How to market your holiday rental. Are you guilty of this?

How to market your holiday rental

Picture the scene

You’ve spent all that time and effort on marketing your holiday rental and convincing guests to book with you. They do and they are not disappointed. You exceed their expectations and they have a fantastic time in your holiday rental, in your part of the world. They write a glowing review about how much they loved your place and what they got up to. Great you think, “I feel sure they’ll come back again. Yay!”

Stop right there!

Before you pat yourself too hard on the back for a job well done, don’t make any such assumptions.

Don’t be guilty of assuming that happy past guests will rebook!

No matter how brilliant a time your guests had, they get home, get back into their daily routine, their normal life and week by week their holiday memories and their guest book comment fades and fades, just like their tans.

Unbeknown to you, when they next come to book a holiday, they forget about you. They’ve seen another accommodation provider that they like the look of and are very interested in booking. After all why would they remember you? It’s a long time since their holiday with you isn’t it? You’re not top of mind anymore are you? If you were, things would be different!

To capture that return booking, you have to keep top of mind! #vacationrentals #holidayrentals Click To Tweet

So how do you keep top of mind?

By softly, but consistently marketing to past guests all over again and keeping that relationship going. No hard sell, just repeated marketing messages and reminders about your area and your holiday rental. Here’s how:

1. Continue to build the relationship immediately

Send a welcome home email in which you enquire about their journey home and thank them for any comments they’ve left you. If they raised any issues, for example the front door sticking, then address these in this email. This is the start of your new relationship with them (as a return rather than a future guest).

2. Send regular newsletters

Sign up to an email marketing software such as Madmimi or Mailchimp and create professional looking newsletters.  Include any blogs and information about you, your holiday rental, special offers, your local area. The newsletters don’t have to be very long but once you’ve chosen your timescale (weekly/fortnightly/monthly/bi-monthly) you must be consistent. Diary in your newsletter.

 

3. Make it personal

If you have any “we will be back” comments then these “warm” leads deserve some personal attention. Email them 4-6 months after their holiday has ended and remind them of their visitor book comments and how a holiday with you made them feel. Tell them, you can reserve the same dates as last year but they have to be quick as you can only hold the reservation for 5 days. Or offer them (and just them) a discount if they rebook with you in the next week.

4. Remember them

When they do get back in touch to enquire about availability or to book, greet them as you would a long lost friend (while still keeping a bit of business decorum!) If it’s the lady getting in touch, ask after both her and her husband in first name terms, and even better dig out a snippet of information you gleamed from their last stay eg a gin and tonic is their favourite evening tipple. All this makes them feel so important and so much more likely to go ahead and book.

Getting people to book with you in the first place takes time and effort. To get them to come back again, should be easier as they know and like you.  But this will only happen if you put focus and effort into marketing to your past guests and staying top of mind.

Keep in touch with them, build relationships and remember them, so when they are ready to book another holiday, you will be the first accommodation they think of!

Don’t be guilty of ignoring past guests!