Holiday lets are a competitive market, especially if you have property in tourist hotspots. There are a number of things you can do to make sure your holiday home stands out from the crowd, making sure you get the bookings coming in as well as repeat custom and friends and family recommendations.
Let’s explore them below.
Market it – As humans we are very visual, if the photos of your holiday let are not up to scratch or don’t show your property in its best light, it will be dismissed quickly. If those looking at your property can easily imagine staying there you will be much more likely to get the booking.
Amenities – Your amenities sell your property, so remember to include everything holiday makers will be looking for that you offer. Also make sure you state how close you are to services such as pubs and restaurants. Or if you are offering somewhere to escape to, how far away you are from civilisation.
Advice – Always offer advice to potential guests, make sure you include information about places of interest you can visit nearby and recommend great restaurants, bars or friendly local pubs. It’s worth working with local businesses to offer vouchers for guests as recommendations will work both ways.
Enquiries and bookings – Make sure you respond to all enquires as quickly as you can, which will mean keeping on top of your emails. You also need to make sure the booking process is also quick and easy to avoid people going elsewhere.
Maintenance – It’s important to always keep your property maintained and follow up on any feedback from guests. During summer months it can be hard to get major work done, so look at your quiet periods and aim to keep on top of jobs then.
Customer interaction – Make time to encourage guests to leave reviews online and also to reply to them, positive and especially the negative ones. But remember to make your replies professional, if they are genuine grievances, fix the problem, if not look into removing unduly negative responses.
Loyalty – Repeat custom is something every holiday let owner would like, why not this encourage by offering loyalty discounts on repeat bookings or family friend referrals.
Rebecca Bashford, quality programme manager for Bluechipholidays.co.uk said: “Like any business, you want to attract customers so you need to offer the best service possible. You also need to make sure your property stands out from the crowd for all the right reasons.”
She added: “If you are new to holiday letting or have seen bookings slip look over the tips above to make sure you are doing everything you possibly can to market your holiday let right and encourage people to come back, time and time again.”
About the author:
Blue Chip Holidays is a leading provider of 4 & 5 star luxury holiday cottages, apartments and lodges, with over 1,000 properties across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, the Isle of Wight and Yorkshire.
