown

Up to 20 rooms: one comp set, daily rates and stay rules, without hiring a full-time revenue manager.

Small or Midsize

A city or resort hotel in Drake, Sherman Hill and Beaverdale

21 to 100 rooms: rate plans by room type, segment mix and event pricing, reported monthly.

200+ rooms or several hotels

Larger, luxury or multi-property in Des Moines

For example a group with hotels in Drake, Sherman Hill and Beaverdale plus West Des Moines and Valley Junction: quoted on size and complexity.

Ask for a custom quote
Consultant, not an agency

Why owners in Des Moines hire Alaa directly

Most revenue problems are strategy problems. They get solved faster by one experienced person who looks at your numbers than by a process.

Cornell certified

Master certificate in Revenue Management from Cornell University, and 18 years of hands-on pricing work.

Hotel chain background

A decade running revenue for international five-star properties before moving into short-term rentals.

5.0 from 1,463 reviews

Client reviews on Fiverr, from single-listing hosts to large portfolios.

You talk to Alaa

No hand-off to a junior account manager. The person who reviews your property in Des Moines is the one who sets the strategy.

Hotel revenue consultantsAirbnb revenue consulting
Insights

Recent notes from Alaa

All insights

Tools and channels I work in for Des Moines properties

  • Revenuenaire Dynamic Pricing
  • PriceLabs
  • Wheelhouse
  • Beyond Pricing
  • DPGO
  • Pricepoint
  • Duetto
  • IDeaS
  • Hospitable
  • Hostaway
  • Guesty
  • OwnerRez
  • Lodgify
  • Smoobu
  • Beds24
  • Hostfully
  • Uplisting
  • Cloudbeds
  • Mews
  • SiteMinder
  • Little Hotelier
  • Opera Cloud
  • RoomRaccoon
  • Airbnb
  • Booking.com
  • Vrbo
  • Expedia
  • Agoda
  • Google Hotel Ads
  • Trivago
  • Tripadvisor
  • Furnished Finder
  • Direct booking website
Services in Des Moines

Everything I do in Des Moines

Sixteen dedicated pages for Des Moines: hotel revenue management and consulting, Airbnb and short-term rental pricing, and optimization for each booking channel.

For hotels and resorts

For Airbnb and short-term rentals

What partners say

Trusted by hosts and managers worldwide

Real feedback from PriceLabs pricing strategy sessions with Alaa.

★★★★★

Savvy adjustments to my dynamic pricing

Alaa is a consummate professional! Patient, thorough, efficient and effective in communicating. He not only made savvy adjustments to my dynamic pricing strategy, but also helped me to understand the reasoning behind his methods, granting me a better understanding of the PriceLabs platform. Strong work!

Airbnb host

★★★★★

Great PriceLabs advice for every property

Alaa was fantastic, going through each of the properties I had and gave great advice and actioned a great game plan. Would highly recommend for anyone looking to enhance their pricing strategy on PriceLabs. Alaa's experience goes beyond this which makes it very beneficial to have this holistic approach.

Property manager

★★★★★

Helped me optimize my PriceLabs

Alaa helped me optimize my PriceLabs settings for my Airbnb listing and was very helpful and patient with answering any questions I had. He was also able to clearly explain why he made the changes he made, and it was obvious that he had a lot of experience in this field. I will definitely be back!

Airbnb host

FAQ

Questions Des Moines owners ask Alaa

How far ahead should I price the Iowa State Fair?

As soon as the dates are confirmed, usually a year out. Many fair families and vendors book early and return every year, so Alaa sets the premium and minimum stay before the calendar opens rather than reacting in July.

Does a West Des Moines or Ankeny home benefit from the fair?

Less than an east-side home, but it still gains from overflow when closer stock sells out. Alaa prices suburban homes a step below fairground-area homes and watches pickup to see how far the demand reaches.

Should I price differently in a caucus year?

When Iowa hosts early presidential caucuses, campaign staff, journalists and volunteers can need rooms for weeks in a normally dead January. I do not assume the effect, because the calendar and party rules have changed over the years, but I watch for inquiries in the autumn before and offer monthly terms when they appear.

Is it worth staying open for the summer weekends outside the fair?

Yes. June and July weekends in Des Moines are busier than many owners expect, with the Arts Festival, golf, Iowa Cubs games, weddings and youth sports. I keep those weekends at a healthy premium so the fair is not the only month doing the work.

Has Alaa Elhadi worked with properties in and around Des Moines?

Yes. Alaa has optimized 100+ properties in and around Des Moines, from single Airbnb listings and small hotels to management companies running hundreds of units. Everything is remote on Zoom, scheduled in Central Time (UTC-6).

How do I start with Alaa in Des Moines, and what does it cost?

Start a chat or book a session online. One-time PriceLabs strategy sessions are priced by your exact listing count from $125; managed plans start at $225 a month; hotel consulting is quoted per property; Revenuenaire Dynamic Pricing software is from $17.99 per listing per month. There is no minimum or maximum portfolio size.

Nearby markets

Other North America markets Alaa consults in

Alaa Elhadi consults for clients worldwide. Reviews and booking history are also visible on his Fiverr profile.

Get started

Want Alaa to look at your Des Moines property?

Tell Alaa what you run and what is not working. You get a straight answer in the chat and a clear next step: a 1-on-1 session, a consulting proposal or managed pricing.

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Instant answers from the assistant, a revenue manager follows up in the same chat.