How are your vacation rental reservations going? If the number of visitors eager to visit your vacation rental home for some much-needed relaxation time has decreased, it may be time to take action.
Even if visitor counts are the same or slightly higher year over year, there is always the potential for improvement. And what’s the greatest approach to send those travelers straight to your vacation rental door? Vacation rental narrative.
Don’t get us wrong: we’re not talking about reading a book to your visitors on the terrace before they go to bed! Vacation rental storytelling is all about capturing and holding your visitors’ attention in the first place. Whether it’s old visitors whose imaginations you want to rekindle or new ones you want to attract, doing so in an attractive, non-sales manner works. Here’s how it’s done:
1. Entertaining property descriptions
Vacation rental storytelling in property descriptions is intended to pique the curiosity of fresh new visitors to your home. It’s about standing out from the crowd on vacation rental listing sites or just adding a little additional detail to bring your house to life on your website.
To do this, write property descriptions that allow readers to easily visualize themselves in the space. Imagine visitors drinking great drinks by the pool or playing with their children in the adjoining family water park.
Adapt your scenario to the vacation rental target population, whether it’s families, newlyweds, or large groups of friends, and make your vacation rental a chance for memory building that they can’t pass up!
2. Eye-catching visuals
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this is meaningless if the pictures don’t do your holiday rental justice! Go beyond the required arranged bedroom or dining room photographs and experiment with being creative with your house.
Take some unique “behind the scenes” images that tell the tale of your house and provide insights into the work you put in as an owner. This might include photos of how the beds are made, the welcome basket is arranged ‘just so,’ the yard is maintained and manicured, and, if you provide catering, how the exquisite continental breakfast is delivered!
You don’t even have to stop there. What tales can you share about the area around your holiday rental? Share photos showcasing the finest of what your location has to offer, such as a remote, golden beach, the most magnificent sunset site, the liveliest local market, or the historic, bustling town center.
Images like this make it much simpler for prospective visitors to visualize themselves staying at your house. They aid in visualizing not just the views but also the sounds, scents, and tastes of your holiday rental!
3. Outstanding user-generated material
User-generated material is popular these days and is one of the finest methods to communicate your vacation rental story.
How many times have you wished to go on vacation to a certain location after viewing your friends’ vacation photos? Isn’t it more than a few?
Let’s face it: travel is the most discussed subject on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Therefore you, as a vacation rental owner, have many opportunities to capitalize on it.
Send an email to a visitor after they’ve checked out, asking if they have any images or videos they’d want to contribute. In addition, invite people to follow you on social media and tag your VR in their images. You may then re-post their great holiday photos and tales on social networks like Instagram or Facebook, increasing the exposure of your vacation rental and your guests’ ego in the process!
4. Exciting activities to do in your area
Storytelling for your vacation rental goes beyond descriptions and photographs – every aspect of your site is an opportunity to stand out and entice customers to choose you over your competition.
Consider designing personalized pages that will pique the interest of even the most daring tourists. Why not provide a sample schedule, a “week in the life,” including your favorite activities, sights, and, of course, restaurants in your area?
This might range from boat cruises to art galleries, mountain treks among animals to scuba diving, horseback riding to wine tasting – just remember to cater to your various audiences!
You might even include a basic map with some of your favorite local places. Create a cycle-friendly map of all the closest must-see sights, for example, if your holiday rental is in Amsterdam.
5. Interesting marketing for certain events
Getting visitors interested in your vacation rental because of what your location has to offer and what you can give them in return may be a terrific approach to obtaining more reservations.
If you know how storytelling and marketing may go hand in hand.
How do other tourist businesses promote the year’s key events? With great deals!
If it’s Halloween and you know your neighbors decorate the whole street with pumpkins and skeletons, share photographs from past years and start a social media conversation about fancy dress ideas – then give a discounted stay to the best response!
The same could be said for any local, national, or worldwide holiday, even something relatively insignificant (such as crab season!). Given how simple it is to add promotional banners and special prices to your Lodgable website, more VR owners should use promotions to help fill their schedules.
We’re not suggesting that you give away a free trip every few months, but by combining events and promotions, you can build a lot of attention and excitement around your vacation rental business.
6. Emails that are conversational and talkative
Consider storytelling through email if you want to attract past guests (whose email addresses you already have!) to return to your vacation rental. It’s one of the most prevalent marketing methods, and it’s really simple to use.
All you need is one piece of fascinating news related to your vacation rental. That’s all there is to it!
Is a new mayor in place? Have 100 cows escaped from a nearby farm? Is it true that the local baseball club won for the first time in a decade? Is a famous musician doing a concert?
Whatever the news is in your area, summarize it in a short, snappy email and provide a little introduction. “Hello! I hope you’re all well. This month, the [funniest/weirdest/coolest] event occurred in [town]. Allow me to tell you about it…”
The idea here is to make your email as nice and informal as possible. And, we repeat, do not pitch your holiday rental in any way.
The goal is to remind prior visitors of their wonderful experiences at your vacation rental in your community! It will also remind them that you still exist and that you may have availability for that weekend; they were intending to go away but hadn’t yet booked…