No Ruff Housing
Make a set clear of rules for the pet owners to follow. Even though the vacation rental is pet-friendly, it is important for the guest to know some of the rooms or areas are for humans only.
Paw-fect Flooring
Don’t use carpet in order to avoid stains and other damage. Tile is your best bet. Other floorings such as linoleum and laminate are also great options. Rugs can be added to improve the design and can be thrown away if chewed or ruined by your pet in any way.
Pet-Proof
Use gates and other child-safety measures to prevent pets from going into restricted areas. Provide such materials for your guests, that way you know your rules are enforced.
Furless Furniture
Couch covers are suggested because it is easier to clean a cover rather than a whole couch. If you do not use a cover, try to select furniture with patterns or bright colors as they are good at concealing marks and stains.
Welcome the Pet with Open Paws
Show your guest that their pet is truly welcome by adding the pet’s name to the reservation list. You can have dog treats and toys prepared as a welcome package for your furry guests as well.
“Pets are people too! We love pets and celebrate them.” – Kim Hermon (Big Bear Vacations)
Once your property is prepared and your rules are clear, you can start to maximize your bookings by making your vacation rental pet-friendly!
When it comes time to display, promote and list your vacation property for potential guests there are a couple of guidelines to follow that will increase your bookings and overall appeal to what you have to offer. Read about the Do’s and Don’ts of property listings below:
Property Pictures
Do invest in a photographer with a high-quality camera. It will pay off in the long run. Professional pictures of your property will increase interest on the end of the potential guests as well enhances the pictures of your website.
Don’t do it yourself. Pictures taken from a cellphone can look low quality and give off the perception that not a lot of effort was put in to maximize the listing.
(Sub-tip)– A study showed virtual tours can increase bookings by 20% (VRM Intel)
Rental Titles
Don’t Name the room simply based on the number of beds. Guests will combine all 3- bedroom properties in the same category not allowing your property to stand out.
Do Make your listing unique. Allowing your property to stand out will get your best chance of reservations.
Property Description
Don’t Just throw any words in the description to try to enhance the property. Don’t be misleading. Forced wording can take away from the appeal of the listing. Make sure to change up the verbiage and not recycle descriptions. (anyone can claim terms such as “amazing, spectacular, glamorous”)
Do Display the property title. The more information you can give your potential clients will increase bookings. Tell a story that adds to the experience the potential guest will have. (explain how comfy the beds are or how the best nights rest was spent in this spot)
Listing Channels
Don’t use the same listing description across all platforms. Google and other algorithms will pick up on the duplicate content
Do Include keywords in your descriptions to make the property stand out. Make sure to vary your content so it resonates with different types of people that are browsing for vacation rentals.
After applying these steps your vacation property will stand out and your bookings will increase!
Thinking about going on a new vacation, but you can’t decide between a hotel and a vacation rental? Well, there is a huge change that is going to make a significant impact on the vacation rental market as well as the way you choose where to stay and for how long. Travelers often weigh the options between staying in a hotel or renting someone’s home for the time they are in the area. Both have pros and cons, based on the person traveling and spending the money for the play to stay.
However, Google has now made the decision making even easier by adding vacation rentals to the hotel search function.
Previously when you searched “hotels” on Google, it would bring up choices of the names of hotels and only really give the customer the option to choose from a corporate hotel listing. Now, things are looking up for the people that rather choose vacation rentals for their resting spot. Traditionally, in order to view vacation rentals, one would have to look at third party spots—especially if they were looking for a wider variety of selection. Now Google has made it as easy as clicking the “vacation rentals” link. When clicking that link, the search changes from hotels to listing vacation rentals instead.
This will enhance the vacation rental experience from both ends. People looking for a spot to stay now have an easier route by simply checking Google, which is the tool they most likely were using for hotel searches previously. As for people looking to rent their homes, they now have an easier way to find potential prospects, as Google is picking up interested customers for them. The page even gives you details such as rates and “Accommodation Type,” which allows you to browse vacation rentals of all types.
This new push seems to be available to everyone; however, it is still limited to some destinations. Google could be testing the waters with this or simply rolling it out to a new specific area as time goes on. From now on, the vacation industry will be shaken up, as potential travelers now have more information to use when considering their next place to call “home” for the length of their trip.