If the see-what-sticks approach has brought you success in the past, consider yourself lucky.
As the vacation rental world grows and evolves, we hope it keeps its mom-and-pop charm. But as having a vacation rental business becomes ever more profitable, marketing will get more and more competitive.
Effective vacation rental marketing of the future will be goal-based. In fact, industry pros say that marketers who set goals are over four times more likely to report success than those who don’t.
So what does that mean for those in the vacation rental industry? To win the bookings of old guests and attract new ones this year, you’ll have to set your laser focus on actionable goals that are true to your brand identity and what your guests want.
Here are a few examples of what we mean by guided, actionable goals:
- A property manager of cabins in Washington State wants to attract more couples to his properties for idyllic weekends away. He sets a goal to create a blog that will target keywords like “romantic getaways pacific northwest” and “washington cabins for couples.”
- A small company in Punta Cana has recently renovated many of their beach properties to provide a more high-end experience and hopefully increase their nightly rate. They aim to attract more luxury travelers by redoing their website and adopting a voice that appeals to upscale guests, as well as creating pages that showcase their resort-style amenities.
- A boutique Norwegian property manager has acquired bungalows with breathtaking views of mountains and fjords. She resolves to create social media campaign across Instagram, including a brand hashtag, to make the can’t-miss views a part of her branding and appeal to millenials.
- And finally, a real-world example: a luxury villa property manager on Grand Cayman wanted to shift the company’s focus to target not just a luxury audience, but families—including families with young children—who appreciate luxury, too. A website redesign (and new copy from Guest Hook) helped to shape the brand story and show how Luxury Cayman Villa’s founder, Molly—a mom and global traveler—is well-positioned to offer a cut-above Cayman experience.
Ready to give your 2018 vacation rental marketing the laser focus it needs to succeed? Reach out to Guest Hook today for a solutions report—a full marketing analysis for your company that you can use to guide your own efforts or hire us to execute.
