When it comes to marketing your holiday home, there are plenty of other cheap and effective ways to maximise bookings and enhance the visibility of your holiday rental, but with so many exciting opportunities open to you, it’s difficult to know where to start!
So we’ve provided some top tips for marketing your holiday property, help maximise enquiries and boost your bookings!
Get your own professionally produced business cards and promotional literature, and distribute them to any new people you meet. We recommend VistaPrint.com and Moo.com
Printing your own postcards with photographs of your holiday property and your contact detail on the back work particularly well. Leave a few in your rooms or around your holiday property for guests to send home to their friends and family.
Word of mouth will always be the best form of advertising so ensure the whole experience of renting your holiday property or staying in your bed and breakfast is remarkable and as polished as possible. Your guests might not only tell their friends and family but they might return the following year!
Tell your friends and family! Sounds simple, but your friends and family can be some of your best advertisers, so be sure to give them a few of your business cards or some of the above mentioned postcards.
If your region is famous for certain traditions, events or attracts certain groups, such as walkers, wine enthusiasts or skiers, who not adjust your marketing to consider these groups and events. In short, harness each and every opportunity.
Make contact with other property owners nearby. Offer to send them prospects when you’re full in return for the same favour. Pick their brains and share resources, it will work well for all parties.
Pop a link to your website or the web address of your property listing at the bottom of every email you send. You can do this easily on just about every email system in use, and once it’s set up you’ll automatically be giving people access to your ad at the click of a mouse.
Get Networking. Social networking sites are the way forward and with millions of users daily they could become your best source of traffic and enquiries, without ever costing you a penny. Consider creating a short video or image slideshow of your property, which you upload to the likes of YouTube or Google Video or perhaps consider creating a profile for your property and networking with prospective tourists and fellow owners on the likes of Facebook.
Wherever you can use noticeboards. Whether it’s at work, the gym or a club, most people won’t mind if you pin up a business card or postcard. Remember to always ask permission and use something you’ve had made or produced yourself on a computer rather than hand written notes.
Be sure to register and get on the books of national organisations, local tourist office accommodation lists and travel guides. Check out local authorities and find out what else is available.
Got your own tips? Why not get in touch and we’ll add them to our guide.