There are several ways to make your vacation rentals more appealing. Though, without implementing marketing strategies for your vacation rentals, you will never see all the results. If you have recently entered the short-term rental market, here are 7 vacation rental marketing tips to help you ensure that your new venture is a success.
List Properties on Multiple Listing Channels
If you do not know where to start, list your vacation rental on different platforms, such as Airbnb, Vrbo, HomeAway, etc. Ensure that your actual property listings are complete and engaging. In other words, add detailed information and high-quality photos that showcase your property from its best perspective. You can also optimize your listings further by using SEO principles that will help your Airbnb ranking and boost organic traffic.
Promote Properties via Social Media
Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, in particular, can be used very effectively for vacation rental marketing. You can begin by creating a business page on Facebook for your properties. On this page, you can share information about your properties and useful tips, recommendations and other engaging travel-related content for your target audience.
If you want to target younger travellers, Instagram can be very effective. It is a great platform to add photos and videos that show off all the amenities that your properties boast. Whichever social media platforms you select, it is key that your photos and videos are high-quality. Luckily, there are many photo editing apps available that will help you to enhance your photos to show the full potential of your properties.
Use Offline Marketing Too
While everything has become more digital, business cards and flyers are still a reliable medium for your Airbnb marketing strategy. You can also partner with local businesses, such as restaurants and equipment rental businesses, to attract more domestic travellers. Not only will you attract more guests, but you will be helping other community members too. It is a win-win for your neighbourhood!
Get Reviews and Testimonials
Do not underestimate the value of word-of-mouth advertising. To this day, it remains one of the most trusted forms of marketing. On top of that, it is the least expensive. As you simply have to ask your previous guests to leave a review, it really is one of the most budget-friendly vacation rental marketing ideas. Though, not many guests are so kind as to leave a review. Therefore, it is a good idea to send them a post-departure email in which you include a link to a review site like TripAdvisor.
Reach Out to Your Target Audience
In addition to being active on social media, it also pays to get active on vacation rental forums. You can also approach local tourism websites and tourism boards for recommendations. This will help you to boost your visibility amongst potential guests.
Optimize Your Pricing
A key step in any vacation rental marketing plan is to research your competitors. You can either browse vacation rental websites or invest in a tool to help you collect data about the occupancy rate and average rate of similar properties. In the beginning, it is a good idea to set your rate slightly lower and then once you have received a couple of good reviews, you can begin to increase your price slightly. You will also want to adjust your price often so that it is in line with the current demand.
Create Special Offers and Offer Extra Services
Offering special offers, especially during the off-season, can help you when you experience a decrease in bookings. For the best results, create these special offers a couple of months before your slow season is set to start. You can continue to promote this discounted rate on the different booking channels, but also be sure to reach out to past guests. If you have decided to use a local partnership, you can also create a special discount to create a mutually beneficial joint venture.
Vacation Rental Marketing in a Nutshell
Begin marketing your short-term rental properties by creating engaging property listings and listing those on various listing platforms. While listing channels like Airbnb and Vrbo already attract substantial traffic, you will need to expand your focus and apply creativity. After all, why invest time and effort into your properties if you are not going to invest in vacation rental marketing too?