People’s desire to leave home and travel again is greater than ever. The covid-19 pandemic is still ongoing, but thanks to high vaccination rates and the use of the digital certificate, we are now freer and safer to pack our bags and go on vacation. So it is obviously to be expected that tourist accommodation can resume their business which spent almost a year on ice. Tourism in Spain seems to have the wind back in its sails, but if you want to make your holiday home more profitable there are things to improve. We will help you with some expert tips.
Online visibility of the holiday home
Should you advertise your accommodation on every real estate portal? There is a simple answer: no! To start off you have to analyze your business in depth: what type of accommodation do you have, what type of audience do you want to reach, and what opportunities exist in the market.
Your success should not depend on only one or two channels; it’s important to diversify. Ideally, have at least four or five ads on different portals. Aim for some portals with a broad reach, such as Booking.com, Airbnb and Expedia, as well as other more focussed portals, such as Rentalia or Vrbo.
It is important to keep these channels organised, perhaps employing an agent, so as to avoid any problems. You want to manage everything without any complications.
Quality photographs of the holiday home
Another common mistake is not communicating the best features of your accommodation to the client. Descriptions can often be underwhelming and it is common for them to lack information about the accommodation or its surroundings. Don’t leave room for doubt, you have to be honest and creative. It’s experiences that you are selling not just a bed for the night.
To support your description you need photos: “a picture is worth a thousand words”. You should hire a professional to take several quality photographs of your accommodation. Or even offer an immersive experience in the accommodation with a virtual tour. Make the tourist want to be in your holiday home and not whatever else they’ve found.
Set the rates for your holiday home
Preparing a pricing strategy is essential. You should take your fixed costs into account (and of course try to reduce them) to calculate an baseline price per night. This will help you to avoid putting offers on the market at a lower price than you should.
Next, it is also important to analyse the competition and their track record. Keep in mind that there exist tools that help you analyze and prepare your pricing strategy quickly and easily, such as “Market Navigator.”
Finally, you have to be aware of the different seasons -from high to low- and where they fit on the calendar, to adjust your rates. Also check all the public holidays, both in your area and in the countries of potential clients. This is when they will want to go on holiday! Organize your business to take advantage of the different times of the year.
Double down on having your own website to advertise the holiday home
Today more than ever, a direct sales channel is essential. Due to the pandemic, tourists have more concerns and want to be able to ask questions quickly and directly, not over a booking portal. Having your own website gives them a direct channel to communicate with you and combining this with a booking engine can boost business and help multiply bookings.
The website of your holiday rental accommodation must be well structured. Don’t forget that the web is a window to the world and will be one of the main sources of information for your potential clients, so do your best and structure it well.
Reservation on request
If you do not have an “immediate reservation” option activated on all channels, do so as soon as you can. This is another factor that will help you get more reservations. Travel trends tell us that two out of five reservations are made on the same day as, or just two days before the trip, which shows us that “last minute” booking is the new fashion.
Of course, there is always the fear of not knowing who is staying at your house by simply accepting reservations, but you can activate some restrictions to give yourself some piece of mind. Given that you will pay taxes on the property even when it’s empty, you want any boost you can get: implementing “immediate reservation” as an option can give you up to a 30% increase in your conversion rate!
Source: Idealista.
