A vacation rental property is a revenuing lifestyle asset created to perform in the experiential driven leisure travel spaces. Effectively aligning your main marketing asset which is the story around the featured property, the brand, is more important than ever. Vacation home investor hosts who intentionally create and consistently deliver aspirational experiences can maximize attraction and booking loyalty through tuned marketing which highlights those experiences.
Marketing which does not match the anticipated arrival experience, also described as a guest's journey, will result in a failed effort or worse. A poor review. In fact, similar type properties in similar locations with similar attributes may perform differently relative to the marketing approach. The packaging. A misaligned narrative or other factors including not maintaining a consistent brand message or not delivering on the experience promise could result in a poor review.
Can we develop an avatar that represents the target audience for a property? First, list the attributes of the property. Consider the site environment, city or neighborhood and all it offers. The architecture inside and out. Any noteworthy features. So, imagine why that avatar ideal guest would be interested to visit your location, what they hope to experience during their visit, what amenities they appreciate, how long on average might they stay, what would they require for an extended stay, their budget, do they travel alone or with families or friends, do they appreciate an interactive experience with their host or prefer privacy, will they spend more time in and around the home or out exploring, would they enjoy personalized accommodations or co-hosted add-on experiences and so on? Those clues inform the marketing intention.
Compelling and evocative descriptions and creative imagery could trigger curiosity. Stop the scroll. AirBnB, for example allows up to 100 images per post! Not, that its necessary but it leaves plenty of room for creativity. That said, professional photography is supremely essential. An image collage should portray a promised experience. In contrast to a Zillow ad, a 30-minute real-estate photo-shoot won't yield images which romanticize the experience. Editorially 'styled' views, similarly utilized by interior design publications. Outstanding vacation rental listings often show off the home at different times of day, surrounding neighborhood, local features, seasonal views, vibrant urban life, a welcoming approach, landscaping, specific kitchen or bathroom features, architecture, decor touches, brag-worthy photo opportunities, etc. Guests want to picture themselves in those scenes.
In summary, tuned marketing combined with an intentionally creative approach could effectively paint a picture of exactly what someone is searching for online.
Investor hosts can optimize attraction and revenue potential by collaborating with vacation rental designers and consultants uniquely suited to defining an ideal guest around particular property attributes and crafting a memorable guest journey.
For a discovery consultation about leveling up a planned or evaluating a running vacation rental property, you're welcome to reach out to me through this post or directly by email or phone.
Wow Joseph, as a vacation rental owner for 4 years, you've really summed up what guests are looking for (and that we're not always successful in accomplishing with our anemic marketing efforts)... until now! Thank you. Don't know how to actually convey a lot of what you write about through an Airbnb or VRBO listing page, but there are so many more ways we should be marketing and I believe creating that avatar is the first step toward building the "narrative" you speak of and that of course, will lead to wonderful stays, memorable experiences for the guests and hopefully, shared reviews. Most importantly, creating those brag-worthy photos on our guest's social pages will inspire return visits and inquiries from…