As a property manager, you know that visibility is essential for a thriving vacation rental business. With over 100,000 properties listed on Traum by Oyo (formerly Traum Ferienwohnungen), it’s clearly a successful platform. But with such healthy competition, how can you make sure your listings stand out?
To increase visibility and bookings for a vacation rental via one or more vacation rental portals, it’s the quality of the vacation rental listing description that counts. In collaboration with Traum by Oyo, we’re bringing you three easy to implement tips that can transform your listings not only on Traum, but other OTAs too.
About Traum by OYO – top platform for German tourists
Traum was founded in Bremen in 2001 and has been part of OYO Hotels & Homes, one of the world’s largest providers of hotels, vacation rentals and residences, since 2019. The company operates www.traum-ferienwohnungen.de, one of the largest German portals for vacation rentals, as well as www.holiday-apartments.co.uk for UK guests.
How to increase visibility on Traum by OYO?
1 – Actively generate reviews
Online reviews for vacation rentals are as vital as they are for any other online purchase. They stimulate trust, which is essential for guests to part with their money and click ‘reserve’.
Evaluations by Traum by OYO have shown that listings with just one review get almost three times as many clicks as those with none. By actively soliciting guest reviews, you can increase engagement with your property listings. Here are a few ways you can generate more reviews:
- Leave a card with a review request and QR code in the property
- Include a link to your review page in your digital guest welcome book
- If you do in-person check-outs, mention to guests how they can leave a review
- Send a follow-up email asking for a review after the stay
Don’t worry about imperfect reviews. A listing with unfailing glowing feedback potentially comes across as less trustworthy and realistic than one with a more ‘human’ presence. What’s important is how you respond to criticism – ensuring you’re always friendly and positive.
2 – Optimize images and texts on Traum by OYO
There’s no second chance to make a first impression, and this is particularly true when it comes to choosing a vacation rental. Special memories are made on vacation, and they are the highlight of the calendar each year. When choosing a vacation rental, the aesthetic of the experience is just as important to the guest as the reassurance of positive reviews.
When scrolling through property listings, the main image and summary text of your accommodation needs to call out to the guest ‘this is the one!’. In fact, rentals with high-quality promotional photographs have been found to receive 63% more clicks than those with low-quality images.
Interestingly, data from Traum by OYO demonstrated that not only is the quality of the images crucial, but also the number. 15 pictures seems to be the optimal number for property listings. Therefore, when marketing, focus on quality rather than quantity and work with 15 beautiful and meaningful images – this is absolutely sufficient.
Depending on the device used to take the listing photos, image quality can vary wildly. Investing in professional property photography is a great way to help your accommodation stand out. At the very least, be sure to use a decent camera, with good lighting and angles.
When it comes to the written listing descriptions, don’t fall into the trap of just reeling off amenities. This is an opportunity to draw the reader into the story of your property. Paint a picture of cocktails on the balcony at sunset, or magical fireside evenings with the children. Sell the experience, rather than the property.
3 – Include all the extras
You might assume that these days Wi-Fi is taken as a given when it comes to vacation rentals, and not worth including in your listing. However, Traum by OYO has found that 46% of users use filters when searching on their site. A further 12% search for ‘additional features’, which include arguably basic amenities like Wi-Fi and TV.
With the new profile of travelers seeking different types of experiences to the pre-pandemic tourists, avoid making assumptions about how guests may be searching for rentals. Include all details in the category listings, so that when guests are filtering their searches, your property is more likely to appear.
Traum by Oyo displays search results based on all the criteria entered, including the filters for additional equipment. So if a guest has selected a filter that doesn’t match your listing description, your property won’t appear, even if it meets other filter criteria.
Therefore the best technique is to enrich your listing description with all applicable equipment information – from hairdryers to parking – no matter how trivial it may seem. Every click counts!
Prepare your Traum by Oyo listings for success
As we have discovered, even small optimizations of your Traum by Oyo listings can have a significant impact on your visibility and, as a result, your bookings. Try out these easy hacks to take your Traum, or other OTA, vacation rental listings to the next level.
Still looking for more ways to get the most out of your OTA listings? Check out how our vacation rental channel manager is specifically designed for exactly this purpose.
