Your vacation rental business is thriving. Everything is automated with software, which has saved you time and improved the quality of your services. Listing sites are increasing the visibility of your properties, you have a handle on the rates, guest check-ins, and check-outs, and you’re even expanding the number of rentals you offer. You might even be in the midst of expanding your business. However, if you’ve come this far, you’re likely looking for ways to decrease reliance on OTAs and that bothersome percentage that cuts approximately 15% from your annual revenue. This is where the power of direct booking for short term and vacation rentals comes into play.
If you’re feeling as though you’re fighting a losing battle, I’ve got some uplifting news for you: you’ve landed in the right spot. I’m Eric Lacruz, with over a decade under my belt in digital marketing strategies and a special focus on vacation rentals. I want to share a little secret with you: our team has managed to secure a whopping 65% in direct booking for vacation rentals, all without paying a dime in commissions. Curious about the channels that got us here? Read on.
Let’s start from the beginning.
What exactly is a direct booking
We refer to direct booking as all the reservations made for our accommodations through a direct channel without any intermediaries or commissions. The goal is to bypass third parties, in this case OTAs or vacation rental portals, when billing for a property reservation.
Why should you aim for direct bookings?
What’s the obvious perk? In simple terms, it’s about saving a significant percentage of annual revenue in our vacation rental business. Sure, a couple of nights booked or a week here and there through the portals might not sting, but we all know that gut-punch feeling when you sit down at the year’s end to do the math. Our jaws drop as we realize the total amount in commissions has skyrocketed. We get it, that’s why you’re here, and guess what? You’re in luck, we’re on a mission to find realistic solutions to this problem.
Delving deeper: how to get more direct bookings
In the competitive world of vacation rentals, understanding the nuances of direct bookings can be a game-changer. Direct bookings are more than just transactions; they are opportunities to foster a direct relationship with your guests and maximize your profits. As we delve into the heart of the matter, let’s uncover the strategies and insights that can help you elevate these direct bookings for your short term rental business. Read on, and let’s journey together towards booking success.
My first piece of advice: consult an expert.
Whether it’s a digital marketing agency, a full-time employee, or a freelancer, there are many variables that you might not have control over and things can get overwhelming. Save time and ensure you’re making the right moves. The subtle details carry significant value and can be the deciding factor in securing those coveted direct bookings for your vacation rentals.
My next pointer: trust the process and the experience.
When we deliver results, property managers are grateful, and they ultimately recognize the value of perseverance and expertise. But, here’s the catch – there’s always this “trust the process” phase before those direct booking numbers start to soar. Keeping a close eye on the numbers can help you confirm that your investment is indeed yielding positive returns.
The third tip; invest in the right tools.
Every choice you’ll be faced with leans heavily on technology, and yeah, some might seem like overkill or just straight-up foreign to you. But here’s the thing: each tool has its worth. The game is all about striking the right balance between varied strategies. Think of it as a numbers game—the more users you reel in, the better your chances of sealing the deal with those direct bookings.
Which are the best channels to get direct bookings?
If, even after considering my advice, you’re still keen on taking the reins yourself, or if you’ve decided to hire a professional to boost the percentage of commission-free direct bookings, let’s dive into some of the channels we utilize. Here’s a hint: the more channels you leverage, the better your chances—it’s simple math.
We can create a ‘book direct’ strategy through various means: your own website, phone calls, or even directly at the counter of our agency.
In this scenario, our primary mission is to drive high-quality traffic to your website using our favorite marketing channels, those that we know have proven potential and efficacy for direct bookings.
SEO: The Slow and Steady Winner
Welcome to the wonderful, albeit slow yet essential, world of online visibility where quality work and top-notch content reign supreme. When it’s firing on all cylinders, SEO produces unmatched results. No other channel boasts a conversion rate quite like it, as it capitalizes on direct searches. If we appear in these search results and our website is primed to showcase high-quality accommodations at competitive prices, we stand a good chance of consistently racking up those direct bookings.
The first step is pinpointing the perfect keywords, grounded in both search volume and their competitive nature. Through thorough keyword research, we can identify both primary and secondary terms (for example: “apartments in Mallorca” / “family vacations in Mallorca”).
Homepage: We’ll consistently use a broad keyword that always references the location of our accommodations. For example: “The best accommodations in Mallorca.”
Categories: Just like other pages, categories need to have their specific keyword to target, in this case, something more specific since it’s a category. For example: “Luxury accommodations with private pool in Mallorca.”
Accommodations: We’ll employ long-tail keywords to pinpoint specific details and will also add the name of the accommodation to rank for that particular name, especially if it’s well-known. This approach lets us target much more specific elements. For example: “Casa Los Rosales seafront property in Cala Bandida.”
Landing Pages: This is the perfect place to stretch out as much as we want, both in terms of content and design. It’s ideal for highly specialized keywords where you need to provide significant value in your content to satisfy the customer and rank above competitors. Moreover, landing pages allow for fresh designs to create an effective sales funnel with a CTA (Call to Action) that leads to the perfect accommodation and a new direct booking.
Blog Posts: We adopt a much more personal and intimate tone, recommending locations as the local experts we are. We can employ various keywords in these posts. The quality of the information we provide will determine whether we stand out or not. For example, some keywords could be: “family vacations in Mallorca,” “family activities in Mallorca,” or “things to do with your family in Mallorca.”
We understand how complex SEO can be.
This is why we have put together an SEO eBook for property managers, to give you all the information you need to know to increase traffic, visibility, and in turn direct bookings on your vacation rental website.
Google Ads and CPC: The Expressway for the Impatient Marketer
CPC (Cost-Per-Click) campaigns can drive direct bookings much faster than other channels. They’re the go-to for those who are eager to get things rolling from day one. With these campaigns, patience is required, along with a monthly investment and some number-crunching to ensure the return justifies the spend. In my view, they are the perfect addition to any strategy, giving a robust start to your marketing endeavors. In today’s landscape, they’re practically a necessity, as competitors will be bidding on our top keywords. It’s essential to stake your claim in that space.
Campaigns are segmented by markets, and their profitability is identified. For vacation rentals, we recommend separating campaigns by language and accommodation type. From experience, we know that certain keywords like “house” can lead to mixed search intentions. We typically filter and set negative keywords like “buy” or “sell” to narrow the search intent to short-term rentals.
The silver lining is that even if you’re not well-versed, there’s a user-friendly version designed for beginners. We even suggest campaign formats like the ‘performance max’ which self-optimizes for peak results.
The benefit of segmenting campaigns is the flexibility it offers. It enables swift activation or deactivation of the most and least profitable ones. You can also easily adjust bids based on high or low seasonal demand by country.
Social Media and Social Ads: Bringing the Mountain to Muhammad
The undisputed champions of attention, it’s no revelation when we say that millions of users are passively browsing as part of their daily ritual.
The unique twist with this channel is that users aren’t actively searching to rent accommodations. Instead, it’s up to us to make the pitch, using eye-catching imagery and enticing text capable of inspiring a user to make a direct booking on our website at the best price.
The tourism sector is fortunate to have the ideal target audience on social media. Travel is likely one of the most popular topics for Instagram users and Facebook enthusiasts. Moreover, showcasing stunning accommodations is practically a must for any successful vacation rental business aiming to secure direct bookings.
Social platforms are particularly valuable for building a community and fostering customer loyalty. Keeping your audience updated and consistently delivering quality can be a powerful strategy for increasing direct bookings.
Social Ads campaigns offer an almost impeccable segmentation. Indeed, the cost-per-click in these ads is usually among the most affordable of all paid marketing channels. However, their conversion rate tends to be lower. It’s a numbers game: more clicks, of slightly lesser quality, but at a cheaper price.
Let’s break it down with a hypothetical budget of 100€ for both Google Ads and Social Ads.
- In the case of Google Ads: Spending 1€ per click results in 100 visits and 10 bookings.
- With Social Ads: Spending just 0.10€ per click leads to 1000 visits, yet still results in 10 bookings.
The outcome and investment are similar, with a conversion rate hovering around 1%, but the volume of visitors differs significantly.
Email Marketing: Holding Strong in the Digital Age
A tool that never fades. Whenever we have major news or offers to announce, this is a prime medium to do so. Its use is relatively straightforward, by creating a template which we can even reuse in future endeavors.
In this communication, we should convey the updates we wish to share in a direct and engaging manner, and strategically position a button in each section leading directly to the reservation page or the ongoing promotion.
The challenging aspect is that these should be emails from subscribers who have previously consented to our terms of use for our promotions, and that’s not always a straightforward task. To achieve this, we either need to have a degree of expertise or brand value, generating genuine interest from users by consistently providing pertinent information about the industry or company.
The best part is that we build loyalty with our customers, offering them benefits for staying close to us, and in turn, we grow a larger database of clients to directly inform.
The conversion rate is typically low in most cases. Some prefer drafting a manual message, arguing it has a better open rate (we won’t delve into that debate today). We suggest using applications like Mailchimp to automate these processes, design comprehensive templates, and manage databases at very affordable prices.
Other Details that Can Make All the Difference
Category Filters: Assist users in finding their ideal accommodation faster through intelligent filters.
Payment Gateway Variety: The easier and more varied our payment options, the simpler it is for the customer to complete a purchase successfully
Visual Credibility: It’s essential for users to trust our website, have a good user experience, and navigate quickly. We need to create an impression of total professionalism.
Comprehensive Accommodation Listings: Help the user see every detail at a glance. Good photos and all the accommodation details are key to its conversion.
Simple and straightforward checkout. The more questions, the more room for error. And, of course, don’t force them to register.
Repeated CTAs from the blog and landing pages to your favorite accommodations. Choose the most visual or the ones that provide the highest returns to highlight them, and visualize them with eye-catching clickable buttons or images.
An updated blog with valuable content about the area. Transform your website into a tourism reference portal as well. Upload posts and share your local knowledge in them, always including keywords, don’t forget that part.
Where to go from here?
Start driving direct bookings
As you may have noticed, there are many channels to explore, and we’ve only mentioned our favorites. To avoid overcomplicating things, it’s crucial to share your future plans with an agency or a professional experienced in the field who can advise and help you choose the best methods to achieve your goals.
Once you have a clear plan, we recommend requesting multiple quotes and understanding exactly what services are included. The prices for these plans can vary significantly based on their inclusions and the type of company. A standard plan with quality services typically ranges from €500 to €1500 per month, depending on the number of channels and languages involved.
In conclusion, I hope this article has been helpful. From my knowledge, I can tell you that finding a marketing agency that specializes in vacation rentals can be quite challenging. Understanding the industry is crucial to make it work.
At Avantio, we’ve had a specialized department for over 3 years with the sole purpose of generating direct bookings for our clients. We have numerous success stories where clients have achieved up to 65% of direct bookings without commissions through their own websites. So, yes, it is possible, and we know the way to do it. If you want to learn more about our plans or our team, we’d be delighted to assist you in paving the way.
Winner of Best Software Solution
The Book Direct Show - 2024
