Give Your Guests More Confidence in Booking with You
Buying things online has become very commonplace over the past decade or two. People shop on the web for electronics, books, groceries, and everything in between. They also shop for places to stay on vacation. However, as helpful as the web can be, there is naturally going to be some trepidation with many potential customers when it comes to booking a vacation rental from a private owner through the Internet.
There are have been numerous accounts in the news of schemes and fraud committed against vacationers, as well as homeowners. There is always going to be a certain amount of uneasiness when someone is committing to renting a vacation property on the web. They do not want to be scammed out of their hard-earned money.
Sure, you know that you are not going to do anything that would harm the guests, but they do not know that. You need to think from their perspective. They are going to be concerned about their money. Therefore, you will want to make sure you take some steps to help put their mind at ease and to increase their level of confidence in you and your property. Here are some ways that you can do that.
Full Contact Information Including Local Phone Number
When you are putting up your listing, you want to have all your contact information available. Do not have only an email or fax, or only a toll-free number. When a listing has bare bones information, it looks like a con. Ideally, you will have your name, address – not a P.O. box – and a local phone number.
If you aren’t local, you might be thinking that it is not possible to have a local phone number. There are some ways around this. You can get a cell phone for that area, and have a local number. You could have a contact in the area that can handle your calls, as well. In addition, you might want to consider working with a property manager, who will have a local number.
Having a P.O. box is rarely a good idea. The guests will not usually feel very confident when it comes to sending payment to you if they only have a P.O. box. After all, anyone could set up and rent one of these boxes. If you do not want to have guests sending payments to your home address, or if you do not feel comfortable with them having your home address, you could always have them send it to your business address instead.
Accept Credit Cards
When you choose to accept major credit cards for your rental property, it helps to increase the confidence level your potential renters have in you. The reason for this is simple enough. It typically means that you have worked with a commercial bank to be able to accept these cards, and that means that you have been vetted and are safe. Those businesses that violate policies of the cards they take will have the service revoked from their business by those credit card companies, as well.
Another reason the customers will feel more confident when you take credit cards is the fact that those companies do not generally hold the cardholder liable if they have been defrauded. They do not feel as though they have anything to lose in those cases.
Have Great Pictures of the Property
You will also want to have a lot of great photos of your property. Those who are trying to run a con will often upload just one or two photos, which are often grainy. They have vague descriptions, or descriptions that make the property seem like heaven on earth and full of amenities that do not exist.
Have plenty of quality photos of the property, and be willing to show potential customers other photos that you have in case they would like to see more before committing. With a wealth of photos, all from different angles, it helps to put the minds of the renters at ease. They are more likely to believe that you actually do own the property.
Use Video
Another thing you can do is create a video tour of the property. Again, by putting up a video tour, just as with pictures, it helps to prove that you are the legitimate owner. When you prove this, it can help to ease the minds of the renters. While it is not necessary, you could even appear at the beginning or the end of the video to state your name and speak a bit about the property. This is not necessary, but it could help.
Have a Presence on Various Online Outlets
Something else you can do is increase your presence on the web. If the only thing you have is a listing on a couple of vacation rental sites, you can be sure that there will be plenty of potential renters out there who see it as suspect. You should set up profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites for your rental property. Not only is this a good option for marketing, but it will also help to solidify that you are indeed the real owner. Getting reviews for the property can help, as well. Investing in a quality website and blog, and keeping it up to date, also shows that you are invested in the property.
You Need to Be Careful, Too
Just as the customers need to be careful when they are choosing a rental property in the Outer Banks, you need to be careful when it comes to choosing the renters. Getting bookings is a great feeling, but you do not want to rent to just anybody. Make sure you are renting to those who will respect your property.
As you can see, there are plenty of simple things you can do to help increase the confidence of your guests when they are booking with you. Utilize these methods and it can help you to get more bookings.