Your Short-term Rental Marketing Plan
Kate Stoermer 
How to get bookings? By offering what people want and ensuring they know about it! Marketing should be the area you invest the most time and effort.
Its no secret that competition is stiff in todays short-term rental market! Its more important than ever to ensure your place is getting seen! I've rounded up some best practices for marketing your short-term rental, along with some tips for how to implement. But, BEFORE you start investing in marketing - make sure your offering is showcased well in your online listing - speaking to your ideal audience, photos highlight key amenities and competitive edge, and that you are priced competitively. If you aren't sure that these points are covered, Book A Strategy Session with me - we'll review your market, competitor set, pricing, and listing and you'll come away with recommendations sure to elevate your listing and most importantly - your revenue! In the meantime, below are a number of recommendations to consider implementing in your marketing plan for your short-term rental.
1. Leverage Online Platforms: Make sure your short-term rental is listed on popular online platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO as well as have a direct booking site. This will ensure that your rental is visible to a larger audience. Many channel managers offer the option to have a direct booking site. You should buy the domain for your business and you can then redirect your domain to your direct booking site, while leveraging the systems and processes built into your channel manager. If you don't have a channel manager, you can develop a sales page through almost any provider - many will have a template for lodging that you can customize easily including Wordpress and Leadpages.
2. Utilize Social Media: Utilize social media to market your rental. Create social media profiles on various platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and post content regularly to engage and build an audience. What platform? Wherever your potential guests are, of course! Okay, Kate, how do I do this? Here are some ideas for figuring out WHERE your best efforts for social media should be by understanding where to find your target market-
-Research Your Market: Start by researching your target market to identify their interests and needs. Look for common trends and topics of conversation. This is sometimes referred to as Guest Avatar, Guest Profile, Ideal Guest, etc. But whomever you think will stay in your place (and yes - you'll have more than one most likely - but there is likely one ideal profile that stands out - start there).
-Monitor Social Platforms: Monitor the most popular social media platforms to get an idea of where your target market is spending their time. Keep an eye out for conversations and content related to tourism and travelers to your area. I get a fair amount of traffic at one of my properties on Facebook organically just by posting in a local group regularly - there are a lot of people who "like" the page that have connections to the area but don't live there.
- Use Analytics Tools: Use analytics tools such as Google Trends, Social Mention, and Hootsuite Insights to gain insights into your target market’s preferences and interests. Who travels to the area? Why? Obviously your offering drives this a bit as well - a cute one bedroom has a different audience than a stylish 4-bedroom, etc. Lean into developing your ideal guest profile and find them online!
-Monitor Competitors: Monitor your competitors’ social media activity to identify which platforms they’re using and how they’re engaging with their target audience. Not sure who your competitors are? Search for your place on Airbnb or VRBO - what other places come up that are similar size/amenities.
-Join Targeted Groups: Join relevant groups and forums on social media platforms to get an idea of where your target market is hanging out and to figure out what they respond to in terms of content.
-Leverage Hashtags: Use hashtags to find conversations related to people who enjoy your area or the type of offering you have.
3. Focus on SEO: Register your short-term rental as a business on Google; ask for reviews on Google. Optimize your website and online profiles to rank higher in search engine results. Use keywords in your content and titles to increase visibility. If you aren’t sure how to do this, hire someone to help you or invest time in learning, it includes utilizing keywords, meta tags, and descriptions which will help your website appear higher in search engine rankings. Backlinks are hugely helpful - i.e., your business discussed online elsewhere and links back to you. Even in your Airbnb, VRBO, and Direct booking site, make sure you rename your photos before uploading to include key search terms or at least give them real names vs the serial numbers often assigned. Include your property name in a few (but not all!) of the photos.
4. Invest in Paid Advertising: Invest in paid advertising to increase your visibility and reach a larger audience. You can use platforms like Google Ads or Facebook Ads to create targeted campaigns.
5. Reach Out to Local Influencers: Reach out to local influencers and offer them a free stay in exchange for a review or social media post. This is a great way to get the word out about your short-term rental; just make sure that they are legitimate and use a rental contract.
6. Offer Discounts: Offer discounts and promotional deals to attract more customers. You can also run special promotions to increase visibility. Keep in mind, price isn't the end all be all when people are shopping . In fact, what people are REALLY shopping for the majority of the time is their desired experience - but they will have a budget in mind.
7. Leverage Referrals: Leverage referrals to increase bookings. Offer a referral bonus or discount to encourage customers to refer your rental to their friends and family. I like to leave information in my rentals providing promo-codes for referrals and direct bookings. I get business card magnets made, as well as communicating it via email or messaging.
8. Make sure you are using professional photos; in the era of stiff competition showing your place to its full potential when potential guests are scrolling is key. Finding a photographer who understands how to capture the experience is key - you'll want to stage your photos with little vignettes that speak to the experience to be had; the game spread on the table, the pitcher of ice tea with a couple of glasses, not an empty fire pit - but roaring fire, nice lighting, and chairs set up with blankets tossed on them. This isn't a real estate photo shoot.
9. Focus on Customer Service: Provide exceptional customer service to ensure that customers have a positive experience. Respond to customer inquiries quickly and provide a great experience. If you get a less than stellar review, respond to it understanding your audience for your response is potential customers - not the person who left the review.
Feeling overwhelmed? I totally get it! Short-term rental investing can be a passive investment - IF you outsource the work it takes. Like any business, it requires active management, especially in the marketing and sales. If you are looking for some help and resources, The CEO Host may be helpful. Our Strategy Session can be helpful in laying out a step-by-step plan to chunk down all the work needed to identify your target market, prioritize marketing efforts, and find resources to help execute. Your time is worth alot - and getting personalized recommendations can be very helpful! So get booked today - and get your marketing efforts underway.
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Hey Boss! I'm Kate, owner/founder of The CEO Host. If you are interested in taking a leap into short-term rentals - or struggling with your existing business, my goal - passion, and career, is to help YOU succeed. I've coached hundreds of folks getting started, analyzed more deals (and duds) than I could count, completed thousands of hours of education and training, attended conferences... So don't be shy. A good CEO knows to bring in expert help - and that's what I'm here for! Lets HOP ON A CALLand chat!