Ways to Make Your Vacation Rental Stand Out from the Competition
How to Stand Out in the Vacation Rental Market
Starting your own short-term rental business is challenging enough, but standing out in a competitive market adds another layer of difficulty. With 2022 seeing a significant increase in supply and competition intensifying, owners are looking for ways to gain an edge. If you’re seeking to make your vacation rental stand out, here are some helpful tips that could make all the difference.
Add Amenities No One Else Has
With such a large supply of short-term rentals on the market, one way to stand out on listing sites is to add amenities that no one else in your area has.
Because guests can filter out homes that don’t have certain amenities, it’s more important than ever to be at the top of your amenity game by investing in upgrades like a hot tub, washer and dryer, electric vehicle chargers, a gym area, a workstation, and more that will add value to your rental for guests.
Turn Your Vacation Rental into a Smart Home
Staying at the cutting-edge of home technology has its perks.
More and more, guests are on the hunt for vacation rentals that offer them high-tech comfort and convenience, and adding in smart home technology to your rental can pay off big in the long-term. Not only will guests be impressed with your technologically-advanced home and be more likely to book with you, investing in tech like a smart thermostat and smart lighting can also help you to save money on electricity and heating bills. Smart home tech can also increase your short-term rental’s monetary value for when you’re ready to cash in on your real estate investment.
Green Your Short-Term Rental
Living a sustainable lifestyle is something that has become increasingly important for many people, and that sustainability trend is spilling over into the travel industry. Because air travel can be so carbon-intensive, guests are looking for ways to cut down on their carbon footprint when it comes to their lodging, and vacation rental owners can take advantage of this by implementing more green features in their properties. Installing solar panels is one way to stand out from the crowd, but smaller changes like providing reusable supplies to guests or only using all-recycled materials for renovations can also catch the attention of guests as well.
Beautify Your Listing
Your listing is your first impression on potential guests, so it’s best to be at the top of your game when it comes to your listing photos and descriptions if you want to distinguish yourself amongst the competition. Instead of doing it all yourself, hire a professional photographer to capture well-lit, high-quality images of your property that highlight all of its key features and unique amenities. Put just as much effort into your description–provide guests with not just an overview of the home itself, but also mention nearby attractions, events, and activities that guests can enjoy at your locale.
Build a Workspace for Business Travelers
As we mentioned earlier, providing a workspace for travelers as an amenity in your short-term rental can make a big difference. The last few years has seen a rise in digital nomads and remote workers, and many of those people are taking advantage of their abundant free time to travel to destinations like yours.
Providing a workstation for these kinds of travelers is one of the easiest ways to edge out your competitors who may not have a setup for workers. It’s not a big investment–all you really need is a desk, a powerstrip for chargers, and Wifi that guests can connect to.
Put a Greater Emphasis on Guest Communication
When a guest is deciding to book with your short-term rental listing, the most important deciding factor is not what amenities you have available or if your home is green enough–typically, they’ll pay the most attention to whether your rental has gotten good reviews and ratings from previous guests. In an industry rife with so much competition, having the best reviews and ratings is one of the most important determining factors in landing bookings.
That’s why you should put a huge focus and emphasis on guest communications. Always strive to answer your guests in a timely manner; the faster, the better. Take all guest feedback, especially negative feedback, as a learning experience and a roadmap for how to improve upon your guest services and experience in the future. Some guests might be tough to please, but staying on top of communicating with them will ensure that their experience ends off on a more pleasant note and will make them more likely to leave a good review.
LocalVR Gives You an Edge Over the Competition
Competition can be fierce in the short-term rental market, but there are quite a few ways that you can get a leg up and stand out from the rest, like smartening up your vacation rental and paying closer attention to guest communication and feedback. However, if you’re looking for a data-driven property management service to get an edge over your competitors without all of the hassle involved, take a look into LocalVR’s program for short-term rental owners. Check out our Case Studies as well, where you can also get an inside view into how homeowners like you have succeeded with LocalVR.