Vacation Rental Marketing: The Power of A Digital Presence
Did you know the vacation rental market will be valued at $20 billion by 2025? That’s a lot of vacation rentals. So, how do property owners cut through the clutter and stand out among the rest? A digital presence is the first place to start.
If you didn’t know this already, our founder, Lynzee Krohne, is our resident Airbnb guru. She has an uncanny ability to search and find the best Airbnbs wherever she goes. If we close our eyes, we can see Lynzee’s face lit up in bed while she’s scrolling through all the vacation rental listings, eagle-eying those with the best digital first impression.
In all seriousness, Lynzee’s specialty is derived from her digital marketing and content creation expertise. When it comes to a vacation rental listing, yes, photos and descriptions matter, but how does a property owner get potential guests there in the first place?
Develop a digital content strategy to lead potential guests down the marketing funnel.
Over the last year or so, Lynzee turned her passion for traveling and scouting Airbnbs into a LEO + LAINE specialty and service offering. Right now, we’re the primary drivers behind Bluefish Vacation Rentals and Legacy Hospitality.
Recently, Lynzee was on John Candelario’s podcast Vacation Home Help to discuss the importance of a digital presence, how to create an attractive one, and what it means to get people into the marketing funnel.
We highly suggest popping over to John’s blog and listening to their discussion, but for now, we’ll give you the abbreviated version of Lynzee’s advice.
We often search for vacation rentals in a faraway land, so a strong digital presence should be paramount for a property owner’s marketing strategy.
A digital presence should be:
Straightforward
Make sense
Match what you see in person
Unfortunately, many vacation rental listings read and feel the same. You know exactly what we mean.
There are easy ways to stand out:
Pay attention to home aesthetics
Tell a story with unique features
Invest in professional photography
We live in a scroll-first, save-now, read-later society, so property owners should make their presence as attractive as possible, but it comes with one caveat—be relatable to be enticing. Potential renters need to envision themselves taking a dip in the pool or reading in a cozy nook. Short-form videos (TikToks, Reels, YouTube Shorts) are an excellent way to showcase a home like someone would see it in real life.
Another huge differentiator—act like a concierge by helping guests make the most of their vacation with as little effort as possible. Does a guest want a charcuterie board and mimosas upon arrival? Make it happen and make sure to promote this added benefit. Concierge services can range far and wide and look different everywhere you go, but extending that help goes beyond the average.
By sprucing up their digital content and harmonizing their approach with each component (social media profiles, websites, e-newsletters, etc.), property owners can create awareness in the minds of their potential renters—the first experience in the marketing funnel. Gradually, with a creative, consistent and cohesive approach, followers will make their way down the funnel, which is the ultimate reward.
To learn even more about vacation rental marketing, we highly suggest you read John’s blog and listen to the short interview.
