If you’re a host, you probably want as many people as possible to see your property, which a Vrbo listing can help with. Vrbo is one of the largest online travel agencies, with 3 million monthly visitors. The question is whether or not adding a Vrbo listing will increase your booking rate. And how can you differentiate your listing from those of your competitors?
Vrbo, like Airbnb, is a vacation rental platform that hosts and guests may utilize. Vrbo was founded in 1995 by a host interested in renting out his ski resort condominium. It later evolved into a marketplace for hosts and homeowners to advertise their properties for short-term rental.
Vrbo was purchased by HomeAway in 2006, and Expedia acquired HomeAway in 2015. In 2020, the Expedia company merged HomeAway and Vrbo and rebranded it as Vrbo. Vrbo will have over 2 million property listings worldwide by 2020.
Vrbo allows guests seeking bookable vacation properties to establish a guest account. Property owners and managers interested in renting out their homes may sign up for a Vrbo hosting account. They can then create listings for their products in search engine results. They can then use the platform to search for available rental homes.
When visitors want to reserve a vacation rental, they may use the Vrbo website. Vrbo will deposit the amount into the host’s bank account. Vrbo then completes the transaction.
How Much Does a Vrbo Listing Cost?
Vrbo hosts may choose between two sorts of listing fees. Depending on your anticipated yearly revenue, one of these fees may be more appropriate for your firm.
Per-booking fee
The second option available to hosts is to charge a “pay per booking” fee. Hosts pay Vrbo a 5% commission on each booking they get, as well as a 3% credit card processing charge.
Each Vrbo listing fee has a benefit. If you are a year-round renter, it is preferable to pay the one-time cost. You must, however, verify that the reservations you get surpass the charge. If you only have active listings for a portion of the year, the price per booking is your best choice.
Annual fee payable once
Vrbo charges a $499 yearly membership fee to its subscribers. This charge applies to all reservations made throughout the year.
What Are the Advantages of Vrbo?
Adding a Vrbo listing to your vacation property might provide several distinct advantages.
Vrbo offers greater flexibility in service prices, enabling hosts to choose their own. Vrbo also provides enough exposure since all of its listings are shown on the Expedia Group’s other websites.
One disadvantage of Vrbo is its restriction on property categories. Vrbo’s platform is limited to complete houses/apartments/cottages. This is not suitable if you have rooms or a piece of your house that you want to rent out. Additionally, Airbnb now gives more to visitors than Vrbo does via their Experiences program.
How Do I Get in Touch With Vrbo?
If you have any issues regarding your account or listings, please contact Vrbo customer care at 1-877-202-4291 (US) or help.vrbo.com.
What Are the Requirements for Creating a Vrbo Listing?
To begin creating a listing on Vrbo, you’ll need to collect the following information:
- The address of the property
- A brief description of the property (its type, size, number of rooms, etc.)
- Photographs of the property taken digitally
- Your charges (nightly rate, cleaning fee, etc.)
- Banking information, such as your bank’s name, the kind of account, and the account number.
How to Create a Vacation Rental Listing on Vrbo (Step-by-step Instructions)
Creating a listing on Vrbo is straightforward and takes just a few minutes.
- Select the option to create a new listing in your Vrbo account.
- From the drop-down menu, choose the kind of property for your holiday rental.
- Complete the information of your homes, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
- Enter the physical address of your holiday rental.
- Complete the listing by providing final contact details, such as a phone number where Vrbo may reach you.
Once the uploading procedure is complete, your vacation rental listing will be ready to go online!
How Can I Improve the Visibility of My Vrbo Listing?
Once you’ve produced your listing, use the following exact Vrbo listing suggestions to improve it:
1. Submit beautiful photographs
Photographs are one of the most effective ways to attract people to your Vrbo ad. They provide prospective visitors with an impression of the hotel’s size and amenities. Your listing photographs should be striking and showcase your property to its greatest advantage.
Ascertain that you have taken photographs of each room in your home, as well as the surrounding area. To attract your ideal guests, try emphasizing the key features your property offers (e.g., easy access to transportation).
2. Maintain a rapid reaction rate
It is prudent to react promptly to all communications, regardless of reservations or queries. Maintaining a rapid response time helps pique visitors’ interest in your resort. Additionally, it will portray you as an attentive, caring host. Guests would be more inclined to return and post favorable reviews if they had a pleasant experience with you. All of these factors contribute to your listing’s score and the visibility of your Vrbo listing in the search results.
3. Provide exclusive offers and discounts
Deals are an excellent strategy to increase reservations throughout your off-season and during the holiday season. Guests are constantly on the lookout for vacation rentals that offer exceptional value. Keep an eye on what your competitors charge for their properties and what specials they offer. This can help you choose the pricing structure to use for your special offers.
Never be scared to try new offers and bargains. Experiment with your price to see how much revenue you can generate. If you received a high volume of bookings for a particular deal, re-run it at a higher price. If it does not generate the same level of interest, reduce the price until you begin to receive requests.
4. Convince the reader with an interesting description
Your description is your actual opportunity to sell visitors to your vacation rental home. What distinguishes it? What features and facilities is it equipped with? What kind of experience can visitors expect when they stay at your rental property? This is all information that you may provide in your rental description. Bear in mind that although you want to increase reservations, you should avoid exaggerating or inflating expectations.
Write up what makes your rental unique and be candid with prospective visitors. If your rental is little, avoid claiming it is enormous and expansive. This will only aggravate visitors who come to your home to check in only to discover it is minuscule. Be candid about your property’s problems while maintaining a pleasant tone. Rather than using the term “tiny,” you may describe your home as “cozy” and “snug” for two individuals.
5. Keep your internet calendar current.
Maintain and update your calendar to ensure that it is constantly up to date with impending appointments. A calendar that is out of date may result in multiple reservations and cancellations. This will aggravate and annoy your visitors. Maintaining an up-to-date schedule helps ensure that you obtain the maximum number of appointments.
6. Construct an enticing title
Your title is the first thing customers see in their search results, so make it a good one! The title of your ad should be consistent with the photographs and rental description. Not only should your title describe your property, but it should also emphasize its advantages.
Make your title descriptive, such as “Breathtaking city flat with breathtaking views.” the phrase “2 bedroom apartment with a carport” conveys little information about the property’s distinctive features. Readers are likely to skim through the information without clicking to learn more.
Additionally, you may post something like, “Enjoy a nice weekend break in an apartment with a hot tub.” Remember to update your headline to include any ongoing specials or promotions, such as “Easter weekend special – 30% off”, etc.
7. Gather favorable testimonials
Positive evaluations provided by previous visitors might sway a current guest to book with you. As a result, it is critical to establish a strong foundation of five-star evaluations. Ascertain that your communication and hosting are consistent with this.
Encourage positive reviews from your guests by keeping your rental clean and in constant contact with them if a visitor is dissatisfied with their stay for whatever reason, attempt to contact them and address the issue before going online and leaving a review. Additionally, you may write them a review once they’ve checked out.
8. Allow reservations and payments to be made online
Due to the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic, an increasing number of guests are booking and paying for rentals online. Allowing visitors to arrange and pay for your rental online simplifies the booking procedure for both parties. Guests may quickly get reservations, and hosts can simply fill their booking calendars, therefore increasing their occupancy rate.
9. Confirm your geographic location
Scams are a prevalent issue for consumers who book and buy online. As a result, it’s advisable to provide the address of your rental property in your advertisement. A verified Vrbo listing appears more legitimate and will rank higher in search results than a listing without a verified address.
While some hosts may be hesitant to provide their address online, Vrbo protects its consumers’ privacy. Rather than providing viewers with the precise address, Vrbo will build a general location on the map search based on the address.
How to Market Your Listing to Travelers in Generation Z and Millennials
According to Airbnb, millennials and Generation Z will account for 75% of the short-term rental industry’s target market. As a result, hosts must learn how to promote to them successfully. While it may need some novel approaches, marketing to millennials is not difficult and can be accomplished by any host with proper strategy.
- Provide experiences rather than just comforts. Millennials and Gen Z place a premium on experiences. They want to document and share their experiences on the Internet. You can increase bookings by emphasizing the unique experiences offered by your rental. If you manage a mountain or lakeside resort, describe the kayaking and swimming opportunities available to guests, as well as the breathtaking hiking paths. Additionally, you can partner with local businesses such as restaurants, museums, and tour groups to offer your guests special discounts.
- Establish a web presence. Millennials and Generation Z spend most of their time online, mostly on social media. If you want to appeal to younger tourists, you must maintain an active internet presence. Pinterest and Instagram, for example, are fantastic social media sites for visual content consumption. You can use Pinterest to share photos and videos of your rental and use relevant hashtags to assist guests in finding it. You may use Instagram to market your rental by submitting photos and Instagram stories. Maintaining active social media accounts will assist you in reaching a larger audience. Additionally, they may help establish credibility for your short-term rental company and foster visitor confidence.
- Make your rental environmentally friendly. Younger tourists are more inclined to choose environmentally conscious holiday accommodations. Installing a solar panel, a smart thermostat, and LED light bulbs are all inexpensive upgrades. You may discuss and detail the elements you’ve included to promote “greener living.” Include any enterprises that benefit the local environment or community as well.
- Use your photographs to tell a narrative. Your Vrbo listing’s photos should tell a story to your guests. This narrative should reflect the experience your visitors will have while staying at your vacation rental. You want your visitors to visualize their stay when seeing your photographs. Include photographs of facilities, the surrounding region, and nearby attractions. Maintain a consistent style. Avoid experimenting with various filters and maintain a consistent aesthetic for your images.
Conclusion
Listing your vacation rental on numerous online travel agencies (OTAs) can help you reach the largest audience possible. Keeping track of inquiries and bookings across multiple listing sites, on the other hand, can be exhausting.
Hosts can become overwhelmed and become trapped in a cycle of daily tasks. The optimal solution is to utilize vacation rental management software, such as Lodgable. We offer all of the tools to help you be successful at no cost to you!
