How to create the perfect holiday rental listing

Your holiday rental advertising listing is not performing, your bookings are down and you see other holiday homes in your destination with full calendars and happy guests. So why are you not achieving the same success?

Before you throw in the towel, take a good look at your holiday rental listing copy. Content can always be improved and optimising your content and writing copy that resonates with your ideal guest, should lead to increases enquiries and bookings.

In this article we’ll share our Top 10 Tips On Writing The Perfect Holiday Rental Listing. And don’t forget we can produce a ‘Wow’ factor listing for you, if you don’t feel like taking on the challenge.

1. The holiday experience

Before you can write a compelling holiday rental listing you have to establish the reasons why travellers want to visit your holiday destination. Step back from the fact you are selling a holiday rental. People don’t buy into holiday rentals, they buy into a destination. Accommodation is just the place to lay their hat at the end of the day. If you want to stand out from the other ‘holiday rentals’ in your destination, you have to sell the whole experience. Is it popular with beach lovers, or those looking for a country retreat? Does it have a lot to offer outdoor enthusiasts, or culture lovers? Is it popular with party people, or holidaymakers looking to relax and unwind?

Make a list of everything your destination has to offer, ready to build around the accommodation detail.

2. Talk to your ideal guest

Start to think about your ‘Ideal Guest’. Who would enjoy your holiday experience and what type of person would appreciate your home? Often your ideal guests will be just like you. The aim is to create an image of who they are and write with only them in mind.  Once you have a strong idea of who your ideal client is, start creating a description that they will feel a connection with.

Top tip: If your ideal guests are often not english speakers, then we highly recommend you have your listing professionally translated into the language they speak. Make sure you have someone on hand that can speak their language. Or be honest in your content that you don’t speak the language.

3. Hit them with a great title

Your title should give the client an idea of what they can expect from your holiday experience. Your holiday home may be sitting amongst hundreds of similar properties in your area, so you’ll need a headline that will grab the attention of your ideal guest, while scrolling amongst multiple listings.

Forgettable: Two bedroom holiday apartment with terrace

Bookable: Spectacular sunset views, free Wifi and walking distance to beach

Summarising the best features of your holiday home and destination is a great way to capture the attention of your ideal guests, giving them a head start on what to expect from the rest of your listing.

4. Personal welcome

The personal attention and service you can offer a holiday rental guest is still one of the major advantages over other forms of accommodation. As the saying goes “People do business with people!” People choose holiday rentals for the home-from-home and authentic experience, and part of that is having a connection with the host, so start to build it right from the beginning.

Introduce your copy with a brief introduction to who you are: ‘Hi, We’re Louise and Pepe, your hosts at Casa Triana. We look forward to welcoming you to our home.”

If you are on hand to welcome guests and help them during their stay, refer to this in your copy. Let them know that you’re happy to recommend your favourite places to visit, restaurants, etc. If not, make sure they know they will be cared for by someone you trust.

6. Build the copy around the experience

Before you go down the bullet point route, which are definitely needed to re-highlight your best features, make sure you have captivated your ideal client with a beautiful description of your holiday experience. It needs to be descriptive, broken into readable paragraphs and it should be written in the first person, so they can put themselves in this wonderful picture you are painting.

Forgettable: Our guests can go horse riding from the local stables.

Bookable: You’ll enjoy an unforgettable experience, horse riding across the cliffs and through the stunning countryside.

7. Picture story

The story you tell should be backed up by good and plentiful photos. A study showed that 83% of travellers are more likely to enquire if a holiday listing has 20 plus images. Your photos should be a good resolution (not pixelated), and show all the best facets of your home, local region and activities that a guest might enjoy.

Update your photos regularly; showing seasonal photos to attract out of season guests, add some Christmas sparkle to your home for a Christmas image and show the Easter parade to attract Easter bookings.

Tip: If you want to add another dimension to your holiday rental marketing, ask your guests to take a photo during their stay. One that you can share in your holiday rental marketing. This adds another level of authenticity to your story. Obviously you must ask their permission first to use them in your marketing.

Read more about photography staging.

8. Reply to reviews

Ideally you’re already receiving five star reviews. Well done! Whether you receive positive or negative feedback you should be replying to every single guest who took the time to write about their holiday experience in your home.

Remember: You’re not only replying to the commenter, but the 500 people that are looking at your advertisement listing afterwards. Showing you care about guest feedback and take the time to reply, will create a connection and feeling of authenticity.

9. NEVER oversell

Always sell the benefits, but never oversell what doesn’t exist. Be real and honest in your holiday rental copy. It might put people off when you mention there is some noise at night from the street below, but honesty is the best policy, if you don’t want to receive negative reviews. Your ideal guests will be delighted with the features that most interest them.

Make sure all additional services are clearly marked and if you want to attract families, then you should NOT charge for extras like cots, stair guards, etc.

10.  Take control of your holiday rental marketing

Finally, if you are serious about your holiday rental business and want to achieve full calendars and happy guests, then you need to develop your own holiday rental marketing channels. Setting up your own holiday home website and social media channels.Platforms where you can really sell the experience, not just the accommodation. Want to find out more about setting up your holiday home website?