IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING AND GET MORE BOOKINGS

Building your villa and preparing it for tourism are just the first steps a vacation rental owner needs in order to become part of the vacation rental market.  Each step needs to be well thought out in order to get to the final stage, the actual operations of your business.  However, between getting your property ready and welcoming your first guests, marketing and promotion are key elements in determining your business.  With these tips, we hope that we can highlight the most important things that you can do to improve your marketing and get more bookings.

1. PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE WITH DIRECT ON-LINE PAYMENTS

When a potential guest visits your website for the first time, it is like meeting you for the first time.  The first impression you make is critical to your success and your website represents the image of your business.  The website must be professional, easy to navigate and must show attention to the details that you as the owner want your guests to see.

Other than just having a fantastic website, it must also be functional to you as the owner.  Providing on-line payments and easy communicating with potential clients will insure easy communications and enable you to answer all of the questions that your guests may have before booking.  Allowing direct on-line payment insures quick bookings as 90% of all guests prefer to pay via credit card as opposed to other forms of payments.  Accepting credit card payments via your website shows professionalism and increases your business credibility.

2. PHOTOS, VIDEOS AND VIRTUAL TOURS

A picture says a thousand words and this is no different when presenting your property photos.  We cannot stress enough the need for professional quality photographs.  The most important aspect of selling your property to potential guests is to entice them using the best and most carefully selected photographs of your property.

Other media tools such as video and virtual tours can help your property be the one selected for rental by potential clients.  Videos will present your property in a more intimate way while virtual tours will give your guests the actual experience of being there before they actually are.  These tools will provide comfort to your clients whom expect to receive what they are paying for.  In today’s vacation rental market, it is unfortunate that scammers and hackers attempt to sell properties that don’t really even exist.

3. SOCIAL MEDIA

Being active on social media will get the word out about your property.  In today’s world, if you are not on social media, you may as well not even exist.  Channels such as Facebook, Google+ and twitter are just some of the virtual platforms that you can use to promote your business.  Being active on these platforms will keep you in the mind of potential clients which may recommend you to their friends who just happen to be looking for a place to rent!

Other social media channels such as LinkedIn are not only good at promoting your business, but also attracting contacts that can provide other services that may raise the quality of your offer.  Channels such as Pinterest and Instagram give you the opportunity to promote your property through photographs.  Whatever channels you choose, it is important to become and stay active.

4. MAILING LISTS

If you are able to get e-mail addresses of potential clients, mailing lists can be very useful.  Even if most of the messages you sent may end up in Junk boxes or deleted without being read, others will find there recipients. There are many free tools available on the internet for you use such as mail chimp or   mail jet.  These mails will allow you to target your potential clients and promote your property though specials deals and discounts that you approve for direct bookings.

5. ONLINE PORTALS AND TRAVEL AGENCIES

There are lots of online channels that you can use in order to receive bookings.  Booking.com, Airbnb and Home Away are just a few of the available partners you can use in order to make sales.  Owners should carefully weigh there options as each portal has their own terms and conditions and will normally take commission.  Pre-paid channels also exist that will allow owners to make a one-time yearly payment in order to get commission free bookings.

Travel agencies are also a good way to sell your property.  Agencies usually have good networks of partners that can promote your property to potential guests and usually do all of the work, like communicating with guests.  However, in order to be successfully, agency need to receive a bit higher commission in order entice there partners to sell your property.  Agencies are usually more successful in selling luxury accommodations as these are usually more specialized and must target specific markets.

6. BLOGS AND WRITTEN MATERIALS

Like social medial, blogs and articles are a great way to attract readers and keep them coming back.  Enticing readers about local activities and the surrounding areas will increase the possibility that travels will book your destination and possibly your property.  Informing readers and promoting your brand will increase search engine relevance and it will become more likely that your blog will appear in search results.  With more articles and blogs available to clients, any misinformation or myths that potential guests may have about villa rentals or your own business can be clarified.

7. PAID ADVERTISING

By using paid advertising, you will be able to get access to millions of potential clients.  However, using paid advertising also increases costs.  Less expense channels for paid advertising are Facebook campaigns that will allow you to run a short paid listing for as low as 10 EUROs while Google advertising can be a bit more expense.  YouTube, Vimeo and LinkedIn are also popular services that you can use.  In addition to today’s online advertising methods, there are still plenty of magazines that can be used to advertise your property.