Not sure how to reach out to domestic travelers? When you go by these top nine suggestions, you’ll be fully occupied with domestic guests!
What Do Domestic Tourists Do?
Domestic travelers are tourists who move about inside the same nation’s cities. If your vacation property is in Miami, for instance, visitors from New York would be regarded as domestic tourists. These people visit various cities, regions, and states inside their nation, where your rental is situated, instead of traveling outside or beyond boundaries.
How Can I Find Domestic Travelers to Target?
You must modify and adjust your marketing plan across all your online resources, including your vacation rental website, your listings on OTAs, and social media, to attract national visitors
We’ve developed some suggestions on how to do this; take our counsel below:
1. Modify your pricing
Some visitors may nevertheless choose to go to a different city or area due to the drop in tourism. However, domestic visitors choose to stay somewhere close that is reasonably priced rather than traveling in style. Local visitors may opt to book a room after seeing a good price or searching last minute.
It might be wise to raise your prices to entice domestic travelers and fill in some of the gaps left by cancellations and a decline in traffic. To automate pricing and adhere to constraints, think about employing dynamic pricing solutions like Pricelabs.
2. Rethink your minimum stay requirement
Because they may wish to go away for a weekend or a few days, domestic travelers may take shorter trips than other travelers. If your vacation rental has a 7-day minimum stay requirement, you may want to change it temporarily. Keep in mind that this will only be temporary, giving you a chance to fill in the blanks.
Knowing they are not required to pay for a full week will encourage local visitors to reserve your property.
3. Contact Your Neighborhood Visitor Center
To find out what to do in the local locations they want to visit, many tourists do web searches for regional tourism boards and travel companies. These prospective consumers could come onto your lodging and be able to book it right away if you get in touch with your tourist board and let them know that you’d want to cooperate with them.
Additionally, these tourists will feel more secure and at ease reserving a rental from a recognized tourism organization. They are certain that their suggestions will be in excellent hands since they have faith in the official tourist center.
4. Promote along with nearby companies
Travelers will go online for nearby restaurants, pubs, and stores as they look for the local tourist board in their destination.
Another strategy for attracting domestic customers is to collaborate with neighborhood businesses. You may get the word out about your vacation rental by sending your business cards or fliers to nearby stores, cafés, and other establishments. Depending on the company, they could advertise your lodging on their website or social media pages.
In return, you would provide your visitors discounts and recommendations for these locations. For instance, “Book at Capucine and receive complimentary cupcakes and pastries at Tall Oaks Café,” “Get 50% off at Alpine Meadow when you stay at Livingstone,” or “Staycation in San Diego with a $50 voucher at Wild Thyme restaurant.” These specials will appeal to visitors seeking a staycation since they will not only have fun at your property but also save money.
Ask the neighborhood businesses in your region whether they are interested in cross-promotion as soon as possible. Asking never hurts and can even get you more reservations!
5. Improve the content of your website and listings
When seeking lodging, travelers will use Google and enter their specific search terms. Therefore, be careful to include all of the more localized keywords on your website. For instance, “vacation rentals near me” or “things to do in (city name).”
You may include all of these keywords by writing blog entries about your locality. In actuality, “things to do in the region” refer to a very profitable blog and one that has produced several leads. List every attraction, activity, restaurant, and retail establishment you can think of, along with information about each one, such as its hours of operation, pricing range, and experiences. Travelers may make a reservation while they read your material on your website since they may still be investigating their options for lodging.
Along with website optimization, post all your material on social media; anybody who watches it will be driven back to your website, providing you the chance for further bookings.
6. Highlight Your Amenities and Services
Now is the time to mention every feature that can appeal to your visitors and what will persuade them to stay at your rental. Your rental may offer luxuries that guests do not have in their own houses.
Let them have a memorable staycation, whether watching a movie on your home theatre system, playing some entertaining board games, cooking popcorn or sugar floss, or relaxing in the hot tub or pool.
Additionally, because more people are attracted to listings that mention Netflix, having a Netflix membership boosts your likelihood of getting more bookings. Inform visitors who stay at your property that they won’t miss their preferred TV program.
7. Encourage a getaway or staycation
More Americans are taking staycations today than ever, with over 53% of them being in the United States. Include vital features in your vacation rental to promote staycations, such as bubble tubs, chocolates, and even a glass of wine! Remember to inform visitors that your facilities and property have been completely cleaned and sanitized.
Allow your visitors to relax and take advantage of everything your property offers. Remember to include all the other necessary facilities as well.
For visitors looking to escape the bustle of the city, you may also advertise a serene retreat. Take advantage of the calmer area if your vacation rental is there! Advertise a peaceful and soothing experience, for instance, if your rental is a cottage in the woods, a small home, or part of the glamping business.
You must allow your visitors to picture a vacation or escape since words have a strong influence. Get inventive and optimize the content of your OTA and website listings.
8. Think about allowing pets
There are approximately 85 million pet owners in the US, and many travels with their animals. Pets provide humans protection and comfort, so it’s not uncommon for travelers to feel terrible about leaving their four-legged companions in boarding kennels.
Since most domestic tourists drive instead of flying, they may simply bring their cherished pets in their automobiles. Encourage domestic visitors to stay at your property with their dogs by appealing to them! You’ll be able to connect with a lot more people as a host. Furthermore, by adding a pet charge in addition to additional reservations, you’ll increase your income.
9. Advertise through paid online marketing and advertising
You may put your company in the spotlight and broaden your visibility by using paid web marketing techniques to advertise your vacation rental. There are two simple methods to get going:
Instagram Ads
If you have a Facebook page, you may choose which of your followers you want to use as a target audience for your postings. The ability to filter users by neighborhood, city, and region is a terrific tool for attracting domestic visitors.
However, if you’re serious about growing your customer base, you’ll need to enhance your postings and make Facebook and Instagram advertising. Advertising on Facebook is paid, but you have complete control over how much, for how long, and within what budget you spend. You have complete control over your spending since Facebook will never exceed your allotted amount.
Google Ads
The first pay-per-click (PPC) marketing tool, Google Ads, enables entrepreneurs to generate advertisements for their products. When users search for houses like yours on Google, they’ll see your advertisements, including visitors seeking lodging.
The economic effect analysis by Google indicates that firms quadruple their revenue from sponsored advertising. Travelers looking for vacation rentals will notice your advertisements if you target them with the right and relevant keywords. Only when visitors click on your advertising will you be paid; however, keep in mind that the increase in reservations will more than make up for the expense.
In the long term, it’s a cheap strategy to draw in more visitors. Visit our Google Ads tutorial for a more thorough explanation of how to put this up.
We know that there are many challenges of running a vacation rental business, especially in this competitive market. Because of this, Lodgable is helping to assist our hosts and property managers in staying profitable and managing their business with ease.
