Table of contents
- Why you need a vacation rental marketing strategy
- How do I market my short-term rental property?
- 7 Strategies to make your short-term rental stand out
- Boost bookings and revenue with an STR marketing strategy
- Frequently Asked Questions
A decent short-term rental marketing strategy can boost your revenue from earning a passive income to reeling in the profits. It works as a crutch to help you grow your business, whether you rent your vacation house during the off-peak season or you manage a thousand units. You can finally experience your efforts paying off.
There are many moving parts that need constant focus, from conception to implementation, from research to analysis. Marketing is a time-consuming part of your short-term rental (STR) business, not something you devise while sipping your morning brew.
At Jetstream, we’ve got a team of experts who handle the marketing for rental units of all sizes and niches. We do this every day; build short-term rental marketing strategies for clients to help them grow. We’ve made the mistakes; we’ve corrected the errors. Now, we’ve compiled this guide to help you get a headstart in the competitive short-term rental industry.
Why you need a vacation rental marketing strategy
This isn’t just a casual side hustle: every successful business needs a marketing strategy. If you’re happy making the minimum, stop reading right now.
A few factors are in play to boost your listing and thicken your wallet.
- Online Placement: A marketing strategy will get your property listing in front of the right people on the right channels. Airbnb and VRBO aren’t the only short-term rental marketplaces. Neither does everyone choose them.
- Attractiveness: Vacationers pick the listing that resonates with them, their needs, and desires. Same for business people, families, lovers, digital nomads, etc. Your message is portrayed in the writing and imagery.
- Stop the scroll: Scrolling is a reality. A listing that doesn’t pop off the screen will be quickly overlooked. Your ideal renters need to click on your listing. Your digital marketing strategy will ensure this.
- Increase in revenue: Seamlessly generate more income with identifiable goals and processes. A marketing strategy helps you define these goals, keeping the bigger picture in constant focus. Easily track results, aim higher, and repeat.
How do I market my short-term rental property?
Now you understand why you need one, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to design and follow a digital marketing strategy.
You can do this yourself, but there may be points where you choose to bring in a professional. Being a jack of all trades is great in the short-term rental business, but it doesn’t translate well to marketing.
Analysis, copywriting, photography, and web design, to name a few, are all integral parts of your strategy that you can outsource. They’re worth the investment.
Define your target audience
Who do you want to rent your property to? What type of people? Take control of the reins and decide your ideal renter.
Analyze your previous guests and compare them to your desired market. Not matching? Look at your price, online accessibility, marketing channels, and website design.
Once you’ve created your ideal customer profile (ICP), all the moving parts of your online listing will fall into place. To define your ICP, consider these aspects: age, gender, location, income bracket, employment, marital status, children, and pets.
Example
| NAME | Bill Smith |
| AGE | 48 |
| GENDER | male |
| CURRENT RESIDENCE | Single-family home, suburbs |
| INCOME | 55k |
| EMPLOYMENT | Financial advisor |
| MARITAL STATUS | Married |
| CHILDREN | 3 |
| PETS | 1 dog |
Bill travels frequently on business trips to cities across the United States. He goes alone, but sometimes his wife joins him. Once a year, he takes his whole family on vacation to an all-inclusive holiday resort.
Types of rentals Bill seeks:
- City center single hotel rooms
- Charming rooms for two with easy access to the city center
- Family- and pet-friendly holiday resorts
Does any of Bill’s needs match your rental listing? If you have a country room for two available, use an avatar like Bill’s to help define your ICP and market your listing.
Get professional photos
Quality images project professionalism. For potential guests, professional photos and up-to-standards accommodation go hand in hand.
Your iPhone or tablet can provide decent images. Remember to use a device with a wide-angle option and a high megapixel (MP) count. High-quality images still look attractive when reduced in size. Also, heavy images slow your listing’s page loading speed.
Having a good camera doesn’t automatically make you a pro. Set the scene by playing with different angles and lighting scenarios. Optimize your room layout, leaving your guests pining to stay there.
List on the right platforms
Airbnb is often the first port of call for new PMs. It’s globally known and trusted. Still, it’s no walk in the park.
There is work to do to maximize your vacation rental income in the saturated market. They have their own SEO (search engine optimization), and out-of-the-box thinking is preferred over regular listings.
Maybe your target doesn’t use Airbnb. Find out which online travel agencies (OTA) they use and list your properties there.
Other platforms used in the short-term rental industry include
Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Expedia, Google, FlipKey, Trivago, Kayak, Holiday Lettings, Travelocity, Orbitz, Agoda, TripAdvisor, LeaveTown, HomeAway, Hotwire, Priceline.com, Hotels.com.
Hire a travel-dedicated copywriter to optimize your listing’s appeal, creating grabbing titles and descriptions that leave readers wanting more.
Create a stunning website
It’s never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket; the same goes for your listing and OTAs. Build a website dedicated to your short-term rental.
It’s all about communicating your brand and giving a great user experience. You get full control over how it looks, appealing to your target audience.
A general rule of thumb to go by is to have 20% of your bookings sourced through your own website. If anything should happen to any of the other marketplaces, at least you still have a working outlet.
On the plus side, there are no listing fees. Drive traffic to your website by offering discounts–basically, the fees you would’ve paid. This mightn’t seem the most obvious revenue-generating tactic, but provide a good experience, and your guests will book with you again at full price.
Build a free website on WordPress. There are plenty of how-to videos to guide you. Or you can hire someone to save you the hassle.
Did you know, Jetstream will create a direct booking website for you, following your brand? It’s all part of the marketing package we offer.
Create business cards
Having business cards ready to hand out is a traditional and highly-effective tactic to boost referral bookings. Leave the cards in your rooms, at the reception, as part of your welcome gift, amongst brochures of local amenities, or attached to the check-out receipt.
Use the same branding colors and fonts, and include your website, telephone number, email address, and locations. Make it easy for your guests to book with you.
Stay up to date on the latest trends
Remaining relevant in an over-saturated market is not difficult. It’s constant work but easy to accomplish once you have a plan.
Consistently create blog and social media content to stay in the limelight. Depending on your niche, find relevant topics and share your point of view. Let your potential guests know that you’re active and present, boosting their confidence to book with you.
Regular posting on social media is a great idea, but what do you post? Aside from repurposing your blogs, share guest experiences, recent renovations, promotions, and special deals with your followers.
7 Strategies to make your short-term rental stand out
It’s all good having a great listing; now you just need to get it in front of the right people, your target audience.
Choose dynamic pricing (not Airbnb Smart Pricing!)
Dynamic pricing, or automatic pricing updates, is THE way to stay ahead of the game. PMs find themselves spending too much time tweaking prices. Don’t forget your frustration when you realize how many thousands of dollars you missed out on.
Airbnb Smart Pricing is designed to make more money for Airbnb. For them, this means more nights booked, even though lower prices for you. They aim to attract guests without taking into consideration your target audience.
At Jetstream, we use Wheelhouse, a dynamic pricing software. Their calendar feature allows you to enter upcoming events and holidays. A couple of hours work for a full-year pricing strategy. Its smart features include a nightly update based on data analytics. You make more money while you sleep.
Other factors to include in your pricing strategy:
- Short vs. long-term bookings
- Peak- and off-season
- Weekdays and weekends
- Last-minutes bookings
- Local events (festivals, concerts, etc.)
Discover your market niche
Do market research to understand your niche, making your listing appealing to your target audience.
In a nutshell, market research is checking out your competitors. Create a file of their listings, zoning in on location, size, price, accessibility, and amenities. Don’t directly copy them. Get inspired: what will make your listing stand out?
Build your marketing strategy around your target audience within your specific niche.
For example,
Barcelona Rooftop Weekend Escape / Romantic Country Get-Away / Deep Work Retreat for Creatives / Family-Friendly Breaks, Fun For Kids
Try paid ads (but do it wisely)
Paid ads are a sure-fire way to get your listing in front of your ideal guests. However, don’t go in blind. Research keywords relevant to your niche, do your homework, and make data-driven decisions.
Tips for paid ads include setting a budget limit, testing relevant keywords, playing with the wording, and using an attractive image.
Take your time with SEO
Results don’t appear overnight. SEO is a continuous task that requires time, patience, and quality content.
For your listing to appear high on the search engine result page (SERP), you need to
- Regularly optimize your listings
- Create more content
- Update your current web pages
- Include local SEO – list on Google Maps
Foster customer loyalty
Customer loyalty wears two hats: repeat bookings and referrals.
Your guests have booked, stayed at your rental, and successfully checked out. Your short-term rental marketing strategy isn’t solely about attracting new clients. You must retain your guests, encouraging them to rebook and refer your listing to friends, colleagues, and family.
Create a mailing list and set up an email marketing sequence. This is an automated sequence of emails that are sent out to your customer when they perform a certain action, like checking out. You work once: create a bundle of emails, and your email marketing platform does the rest.
Receiving periodic emails keeps your brand in your guests’ minds. They’ll think of you when they next need to get away or refer a trusted friend or colleague traveling in the vicinity of your listing.
You can take a step further and set a sequence to follow your customer on their entire journey with you–from inquiry to check-out.
Inquiry → booking → prior to arrival → on arrival → during the stay → prior to checkout → check out → after checkout → review request
Another hack is to create a Facebook page for previous guests only. A space for them to share their photos, give feedback and benefit from exclusive deals.
Create Videos
Video is becoming a powerful tool in digital marketing, and property management benefits from them too.
- Walking tours of the property/room
- Drone filmed promotions videos
- Former guest experiences
These videos are valuable content to share on your social media pages, website, OTA listings, and email marketing.
Connect with influencers on social media
A recent survey shows how 90% of marketers find influencer marketing to be effective. You need to run with the herd to get ahead. Find relevant influencers on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Suggested influencers for short-term rentals include travel critics, travel bloggers, and digital nomads with a strong online following.
To have your brand noticed, offer weekend-getaway competitions via these influencers during your low season.
Boost bookings and revenue with an STR marketing strategy
Stay ahead of the game–don’t let your online listing collect dust. You might ask yourself what’s the point with so much competition, but identifying your niche and target audience is key.
After that, developing a plan is easy. Optimize your listings to connect your property with the world. Remember marketing, content creation, and listing optimization. These tips are a powerful way to get your property in front of the right audience.
Frequently asked questions about short-term rental marketing
How profitable are short-term rentals?
Short-term rentals are highly profitable. In May 2022, STR demand was up 17.9%, with revenue 23.3% higher YOY. If you have a secondary residence lying idle for 11 months of the year, now is the time to get it on the market.
What are the major benefits of short-term rentals?
The major benefits of short-term rentals include:
- Shorter contracts, allowing you to personally avail of the rental.
- More money annually with higher nightly rates.
- Easier to sell without needing to budge tenants.
- No dealing with fractious long-term occupants.
- Maintenance is easier to control with frequent access to utilities.
How do I make a profit with short-term rentals?
To profit from short-term rentals, adjust your vacation rental property nightly rates according to seasonality, day of the week, holidays, and special events. Fill rooms during the low season by charging a lower rate, and hike your prices when the demand is high.
Where can I advertise my short-term rental?
The list is inexhaustive, but the best trusted online listing sites are:
Airbnb: the most popular, with over 7 million listings worldwide.
Vrbo: around since 1995, this platform has been more family-orientated than other OTAs.
Booking.com: not just for hotels; they list private short-term vacation rentals too.
Expedia: your one-stop shop for all your vacation needs.
Google: add your rental to Google to appear on local searches.
FlipKey: an extension of TripAdvisor which boasted 167 million website visitors in May 2022.
Trivago: a German-found website and metasearch engine that dives deep into hotel and STR price comparison.
Kayak: a flight comparison website that also offers vacation rentals.
Holiday Lettings: exclusively lists privately owned villas, apartments, and holiday cottages.
Travelocity: third highest vacation rental website of the Expedia Group.
Orbitz: another travel metasearch engine and fare aggregator website, part of the Expedia Group.
Agoda: one of Asia’s leading tech companies booking flights, accommodation, and car rentals.
TripAdvisor: likely the largest online travel guidance website with over a billion reviews.
Leavetown: Jetstream’s parent company, this Canadian global company targets digital nomads.
HomeAway: they acquired Vrbo, who was acquired by Expedia, so it’s all part of that big family!
Hotwire: specializes in last-minute deals, buying up and offering at a discount unsold travel inventory.
Priceline.com: another discount online travel agency offering last-minute deals.
Hotels.com: traditionally listed hotel rooms and holiday resorts, now includes all rental homes.
