Vacation rental businesses are highly local. To attract more guests and be the number one vacation rental in your area, you need to know a few essentials.
Being the top ranked property in your city or area has a huge impact on the number of bookings and revenue you bring in. If you want to dominate your local area, then follow these tips from the experts at BookingTeam.com.
1. Partner with local businesses.
To earn the top lodging spot in your local area, you need to get more involved in the community. Travelers generally ask and trust business owners for local recommendations, so it can be highly beneficial to partner with surrounding businesses. You can offer specials to customers or host events, festivals and other activities to do.
For instance, you could partner with a sporting goods shop to offer your guests the option to rent equipment. You might do a karaoke or happy hour night with a local restaurant and bar. The key is to build strong relationships.
If you can, ask local business owners to give you a shout out online, on their website and perhaps social media. This can boost your own SEO ranking and increase your visibility to potential guests online.
2. Keep an eye on your competitors.
One of the best places to start when building your vacation rental business is with competitor research. Look at the top performing vacation rentals in your area and take note of what they are doing right. Try to incorporate those strengths into your own listings. Also, look for things they are doing wrong or could do better. Those pieces of information could be what you need to attract more bookings and outperform them.
3. Highlight features that set you apart.
Although you can learn a lot from your competitors, you won’t outrank them by copying exactly what they do. You need to offer guests something a little extra or unique so that they decide to book with you over other local vacation rentals. This can be anything from having an indoor pool and offering a spa package to simply being a welcoming host who greets guests with a basket of local food and drinks.
4. Know your guests.
Like any business, it is crucial to learn more about your customers. Two properties in the same area can attract complete different types of guests. Why do guests book with you over competitors? Are they budget-savvy guests who search for the best price or are they willing to pay more for luxury and comfort? Do they want a place to get some peace and quiet or are they interested in socializing and mingling with new people? Knowing what attracts guests to your property helps you figure out what differentiates you with other vacation rentals in your area.
How did they find out about your property? It’s also important to know what channels have the highest rate of attracting and converting guests. This prevents you from spending time and resources on platforms that aren’t working, so you can invest in ones that are working and those that have the potential to be more effective with a little TLC.
As a vacation rental business, you often have to think locally. Dominating in your local area and outperforming competitors is essential to running a successful vacation rental, but you don’t have to do it on your own. Give yourself a competitive edge with BookingTeam.com’s platform and a team of booking professionals available 24/7 to help you with all your vacation rental needs.