How are reservations for your holiday rentals going? It could be time for you to take action if fewer visitors are clamoring to stay at your vacation rental home and enjoy some much-needed downtime.
There is always an opportunity for development, even if the number of guests stays the same or goes up a little bit yearly. And what is the greatest strategy to get those tourists directly to your vacation rental door? Narratives about vacation rentals.
Don’t misunderstand us; we’re not talking about reading to your visitors as they wind down for the evening on the patio! It’s crucial to capture and retain your visitors’ attention while delivering a tale about your vacation rental. Whether you’re trying to pique the interests of past visitors or attract new ones, doing it in an alluring, non-salesy manner is effective. This is how:
1. Powerful visuals
A picture is worth a thousand words, but if it doesn’t do your vacation rental justice, it won’t mean a thing! Try to get creative with your home instead of just including the mandatory photos of a set bedroom or dining area.
Take some fascinating “behind the scenes” pictures that showcase the work you put into owning your property and convey its narrative. Images demonstrating how the beds are made, the welcome basket is assembled “just so,” the yard is groomed and maintained, and, if you provide catering, how the delectable continental breakfast is served may all be included in this.
You are not required to stop there. What tales can you share about the area around your vacation home? Share pictures of the top attractions in your region, such as a quiet, golden beach, the most amazing place to watch the sunset, the busiest local market, and the thriving, ancient town.
These pictures make it much simpler for prospective visitors to picture themselves staying at your house. They assist you in picturing your vacation rental’s noises, tastes, and smells in addition to its looks.
2. Enticed by the property descriptions
The goal of vacation rental storytelling in property descriptions is to pique the curiosity of potential new tenants. Making your house stand out from the competition on websites that sell vacation rentals, or even just adding a little more information to make your house come to life on your website, is important.
To do this, you should write property descriptions that make it very simple for the reader to picture themselves living there. Think of visitors enjoying excellent drinks by the pool or playing with their children at the neighborhood family water park.
Try to adjust your scenario based on the vacation rental’s target clientele, whether that be families, honeymooners, or large groups of friends, and create a memorable experience that they won’t be able to refuse!
3. Fantastic user-generated material
It’s popular these days to use user-generated material, and it’s one of the finest methods to convey tales about your vacation home.
How often have your friends’ vacation images made you want to book a trip to a certain location? Yes, there are quite a few.
As a vacation rental owner, there are many opportunities to capitalize on the fact that travel is the most often discussed subject on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Send a visitor an email asking if they have any images or videos they could share after checking out. Ask people to follow you on social media and tag your VR in pictures in addition to connecting with you there. Then, you can repost their incredible vacation photos and stories on social media sites like Instagram or Facebook, enhancing your vacation rental’s visibility and your guests’ egos.
4. Wonderful activities to do in your area
Every section of your website is an opportunity for you to stand out and draw visitors to choose your vacation rental over those of your rivals. Vacation rental storytelling goes beyond descriptions and photographs.
Consider designing unique sites that capture even the most daring visitors’ attention. Why not include a sample schedule or “week in the life,” including all your favorite local attractions, activities, and dining options?
This might range from boat tours to art galleries, hiking through mountains surrounded by nature, scuba diving, and horseback riding to wine tasting. Just keep in mind your various audiences while planning these activities!
You may even upload a basic map on which you’ve marked some of the locations of your favorite local spots. For instance, if your vacation rental is in Amsterdam, make a map suitable for cycling that shows all the neighboring must-see sights.
5. Interesting postings on social media
When you post on social media about your vacation rental that is local, relevant, and tells a narrative about your company, you may reap a lot of rewards.
Reaching out and publishing about neighborhood happenings may help establish your vacation rental as a reliable resource for local information and foster partnerships with other businesses in the area.
People tend to be proud of where they come from, so if they see that their hometown is “trending” among their local Facebook friends, they may be more willing to share and interact with your material.
Your material is, therefore, instantly more accessible to hundreds of individuals in the sharer’s network after being shared. Social proof has a lot of influence. Additionally, you truly have nothing to lose! You never know who could be unintentionally looking for a holiday property nearby.
Additionally, sharing pictures or articles about your vacation rental on social media may keep interesting past (and prospective) visitors informed about what’s happening at your house.
6. Interesting promotions for the occasion
Getting visitors interested in your vacation rental because of the attractions in the region and the benefits you can provide them with may be a wonderful method to increase reservations.
If you know how marketing and storytelling can work together.
How do other travel companies promote the largest annual events? With exclusive discounts!
If it’s Halloween and you know your neighbors will decorate the entire street with pumpkins and skeletons, post pictures from previous years and start a discussion about fancy dress ideas on social media. Then, offer a discounted stay to the person who comes up with the best idea!
The same may be said for any regional, governmental, or even apparently unimportant holidays (like crabbing season!). More VR owners should be using promotions to help fill up their schedules because adding banner ads and discounted pricing to your Lodgify website are so simple.
While we’re not advocating that you give away free vacations regularly, you can create a lot of buzz about your vacation rental brand by combining events and promotions.
7. Emails that are energetic and conversational
Consider using email storytelling to persuade previous visitors (whose email addresses you already have) to stay again at your vacation rental. One of the most popular marketing techniques, it’s also one of the simplest to do.
All you need is one compelling news item that has some connection to your holiday home. All it takes is that!
A new mayor has been chosen, right? Did 100 cows from a nearby farm escape? Was this the local baseball team’s first victory in ten years? Is there a concert with a well-known musician?
Whatever the news is in your area, condense it into a quick email and include a little introduction. “Hello! Wishing you all well. This month, [town’s] [funniest/weirdest/coolest] event occurred. I’ll tell you about it now.
Keep your email as informal and welcoming as possible. Additionally, we urge you to avoid advertising your vacation home.
Reminding prior visitors of their wonderful stays at your vacation rental in your community is the goal. Additionally, it will remind them that you still exist and that you could be open for that weekend they were intending to travel but hadn’t gotten around to making travel arrangements…
