Give Your Outer Banks Vacation Rental Some Personality to Get More Bookings
When someone is booking a vacation rental property in the Outer Banks, they spend time looking at what feels like countless listings online. They read one after another, and after a while, all those properties and the descriptions seem to run together. This is because so many property owners are looking at what other people are writing about their rental properties and use a similar style.
They often use identical – or almost identical – words and phrases. Therefore, many of those listings look and read the same. Keywords give the customer an idea of what the property offers, however, you also need to inject personality to make your property stand out from the pack. In this post, we will be looking at a few of the things you can do to make that happen with your Outer Banks properties and listings. It’s easier than you might think, and you might even have some fun giving your property a personality makeover.
It Starts With the Property
Giving the property some personality will start with the property itself. You need to make sure that it has all the features that someone would want to have in a vacation rental, so start thinking like a vacationer.
In some cases, this might mean making a few changes and upgrades to the property. If you do not have the money for big upgrades right now, such as adding a hot tub, do not worry. You can do simple things to make the property more appealing in addition to providing all the basic amenities that people want from a rental.
Let’s begin with the basics.
You need to have the amenities that people have come to expect from a vacation property rental. This includes nice furnishings, cookware, dinnerware, towels, clean sheets, wireless Internet, and cable television. You can take things a step further by offering a videogame console, videogames and board games for those rainy days, and other fun distractions around the house.
Nice décor that puts people at ease and gives them the feeling of staying in a boutique hotel, or even of staying at home, can be great, as well. If you have an outdoor space, make sure it is usable and in excellent condition all the time. Keep up with the landscaping, make sure that you make the space as usable as possible for the guests.
This could include having a grill, patio furniture, and even a hot tub or pool in some cases. Even though the ocean is always nearby in the Outer Banks, people will still enjoy having a pool, and they will likely be willing to pay a bit more for it. They will pay more if you have a hot tub on the property, as well, so consider having one installed.
Once you have elements in the home that help to make it a fantastic location for potential vacationers, it is time to make it as appealing as possible in your description. This means giving the description some personality, and having some great photos and videos to go along with it.
Give the Description Personality
Your property is one of a kind. Even though there might be plenty of other locations for rent in the Outer Banks, there is no other that is just like yours. Your property is unique, and you will want to make that apparent in the writing. Consider giving your property a name. Instead of your guests telling people they stayed at “this place in the Outer Banks”, they can tell people, “Oh, we stayed at Blue Haven in the Outer Banks”.
Of course, you would choose a name that suits your property the best. This immediately provides more personality. It will also help to make branding easier for your property. While that might not seem important now, it can be a tremendous help for you with marketing.
Write about what it is that makes your property so special, even if it might seem small. Are you close to a great restaurant that is a favorite with the locals? Are you just a quick walk away from the beach? Do you have a beautiful view of the ocean from your property? Take the time to consider all the things that make your property special, and focus on those things.
The goal of the description is to make the potential visitors picture themselves in your property. The description can let them know just what they can expect when they come to the property for vacation and why it is better than the other options.
Before you put up your listing, give it another look. In fact, have a friend or family member look it over for you, as well. You want to look for several things during your read through. First, you will look for the basics and make sure the spelling and grammar are correct. It is always possible for mistakes to slip through, but you will want to catch as many as you can. Second, you want to make sure it is factual and is an accurate description of the property and what it offers. Third, you want to make sure there are elements of personality that shine through.
More Than Written Descriptions
In addition to the written descriptions, you need to have some photos, and even videos, of your property. These photos should do a good job of complementing your descriptions. What this means is that if you talk about your hot tub in the description, there had better be a photo of it. If you talk about the great views, you can show those off with your photos.
The description needs to be creative, and it needs to provide personality. However, it also has to be accurate. You can talk your property up in the description, but you can’t say that you have items that aren't on the property. That would be false advertising, and it will lead to trouble. Give your property some personality and see how much easier it is to get guests to book.