The Importance of Holiday Let Investment Listings

  • 2017-03-08

Just as photography plays a vital role in holiday lest investment marketing success, so too do your listings. Holiday rental listings work hand in hand with your images to help encourage enquiries and bookings. While photographs help to provide guests with a visual picture of the rental, it is the listings that provide the information needed to prompt further action. Despite the huge importance that listings play in encouraging bookings however, they are still too often treated as a last minute thing that does not require much effort or thought.

The Importance of Holiday Let Investment Listings

Imagine this for a moment… you are planning a holiday and have been browsing the internet in search of somewhere to stay. You arrive on a holiday rental booking site that has pages upon pages of options that are all within your price range. All of the properties are in your chosen area. All of them fall within your requirements. How do you make the final decision on which one you will select? You will likely look at the photographs, but if most of them look amazing from the images, that will only help you narrow down your choice a little. The features offered will certainly help you make your choice, but more often than not, it will likely be something in the listing that makes you favour one property over another.

What exactly is it about listings that make or break the booking decision? More importantly, how can you perfect your own listings to ensure that you get the best returns on your holiday let investment?

Why You Need Well-Crafted Holiday Let Investment Listings

Listings should never be treated as an after-thought. In the competitive holiday let investment space, guests have many options to choose from – each claiming to be the best. Aside from glowing reviews, expert rental management and a strong reputation, one of the things that can make the difference between a click and a pass is your listing. If there are typos, bad grammar, embellishments (or outright lies), missing features or there is a lack of engagement, you may find that guests will skip your listing over your competitor’s listing.

Listings serve a number of purposes, from highlighting your top features to telling a story that helps your guest imagine themselves on holiday. Do your holiday let investment listings tick these boxes? A good listing achieves the following:

  1. Showcases top features and highlights. Above all else, listings need to showcase your property’s top features so that these are the first thing that guests see when arriving on your listing page. To put it another way, why should guests stay at your property, and why should they choose your property over other similar properties in the same area and price range? If you are not focusing on your USP (unique selling point) or most important features, you are missing out on a chance to attract guests.
  2. Provides guests with a story. Listings also need to provide a deeper background. Over and beyond rental highlights, how can you entice prospective guests to make a booking? You can start by telling a story. Once you have listed your highlights, you can go into a bit more detail. Take your guests on a virtual tour, room by room.
  3. Encourages bookings with enticing language. The language you use is highly important in your listings, helping to foster emotions in your prospective guests. How can you help guests visualise themselves on holiday? What words can you use to make them want to make that booking? Think about how you feel when you are planning your own holiday – what descriptions helped seal the deal with hunting places to stay?
  4. Shows guests what to expect. That does not in any way mean you should ever wax lyrical about something that you are not actually able to offer. Being descriptive is good. Being untruthful or dishonest is bad. A good listing shows guests exactly what they can expect, so that they can make an informed decision based on facts. If your property is small, make sure that this is clearly stated in your listings. Instead of trying to make it sound bigger, focus on the benefits of smaller rentals – the cosy, compact, lock-up-and-go appeal, or the fact that it is ideal for a romantic couple’s escape.
  5. Provides a cohesive brand experience. Consistently well-crafted listings is a must for any holiday rental investment. The best way to ensure that your listings provide a cohesive brand experience is to work with a dedicated holiday rental manager. This will ensure that your listing is expertly crafted by an experienced copywriter. The listing will be backed by professional photographs, smart marketing strategies and world-class day to day management, concierge and bookings management. This is the very best way to get the most from your listings.

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Interested in learning more about how you can maximise your holiday let investment returns with short term rental management? Contact Totalstay today to set up a free evaluation, and let us show you how you can take your property to the next level.