Getting visitors from your direct competitors to book your home instead of theirs is a highly profitable way to increase your vacation rental bookings. This strategy is particularly effective for newly established companies. If a vacation rental offers genuine value for money, exceptional amenities, and an improvement above their usual stay, even the most devoted repeat visitors will think about booking it.
Your competition will have previously been thoroughly analyzed while you wrote your vacation rental business plan to gain a better understanding of the market. But one thing you probably haven’t thought of yet is how you might directly target the customers of your rivals’ lodgings to persuade them to stay at your rental in the future.
Here are our top six guest booking tactics, direct from your rivals!
1. Provide better value for your money.
A tried-and-true tactic for any startup business is to price lower than the competition. Price is one of the most important aspects affecting a traveler’s holiday rentals selection. Travelers may choose your lodging if you provide a wide range of extra amenities (or just more beds!) for a lesser cost than your closest rival.
2. Improve the visitor experience
You can discover a lot about a host by reviewing former guest reviews. It’s your responsibility as a new host to provide guests with an even greater experience than your rivals. You may arrange a stay with them or have a friend do it if you want to be even sneakier and learn more about your rivals’ strategies. By doing so, you’ll be able to evaluate their hosting approach and find areas for development that you may use for your own company.
3. Increase your online visibility.
Your vacation rental must have active, recent accounts on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, given that a third of US tourists use them for travel inspiration. Sharing content about your neighborhood, the things to do there, or even the rental itself might help you stand out from less social media-aware rivals. After all, one of the most important lessons from the recent Netflix series Stays Here was ensuring eye-catching “social media chances” for your guests while they visit your home.
4. Host a launch event and invite everyone in the area.
Throwing a party for your neighborhood is a terrific method to draw customers from your rivals, regardless matter whether your prime season is during the summer or the joyous end-of-year period. It can seem dramatic, but it’s a very effective approach to draw attention to your home or your new company.
Is there a more effective technique to attract visitors from your rivals’ properties than by giving them an inside look at your home and your hospitality abilities? They almost get a “free trial” of their stay for the next year!
5. Use their content ideas, but make them better.
One of the main strategies for increasing traffic to your website and attracting more readers to your page is to write informative, helpful content. It is best to look at your competitors’ websites and blog posts to get ideas for your website.
You may easily rank for SEO for your location by writing blog pieces about the neighborhood and “best of” lists for restaurants, free activities, and so forth. As a result, more traffic will be attracted to your site and away from those of your rivals.
6. Give each guest the impression that they are the first
Vacation rentals and other non-traditional lodgings typically set themselves apart from hotels by their desire to provide guests with distinctive and exceptional experiences. By developing a closer relationship with your visitors, you can personalize the experience and make each visitor feel special as a short-term rental property owner. In addition, according to Google’s research, 36% of travelers would be willing to pay more for a travel brand’s services if they customized their information based on individual tastes.
Ask prospective visitors why they are coming, whether they are attending a family reunion, a birthday party, an anniversary, or any other type of gathering. Giving these visitors a souvenir from their trip can win them over, resulting in wonderful evaluations and repeat business.
You can use numerous strategies to woo visitors away from rival properties. You can guarantee you obtain bookings right away by enticing customers with superior customer care and attention to even the smallest things. Just be careful not to cross the line and alienate your rivals by doing so!
