HOW TO CREATE A BRAND FOR YOUR VACATION RENTAL BUSINESS

If you are looking to create a successful short-term vacation rental business, branding and differentiation is important.  Why would someone book your property over someone else’s? How will you advertise your business other then using OTA’s? Branding is the key.  In this article we will explain how to properly brand and advertise your short-term vacation rental so that you can build a business that you will be proud of. Your brand is the basis of your business and should be something that every serious rental owner needs to think about. 

TO WHOM ARE YOU ADVERTISING?

Most vacation rental owners that are just getting started tell me that they only want to rent their homes to families.  This is because they know these guests are usually well behaved, quiet and will be respectful of their home.  These guests usually don’t cause any problems and leave your property clean and tidy before leaving. 

My response to them is that the location, size, amenities, and interior design is what dictates what type of guests you are going to get.  This also determines the price.  A one-bedroom apartment in town will attract couples, a two-bedroom apartment will attract couples or friend traveling together or families with two kids depending on the location and activities in the area.  What type of property do you have? Is it a studio apartment or one-bedroom apartment in a city?  Is it in a good location, within walking distance to activities or popular sites? Are there plenty of cafes and restaurants around? Or maybe you have a country holiday home away from it all,or a villa with pool in a small village or town. 

Location, size, amenities, and the interior design of your home is what dictates who is the best fit, not the owner.  So, the important thing to take away from this: “know what you are selling and understand your customer.” 

NAME

The first thing that people will see when searching the internet for a holiday home is the name.  The name of your property is very important.  First impressions are always the most important, so a good memorable name is just as important. 

A good name needs to be original and easy to remember. You want to grab your guest’s attention and make sure that the name is memorable.  For example, one of our beachfront properties has a huge bougainvillea on the side of there home.  For those of you that don’t know what that is, it is a vine like plant that has beautiful purple flowers.  Because this was such a prevalent detail, we gave this property the name “Villa Purple Rain”. Now this is important for two reasons. Other than creating a memorable and distinctive name, any traveler who enters this into their search will easily be able to find this home and book it directly!

If you find it hard to think of a name by yourself, here are some recommendations for brainstorming: what are your favorite bands or texts from songs you could use? Use a dictionary or ask friends and family to help and make sure that you write down all your ideas.  We’re sure that you will find a great name if you just give it just a little thought.  Also, be careful that the name you choose is easy to say and that people can pronounce it. 

WEBSITE AND KEYWORDS

Do a little research in the Internet.  See who appears in the top search spots when you enter some relevant search texts.  Do you have what it takes to be on the first page? Enter the names you have chosen for your rental and see what appears.  If you choose a name that is unique, chances are that travels searching for your property will find it on the first page of there google search.  Go ahead, type “villa purple rain” into your search engine and see what you get.  You need to make it easy for travels to find your holiday home online.

Once travels have found your site, this is your next big branding project, your personal website.  It is very important that your website is mobile friendly and loads quickly in order to keep you guest’s attention.  Additional marketing media such as video’s and virtual walkthroughs are great ways to show off your property and get guests to book.  Once guests do decide to book your home, it is essential to provide them with direct online payments making it easy for them to make the reservation directly with you quickly and easily. 

MATERIALS

It’s always good to brand your property with additional materials.  However, most people are not willing to go so far as to embroider their logo or name on towels or purchase materials such as branded pens for guests to take back with them. There are a few things that we would recommend such as creating business cards. This is a great way for your guests to promote your property to friend and family which can result in direct bookings. If only one 1 out of 100 business cards create a new reservation, it is well worth having them.  They portray professionalism and help your brand to grow. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Create branded social media accounts.  Ask you guests to leave reviews directly on these profiles and regularly upload photos of interesting places and events that will entice your guests to keep coming back to your profile.  It is important that your potential guests can read about the experiences of others and associate your brand with positive energy and good memories. 

And remember, building your brand should be fun.  Keep it short and sweet.  How did you come up with your rental brand name? We would love to hear your story!