Vacation rental properties are a great investment, with so many people now being able to search multiple options online. However, the competition in this market is very strong. If your rental property doesn’t stand out compared to the rest of the vacation rentals on the internet, you are more likely to lose money than make money. So, if you want to enjoy hefty profit from your vacation rental business, you can take the help of these great tips to learn how to make your vacation rental stand out from the crowd.
How to make your vacation rental stand out?
Think of your vacation rental property as a product displayed on the shelf with other similar products. Each brand is trying its best to be the one that the customer picks. However, the one that gets more sales is the product that looks great, tells its clear benefits, gives users a great experience, and sometimes an offer is needed. Marketing your house to your potential customers is exactly like that. The big question is, how do you do that? And for that, we are here. Use these tips to enhance the guest experience and increase the chances of your house being a preferred choice. A lot of these tips focus on improving your guest reviews because good reviews are important to remove any hesitation your potential guests might have before booking a room.
1. Basic Repairs
A lot of you spend all your time and effort in decorating your house, but you forget about the small things like electricity connection, malfunctioning bulb or oven or air conditioning, plumbing issues, etc. Repair your entire home so that your vacation rental guests don’t experience any issues during their stay in your house.
2. Bathroom amenities
Update your bathroom vacation rental amenities. Make it up to date with the latest designs. Keep it clean and with a fresh smell. If your budget permits, add a huge mirror and a hot tub. It is funny, but people have a weird attachment to pretty bathrooms. A dirty, broken, and foul-smelling bathroom can turn your guests down no matter how beautiful the rest of your house is.
3. Provide necessary things
Most of us are bad at packing bags. We certainly forget to pack a thing or two, and nearly always, it’s something essential like extra towels, pain reliever, shampoo, ironing board, wine glasses, coffee maker, and other necessities. Step into the shoes of your guests. When you go out on vacation, do you expect the vacation rental home provider to keep things like soap, towel, and first aid kit in the house? If you do, so does your guest. Provide your guests with luxury vacation rental amenities. If your house is near the beach, we insist you arrange a few beach towels to avoid causing any inconvenience to your guests. You might as well provide them with ample supply and cleaning supplies if you often rent your vacation homes for longer durations. Additionally, an amenities checklist could encourage guest communication, letting property owners know what premium amenities their guests need. Providing Wi-Fi is not obligatory, but it would be great if you could do that. Having good internet has certainly become a necessity.
4. Good lighting
Good lighting can make a huge difference. Dark, moody lighting doesn’t give off nice vibes, your house will look shady. If you are blessed with sunlight directly entering your room from the window, then install some french windows and light-colored curtains to allow natural light into your house. You might as well add some yellow lights to allow your guests to instantly shift the mood to a warm and cozy one. Add good lights to the exterior as well. If your house has a lawn, decorate it with lights to give it a pretty look and also to make it more functional.
5. Decorate just enough
Decorating with too many decore items and furniture can make your room look small and cluttered. When decorating your house, less is more. You can hire an interior decorator to help you with decorating your house. Another option is displaying local artwork to provide guests a sense of the area. But if you are doing it on your own, we suggest you keep this tip in mind. Additionally, we suggest you paint your house with light trendy colors. Light colors reflect more light, making your house look more spacious than it is.
6. Have a theme for your house decorations
Even though it is not a resort, we suggest you have a central theme for the decors in your house. For example, you could try a tropical theme with wooden furniture, plants, bamboos, white bedsheets, handcrafted wall hangings, etc. Is it near a holiday season? Possibly have a custom stocked fridge or a themed list of local treats encouraging guests to explore the local area. Make your theme relevant to your location and the latest trends.
7. Enhance your curb appeal
When people go out for vacation, whether it is with their family or friends, people love spending time outside the closed walls. Therefore it is important that your landscaping is on point. Nature enthusiasts will appreciate the outdoor spaces. Lay a pretty lawn and maybe a patio or a wooden deck with some coffee tables. Give enough space for parking vehicles. You might as well put some outdoor furniture to rest in the open air.
8. Take down family photos and other personal items
Even if it is a vacation rental, it should feel like their own house. You might have your favorite family picture that you don’t want to take off, but what is important about the property is that the guests feel like it’s their home for a while. Keep your decore very general, and stick to the basic amenities, something that will make anyone feel like they are at their own house.
9. Make it pet friendly
Many people travel with their pets, and pet owners are always looking for a vacation home that allows pets and has pet washing areas and other pet requirements.Before the guest’s stay, make sure the right amenities are in place so the guests and property manager are happy. It is not a compulsion to allow pets, but if you don’t have any issues with having pets on your property, then why not give the little doggo and his owner a nice vacation experience too. It makes your property that much more desirable.
10. Hire a Professional Photographer
Thanks to sites like Airbnb, luxury vacation rental bookings usually happen on the internet. The audience on the internet is very impatient. They will quickly scroll through the list, and your house will be lost in it. That is why we need high-quality pictures of your house that are bound to attract a lot of attention. Attract bookings by hiring professional photography of your rental home. This will give a competitive advantage and create a welcoming ambiance for guests before they even book the rental.
11. Make arrangements for their entertainment.
Even though there are enough things to do at vacation spots, people still need some entertainment when they are in the room. You could arrange a ping pong table for your guests to enjoy a few matches of table tennis. You can also mount a TV and let them use streaming services. A game room could be created for guest convenience If your budget permits, you can build a pool. Everyone enjoys swimming pools on vacations. Having a swimming pool might actually be your USP to increase your profit and make you stand out in the short term rental market. You should also arrange sound systems or update the existing ones.
12. Analyze your property competition and highlight your USP
Differentiate yourself from other vacation homes in the same area. Try to highlight something unique about your rental property along with your best features to attract guests. Does your rental offer any smart home technology? It could be some unique amenities, a private pool, good offer, uniqueness of the location, and anything else that is not frequently used by your competition to describe the property.
13. Market to the right people
Know your target audience. Is your rental home near a beach? Then target audiences looking for a beach vacation. With the essential amenities your beach house could make all the difference in someone’s romantic getaway or family celebration. Another important thing here is the budget. If you are offering your home for rent at a higher price, you should probably start marketing your house to people with an income that will let them afford the house.
14. Collaborative offers
There are many small businesses at popular attractions. For example, a hot air balloon business. You could tie-up with them to give your customers an additional offer on a hot air balloon ride. It is a win-win situation for both you and the other business. You get a chance to make your offer stand out, and they get new customers from you.
15. Extra mile
Finally, we suggest you take the extra mile to enhance the guest experience. You can ask your customers if they are staying in a vacation home for a certain occasion and accommodate accordingly. For example, if it’s a wedding anniversary, maybe you could leave a bottle of wine nicely decorated in a welcome basket.
Conclusion
Marketing your rental vacation home effectively is a game of how successfully you communicate the benefits of your house and how you can improve the customer experience. Owners need to understand that if their house is not in a desirable location, they may not get any requests in the vacation rental industry no matter how much they try. If your house is in a good location, use these tips to make your guests happy. Guests expect a clean and spacious house with interiors relevant to the latest trends. They want to have a nice vacation with zero trouble, you give them that, and they’ll give you fantastic reviews.
