10 Vacation Rental Marketing Tips [That Anyone Can Do]
“If you list it, they will come.”
As much as vacation rental owners wish that were true, these days just listing your property and then sitting back and waiting isn’t enough. You will need to also wear a marketing hat to help potential guests find—and book—your property.
The good news is you don’t have to hold a marketing degree to succeed at vacation rental marketing. Here are 10 tips for where to advertise short-term rentals to get more bookings.
| You are reading an article from the Marketing section of our Ultimate Vacation Rental Business Guide.
See the other articles in this section below: ➜ Vacation Rental Marketing Tips • How to Write a Winning Vacation Rental Description |
What Is Digital Marketing for Vacation Rentals?
Digital marketing for your vacation rental is any method, strategy, or tool for getting your vacation rental business in front of potential guests. Although digital marketing will be online, there are still some tactics that you can do off the computer.
If you have a vacation rental website, then online marketing is even more crucial for getting noticed. If you don’t have your own website, and have only listed your rental on platforms like Airbnb or VRBO, you can still benefit from a concerted effort to get your listing in front of people.
How to Market Your Short-Term Rental
If people don’t know your vacation rental exists, how will they find and book it? It’s no surprise that there are abundant ways to spend money on advertising for your vacation rental, but there are also plenty of ways to attract new guests without spending much, if anything.
With so many vacation rental channel marketing options, you can pick and choose the ones that fit your goals, target audience, and budget. Take a look at these tips on where to advertise short-term rentals, then start getting your property in front of more potential customers.
1. SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it’s a powerful tactic for getting found when someone is searching online. SEO includes a wide array of techniques to help your property rank higher on Google and other internet search engines.
The following tips will only scratch the surface of what you can do with SEO, but they give you a great starting point. (Hint: these are all free too.)
- Claim all the online business listings you can for your property (Google My Business page, Facebook Page, a Bing business listing, TripAdvisor, etc.).
- Include potential search terms in your listing title and description. Keywords may include things guests will search for that are relevant to your location, such as major landmarks, tourist attractions, and local events.
- If you have a website for your vacation rental, make sure it is mobile-friendly and also includes relevant keywords.
2. Website
In today’s internet-driven market, a business without a professional quality website can fall behind. Yes, you can list your vacation rental property on other sites, but consider what your own website can do for you. Potential guests can find out who you are, the kind of properties you have to offer, and how to get in touch with you.
With a blog, you can add valuable content which helps with SEO and to build your brand. A website can help show others that you are the real deal, not just someone listing an extra room as a side hustle.
3. Social Media
Chances are you’re one of the 2.8 billion people in the world who use social media. With so many people on social media networks, it can be a powerful vacation rental marketing tool—and costs you nothing.
Share photos, interesting tidbits about the area around your rental property, promotions or discounts you may be running, or traveling tips. Really, the sky’s the limit when it comes to social media. You can use it as a communication tool to speak with potential guests and reply to inquiries. It can also raise brand awareness, improve booking conversions, and strengthen brand identity.
If trying to run social media campaigns and run your vacation rental business stretches your time and resources too thin, Grand Welcome Franchise got your back. List on Other Sites
While there are many reasons to have your own website, many vacation rental owners also list their property on other vacation rental sites to complement what they’re already doing. It’s another way to market your property and increase awareness. Several travel sites, like Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, and Tripadvisor only charge when guests make a reservation, so it costs you nothing to list. It’s a great way to build your brand, attract guests from all over the world, and get more bookings.
5. Content Marketing
Content marketing is more than a buzzword; it’s the process of creating valuable content that captures a target audience and publicizes your brand at the same time.
For example, what if a traveler searched online for child safety tips at the beach and found an article on your site? You would be giving a potential guest the information she wanted, and at the same time planting awareness and trust in your brand. Chances are then higher she would consider booking at your place for her next beach stay.
This is a low cost way to reach people, and it boosts your SEO as well. If you don’t have a blog, it’s often simple to create one. Then fill it with information that would be worthwhile to your ideal guest.
6. Google Ads
As of Sept. 2019, Google commanded 93% of the global search engine market share. So if you have some budget to spend, Google Ads may be a good place to invest in targeted pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Google Ads can be adjusted easily and are simple to turn on or off. When guests are searching for homes like yours, they would then come across your ads.
NOTE: Before jumping into Google Ads, make sure you have a good idea of what you’re doing so you get the most from your money.
7. Social Media Ads
After you create social media pages for your rental home, you can look into running ads on social media to target people who would be interested in your home. For example, if you have a 3-bedroom home near the beach, you can run an ad that targets families who like to travel and like the beach.
A good place to start, simply because of the number of users on the platform, is Facebook. They’ve made it easy to create Facebook and Instagram ads from the same user-friendly platform.
8. Email Marketing
Most people may not think email marketing is as effective as other channels, but statistics show that it still provides a very good return on investment (generating $38 for every $1 spent). Email marketing is closely tied with content marketing, with the goal to enhance relationships between a vacation rental host and their potential, current, and previous guests. This technique subtly persuades repeat bookings through valuable content.
9. Local Tourist Information Center
Guests will typically research the city/area they are traveling to beforehand, and it’s likely they will end up on a tourism page for their destination. Register with the tourism association in your area and chances are they will include a link to your website or property listing on their site. This is further advertising for your business and looks good to search engines as well.
Most local tourism associations provide these benefits free of charge but some may ask for a monthly or annual fee.
10. Local Businesses
When guests book your vacation rental, they typically appreciate local recommendations. By partnering with local businesses in your community, you can negotiate discounts to not only give your guests recommendations, but deals as well. If local businesses recommend your home as a place to stay in return for you recommending them to guests, you can leverage a huge opportunity to find more qualified leads.
Vacation Rental Marketing Services and More
To get the most out of vacation rental marketing, partner with a professional company who knows how to market your short-term rental and knows the industry inside and out. Grand Welcome’s comprehensive management program helps you with everything from listing your property to dynamic pricing to housekeeping to marketing.
If you are a passionate entrepreneur looking for a franchise opportunity in the vacation rental business, Contact Grand Welcome Franchise today to see how we can help you jump into the vacation rental management business and expand it through our vacation rental marketing services—and more.