Investing in vacation rentals can be a great way to earn income. However, many vacation rental owners fail terribly when it comes to marketing them. The right marketing techniques should help you drive traffic, boost reservations and create awareness about how to rent your property. Three amazing marketing tips on how you can start promoting your property as a vacation rental. Learn about vacation rental.
So if you’re looking to market your property as a vacation rental, here are 3 tried-and-tested tips to get you started.
1. Provide great photos for Vacation Rental
Photos speak volumes. When it comes to marketing your vacation rental home, they are without any doubt important selling tools. Nothing turns off potential guests away faster than hazy photos of messy rooms.
With quality photos, travelers will see that you are a committed host.
We asked Karen Joyal of Advantage Properties for some tips on taking high quality images of vacation rentals. Here were her suggestions:
- Try adding brightly colored fruit or fresh flowers to brighten up the room and add color
- Keep the TV and computer screen turned off, they simply don’t photograph well.
- Aljalil Garden has some incredible houses to check out
- Clear knick knacks from the area. While they are charming, they make a picture look cluttered.
- Try standing on a chair or ladder to get a better angle of the room.
- Move furniture around to make sure it’s included in the frame.
- Consider taking pictures at dawn or dusk when the light is softer and warmer.
If you find this process daunting, consider hiring professional photography services.
Aside from ensuring the quality of photos is quantity. Travelers will have a better idea of your home if you provide plenty of pictures.
A better idea means less unqualified inquiries, fewer questions, and more confirmed reservations from motivated renters.
In fact, travelers are 83% more likely to ask about property listings that have over 20 photos, according to a study by FlipKey.
Also, did you know that on vacation rental listing sites, properties with plenty of high quality photos rank better in search results?
Make sure that once you take professional photos you upload your property on to vacation rental listing sites like airbnb.com, vrbo.com, homeaway.com, and more.
2. Build a professional website for Vacation Rental
A website can be a great marketing tool for your vacation rental business. Your vacation rental website can greatly increase your success if you set it up right.
Here are a couple of steps to build a professional website for your vacation home rental property.
- Choose the right domain name
Pick the right keyword as your domain name. This’ll help with your site’s SEO. For example, if you have a beautiful vacation home on Concord Lake near Orlando, you would want a domain name like VacationHomeConcord.com or ConcordLakeVacationHome.com.
This is because visitors searching for a home in Orlando will be searching for “vacation home with a view of Concord Lake” or “lakefront vacation home near Lake Concord.”
- Choose a website provider
“Drag-and-drop” website builders have made it extremely easy for people without much technical know-how to build attractive websites. Go this route only if you’ve got the artistic skill. Otherwise opt for professional website providers.
You’ll also need to choose a website host. Examples of website hosts include Wix.com, Weebly.com, GoDaddy.com, and WordPress.com.
- Choose a website theme
There are many website themes, free and paid. When choosing a website theme, there are a couple of things to consider. For example, compatibility with common plugins, blog accommodation, custom error pages, ability to upload videos, and compatibility with different browsers.
- Set up the basic pages
Avoid fluff and take a minimal approach. These pages are for your homepage, blog, contact, FAQ, video & photo gallery, and about the property.
Also, make sure that each page’s SEO is optimized. This involves writing long keyword-rich text that is at least 300 words. Once you’ve done this, the next step is to optimize your website for search engine ranking.
3. Use social media to strengthen your brand and online presence
With close to three billion people, social media is quickly becoming a non-negotiable for any business. Marketing your real estate as a vacation rental through social media allows you to build awareness, extend your reach and connect with prospective guests.
Here’s why social media marketing matters when it comes to marketing your vacation rental. According to Sprout Social:
- 52% of people say that a friend’s photo inspired their trip
- 76% of people post vacation photos to a social network
- 70% of people update their statuses while on vacation
With this in mind, the next thing is to choose your portfolio wisely. We recommend you choose Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Google Plus.
Why Instagram or Pinterest? If you have a special vacation rental property, with majestic views and beautiful pictures, then Instagram and Pinterest are excellent choices.
Why Facebook? Because it’s the most popular. Also, it allows you to share links, videos, photos and other updates.
Why Google Plus? When it comes to SEO, it’s the best option.
There you have it; three proven tips on how to market your real estate property as a vacation rental. Go ahead and implement them and see the difference.
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