One of the largest OTAs out there is Booking.com. Travelers worldwide can use this massive travel platform to find their next lodging because it has more than 28 million listings worldwide and is accessible in more than 40 languages. You have a significant advantage if you list your rental on Booking.com since hundreds, if not millions, of potential visitors, will immediately see it.
Your listing on Booking.com provides your potential to draw visitors looking for their next accommodation.
Keeping all this in mind, your vacation rental home must stand out from the competition. Your major objective is influencing your guests to choose your rental over another one.
How to distinguish your lodging on Booking.com
So how can you persuade those visitors to reserve your holiday home? Let’s look at the primary strategies for increasing your property’s web presence. With the following advice, you can dominate your market on Booking.com and get more bookings:
1. Post excellent pictures
Since most visitors won’t visit your home before making a booking decision, your images are your rental’s unique selling feature and determine whether they will choose to stay there or not. The photographs you have will serve as a reminder of something to look forward to for travelers who are trying to image and imagine staying at the lodging.
As a result, it’s crucial to highlight your strongest qualities in the photographs you use for your listings. For instance, if you have a pool, include pictures of it from all perspectives. Include as many pictures as possible of your rooms, the outdoors, the neighborhood, the amenities, and all the extras. Do you have a playground? Do you offer a welcoming present? Some bathroom supplies for visitors to use? Describe all the features of your vacation rental!
Adding tags and categorizing your images into different groups, such as living room, beach, swimming pool, restaurant, breakfast, etc., is also crucial. Include only a few or too many tags; just a reasonable number. Be mindful that you are selling here. Travelers will decide whether to reserve your rental based on the photos you post, so make sure they are high-quality and compelling.
Log into your Booking.com account, select the “property tab,” and then click “photos” to update, add, or edit your photos. In the top right corner of the page, click “add photographs.” To promote your property and provide visitors with a good visual sense, Booking.com advises using photos with a high resolution (1280 x 900).
2. Tag your listings
Consider adding a few categories to your listing depending on the kind of rental you have. For instance, filters under the category of enjoyable activities include beach, hike, lake, pool, hot tub/jacuzzi, etc. The same holds for various property types, such as villas, lodges, chalets, luxurious rentals, and local landmarks. With the filters you’ve added, guests will be able to find your property more quickly and easily. Filter down your property so that they can access your listing. Additionally, you can tag your images in these categories!
Include high chairs, bunk beds, or child beds if your rental is family-friendly and if families with children are your target market. Even better, describe how kid-friendly your property is! For pet-friendly rentals, do the same thing: state that you have a bed, bowls, treats, and dog toys.
Moreover, it’s usually a good idea to highlight them by labeling the most well-known landmarks if your house is close to the main attractions or areas of interest. When visitors search for rentals nearby a specific location, such as Disneyland, your property will appear right immediately!
3. List every amenity you have.
Include all the amenities that come with your vacation rental homes, such as the flat-screen TV, air conditioning, coffee maker, and bathroom. You can also include the little extras, like a ping pong table, fireplace, book collection, etc., that might make your home seem more welcome.
Top facilities are listed on Booking.com’s listings. The type of property will determine whether hosts can mention its amenities. As an illustration, consider properties with amenities like a swimming pool, family rooms, air conditioning, non-smoking rooms, a sauna, a hot tub, a patio, a garden, etc. with a kitchen, balcony, patio, washing machine, private pool, flat-screen television, view, etc. for rooms and apartments.
Looking at your competitors’ listings in your area and seeing what they offer would be a tactical move. You might have overlooked a few important necessities, and you might even have some suggestions. Doing it this way will surpass your rivals and stand out from the crowd.
For instance, you can list inflatables and sun loungers if you have a pool! Include a barbecue and coal if your backyard is sizable. “Towels are provided” in the bathrooms.
Include descriptions and images of these amenities in listings. Check out these 45 must-have amenities for every vacation rental home if you need clarification on which ones to include.
Did you realize that having Netflix available can increase the number of reservations you receive? On Netflix, millions of people can now watch TV episodes and movies, and they might not want to miss their favorite shows while on vacation. Your chances of booking more guests can go up if your properties provide this streaming option.
4. The load capacity for the following months
In keeping with the percentage of searches for the same period in 2019, more than a third of searches on Booking.com are for the upcoming three months.
By updating your availability, you may increase awareness and avoid missing out on possible appointments, particularly last-minute ones.
5. Relax the time limit constraints
Short-stay and short-booking-window reservations have surged since the epidemic, according to statistics from Booking.com. One-night and two-night stays are becoming more and more popular among travelers. However, due to limitations on the duration of stay, over half of the owners and property managers of vacation rentals listed on Booking.com need to show up in tourists’ search results. This brings us to our next piece of advice.
6. Be mindful of your Booking.com constraints
No matter what vacationers look for, some hotels never show up in their search results. This is because too many restrictions on listings cause them to be automatically excluded from “normal” searches. Several instances include:
- A listing that places a restriction on reservations that says they must be made at least one day in advance; although visitors are looking for lodging, they may check in right away.
- A rental home where the minimum duration of stay is three nights but where guests are looking for one or two-night stays.
Too many limitations can hurt your brand’s recognition, help the competition, and harm the number of reservations.
7. Compose a thorough profile summary.
Describing your property in your profile is crucial because Booking.com writes the property descriptions. This is where you can describe what makes your company special and what distinguishes your property. To keep your guests interested and control their expectations, it’s crucial to offer a full description that is also clear and simple.
Consider what would interest your visitors in a vacation rental and think of any queries they may have for the host by putting yourself in their position. Give a basic description of your establishment, but keep in mind to concentrate on the key amenities and services that your lodgings and establishment can provide for visitors.
8. Be exact when stating check-in timings.
The check-in time is one of the most typical and recurrent concerns and frequently contributes to poor ratings. For instance, a visitor was promised they might arrive at 1 pm, but due to the tardiness of the visitors before them or for some other reason, the visitor couldn’t enter until 4 pm. As you may guess, having a frustrating vacation start is upsetting for the guest. Nobody likes to be kept waiting, especially after a long travel!
As a result, you must provide your exact check-in and check-out times on your listing. Keep in mind that visitors appreciate the convenience of checking in at any time. If you’re able to be flexible as well, think about telling visitors that while check-in is at 2 pm, you may be able to let them in early, depending on the day.
But what if the prior visitors were tardy in leaving? That can’t possibly be the host’s fault, and it shouldn’t reflect poorly on your future visitors.
Ask your visitors what time they plan to arrive, and make sure you let them know in advance. This is also the time to include directions for key collecting, whether you want visitors to use a lockbox, a WIFI door lock, the property itself, the office of your property management, or another method.
Your customers will value and appreciate all your communication, which could result in a favorable review on your listing for other potential tourists to read. Keep in mind that your chances of gaining bookings are higher the more favorable reviews you have.
9. Display your evaluations
In a recent study conducted by Booking.com, it was discovered that “75% of travelers evaluate reviews from other travelers as crucial in helping them choose friendly hosts before they book.”
Most visitors will always read reviews left by prior visitors who have stayed at that establishment. They want to know if the listing descriptions and photographs are as good as they claim to be. They also want to know if they will have the same 5-star experience as you claim because they believe the previous guests.
As a result, it’s critical to accumulate all of your evaluations on your listing since travelers rely on other people’s opinions to pick the best choice for their excursions. Ask a visitor to post a review on Booking.com as soon as they’ve checked out and you’ve thanked them for staying at your property. then make all of your reviews visible to potential visitors. Your bookings will increase over time!
But what about unfavorable comments? That must turn off some visitors. NO is the answer! if you know how to deal with them. A bad review need not spell the end of the world; you can take the initiative and demonstrate your superior customer service abilities. Respectfully acknowledge the guest’s complaint and your response. A solution or an apology are further options.
Next to you
Your understanding of increasing your presence on one of the top OTAs worldwide has increased. By following these instructions, you can improve your Booking.com listing and increase the number of bookings you receive. Your rental will be more visible on the website and have a higher chance of getting booked if you complete your profile and listing. Properties with a 100% property page score on Booking.com can generate up to 18% more bookings.
Additionally, you can use Lodgable’s channel manager to link your Booking.com listings to your direct booking website and quickly synchronize your calendars, reservations, payments, and rates in a single dashboard.
