For years the rhythm was predictable: a frantic high season, then months of near-empty rooms. A growing number of guesthouse owners now say that model no longer works.
Instead, they are courting travellers who arrive in the shoulder months, when prices are gentler and the islands feel less crowded.
The shift changes how businesses hire and stock. Steadier occupancy can mean year-round jobs, but it also demands sharper cash management and marketing that never quite switches off.
Whether the strategy holds depends on forces beyond any single island — flight capacity, exchange rates and the plans of visitors half a world away.
