RedAwning and Turno Partnership

How to Make Your Airbnb Stand Out and Beat the Competition

RedAwning — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 18:27:11 +0000

5 Simple Ways to Make Your Airbnb Stand Out

In the increasingly competitive vacation rental industry, building a strong brand is crucial for success, regardless of the size of your business. Your brand defines how others perceive your vacation rental business and your property.

Proper vacation rental branding helps leave a lasting impression on travelers and offers insight into what makes your property unique. Focus on making your Airbnb stand out by:

1. Build a Strong Brand

Whether you’re in a popular year-round market or a seasonal destination, your listing has to be found and viewed on Airbnb or any other travel website in order to get booked. Having a strong brand, no matter how small you think your business may be, is the key to winning in this increasingly competitive vacation rental game.

A brand is how others perceive you and your business. In our competitive marketplace, with so many properties vying for attention, it is vital that your listing stands out from the crowd. To do this, you’ll need to control the narrative around your brand.

Proper vacation rental branding not only helps with leaving that lasting impression on travelers searching but also gives those potential guests some insight into what is unique about your listing and who is making that difference. Branding sets you apart and makes it clear why your listing is the best choice.

Below, learn about some of the most important traits of strong vacation rental brands:

Authentic

Your listing, whether it appears on Airbnb, Vrbo, or other OTAs, is all a traveler has to go by. From the title of the property to the listing description, you have an opportunity to let that potential guest know who you are and why you are the best choice for their upcoming stay.

Your listing should have quality photos that show your property at its best. If you use a host photo on your Airbnb host profile, be sure that it exudes warmth and friendliness. It should show that you’re helpful and knowledgeable and that your property is welcoming.

Consistent

Consistency instills trust and adds credibility. Your listing, your property, and everything in between all must have a consistent message, promise, and point of view.

All the amenities listed need to be available and in good working order. The bed count, recreational equipment, televisions, and in-home entertainment should align with your online description and photos. What they see should definitely be what they get.

If you earn the traveler’s trust, you may end up with a solid advocate who will sing the praises of your property and brand all day, to anyone who will listen.

Focused

Successful hosts focus on the areas unique to their niche and that set their property apart. Travelers choose vacation rentals over hotels for specific reasons, including access to a kitchen, extra space, and privacy. Smart hosts focus on those areas.

A well-equipped kitchen separates you from any competition. Emphasizing the added space found in vacation rentals — about four times the size of the average hotel room — along with that fabulous kitchen lets many family travelers know they have made the right choice.

More business travelers are choosing vacation rentals for similar reasons. They crave more space, as it allows them to meet as groups easier and bond more readily in a larger shared space. To continue, for both family and business travelers, nearly 50% choose vacation rentals because of the increased privacy.

For these reasons, space, privacy, and kitchen access should all factor in how you inform your brand.

Community-Driven

As a vacation rental host, you are providing a valuable service to the community. Don’t be afraid to recognize and promote that.

Be a part of the community you serve. Join the chamber of commerce, as well as local business and industry associations. Participate in community events as a business. Offer discounts to local businesses; many have families and friends visiting that need lodging.

Let your local youth sports and recreational organizations know you have lodging available for tournaments and other activities. All of this increases the visibility of your brand and drives more business your way.

Always Improving

Your goal should always be to offer the best stay for your guests. You can’t always be perfect, but you can always strive to make your guests happy and satisfied with their stay.

As a host, you should always be thinking of ways to improve the guest experience. That is the core of your product — making folks feel at home away from home. Your ability to do that will say all that needs to be said about your brand.

2. Know Your Market

To beat the competition, you have to know your competition. To understand your competition, it is imperative that you know your market.

Know everything you can about trends in the local market and the vacation rental industry at large. Understanding the dynamics and attributes of your market will go a long way in helping you develop strategies and practices to beat your competition.

Free data about the vacation rental industry is all over the internet. The best sources for national data and trends are tourism and vacation rental industry trade association websites; travel and vacation rental business websites and blogs; and government websites.

Some helpful examples include:

Local market and statewide data are available from multiple sources, including Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO) and Convention and Visitor Bureau Websites, state tourism boards, local news outlet websites, and government websites.

These sources can also be great for visitor data. They often have detailed information about the demographics and psychographics of the people visiting your market.

Here are a few examples of local sources for California:

Similar data is available for every area if you do a little hunting.

Also, don’t be afraid to track the competition directly. To get a handle on who is in the market, directories are a reliable source. For rate, revenue, and occupancy data, there are good paid sources such as AirDNA, Transparent, LSI Tools, and Key Data Dashboard.

The key things you should know are:

Who are the key players
Who are you competing with for bookings
What are seasonal occupancy patterns
What room types are moving
Rates, rates, rates

Create your own competitive sets in your market and secret shop the travel websites, like Vrbo and Airbnb. Develop a list of competing homes in your market and track their rates, occupancy, and features on Airbnb or Vrbo. OTAs all have special pages for destinations that show rates, occupancy levels, competitive listings, and more.

Short-term rental service providers also provide comprehensive market reports with up-to-date market data and trends. For example, RedAwning and Evolve have some of the most detailed reports across a broad number of markets. Knowing your market and knowing the facts will help set you up for success.

3. Know Your Business

From using an effective business suite like Quick Books to manage the dollars, to using every partner dashboard available to you, it is imperative to know where you are with your key performance indicators, rates, occupancy, reservation volume, and revenue.

Use your hosting sources like Airbnb for performance data, and use the dashboards provided by any service vendors you use. These may include property management software, other OTAs, or full-service providers like RedAwning. Most give you access to real-time data 24/7.

Part of knowing your business is knowing your guests. It will give you a better handle on how to attract more and keep them coming back.

Visitor profiles with demographic and other data are available from local market sources, like tourist bureaus, which we discussed in the last section. However, the best data — primary data — comes from you. Get to know your guests.

Here are tools you can use to gather more data about your guests:

In-depth interviews can be used to gather detailed insights directly from guests about their stay, your business, and the unit before they leave. It can be a phone call before checkout or a few days after they have checked out. Many guests are more than happy to share their opinion
Surveys are the most effective way to gain specific insights because they give you information from your visitors that you can quantify. They can be done by email after the stay. Online tools like SurveyMonkey are easy to use and help you analyze results.
Focus groups can be held with a small group of past guests using Zoom or another video meeting app.

Social media monitoring can also help you keep tabs on candid conversations about the vacation rental industry, your rental property, and your competitors.

How are your competitors portraying themselves on social media? What does that say about their strategy? Take time to visit their Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter pages. You may learn a lot.

While you are monitoring, be sure to spend time on your listing pages and tracking reviews. A vast collection of 5-star reviews will beat the competition every time. Work with your travel partners like Airbnb to help you manage your review scores and, of course, encourage guests to write them.

At the end of the day, your primary goal should be converting first-timers to repeat visitors. That is the best way to stave off the competition. Be sure they only have eyes for you.

4. Win Over Your Guests

As we have mentioned, repeat guests are your best competitive advantage. Loyal guests know and love your brand. They recommend you to others and they ultimately spend more because they trust you.

The best way to win over guests is to beat their expectations and go that extra mile. One way to do this and set your property apart from the competition is with a guidebook. Have a published guidebook available on your listing, in your rental, and on any app that you share with the guest. It is the guests’ passport to a good stay and your built-in concierge for the local area.

Another thing that can set you apart is to have a welcome package. This is where knowing your guest comes in. Single people often appreciate wine and water. Families love a welcome kit that included breakfast and snacks. All of these types of key features make a guest feel special and more likely to book again.

Thank you notes and follow-up emails with a special discount for a repeat visit will also increase guests’ satisfaction.

5. Boost Cleanliness Ratings

Maintaining high cleanliness ratings is paramount for running a successful Airbnb business. Cleanliness is one of the top factors guests consider when choosing accommodations.

A spotless and well-maintained property not only ensures a positive guest experience but also leads to positive reviews and recommendations, attracting more bookings. High cleanliness ratings instill trust in potential guests which reinforces your property’s credibility and professionalism. Higher cleanliness ratings are an easy and effective way to have your Airbnb stand out. Guests often use a host’s cleanliness scores as a way to determine whether or not they will book their next stay.

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Make Your Airbnb Listing Stand Out

How do I make my Airbnb more popular?

To make your Airbnb more popular and increase bookings, it’s essential to optimize your listing to make it stand out. Use high-quality photos that showcase your property’s unique features and write a compelling description that highlights its best attributes. Other helpful ways of making your Airbnb stand out are:

Offering desirable amenities like Wi-Fi, air conditioning, and well-equipped kitchens can attract more guests.
Keep your property clean and well-maintained, as positive reviews are crucial for building popularity. Encourage guests to leave reviews after their stay, as positive reviews increase your listing’s credibility and visibility.
Respond promptly to guest inquiries and booking requests to show professionalism and reliability.
Provide local tips and recommendations to help guests make the most of their stay.
Consider implementing flexible booking policies to accommodate different guest needs.
Host special events or promotions to attract more bookings during off-peak seasons or holidays.
Collaborate with local businesses to offer exclusive deals to your guests.
Promote your Airbnb on social media platforms and use targeted online advertising to reach potential guests.
Strive to achieve and maintain Superhost status on Airbnb, as it adds credibility and trustworthiness to your listing.

By implementing these strategies and consistently providing excellent guest experiences, you can make your Airbnb more popular and achieve success as a host.

How do I get my Airbnb noticed?

Using social media and multiple online travel agencies (OTAs) can significantly help a host get their property noticed and increase bookings. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, provide a vast audience for promoting your property. You can showcase your property through professional photos, share guest experiences, and offer exclusive deals to attract potential guests. Engaging with followers and using relevant hashtags can expand your reach and increase visibility, as well.

Moreover, listing your property on multiple OTAs, such as Airbnb, Booking.com, and VRBO, exposes it to a broader audience across different platforms. Each OTA has its own user base and marketing efforts, which can bring in potential guests who might not have found your property through other channels.

By utilizing these platforms strategically, you can reach diverse audiences, increase brand awareness, and build a strong online presence. This, in turn, can lead to more inquiries, bookings, and positive reviews, aiding in boosting your property’s credibility and popularity.

What do Airbnb guests want?

When choosing a vacation rental on Airbnb, guests typically look for several key factors. These include attractive and high-quality property photos, a detailed and informative listing description, desirable amenities such as fast Airbnb Wi-Fi and air conditioning, positive guest reviews, and competitive pricing. Safety and cleanliness are essential, as well as proximity to popular attractions and transportation options.

Additionally, guests often consider the host’s responsiveness and reliability, seeking a comfortable and well-managed property that aligns with their travel needs and preferences.

Knowing Your Guests Leads to Success

New hosts are entering the vacation rental market at an unprecedented rate as the multi-billion industry takes flight. The excitement is real, the potential is real, and the dollars are real. It’s up to you whether this becomes a hobby, a vocation, or a serious business.

Make your Airbnb stand out by hiring a turnover specialist! Through Turno’s cleaner marketplace, hosts can connect with professional, reliable, and affordable Airbnb cleaners. Automate your turnover schedules by hiring and assigning cleaners all from one place. Ensure quality control through photo checklists, problem reporting, and more high-quality features designed to help you differentiate your Airbnb business from your competitors.

The post How to Make Your Airbnb Stand Out and Beat the Competition appeared first on Turno.

What Is an Airbnb Guidebook and Why Do You Need One?

RedAwning — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 00:21:00 +0000

Why Guidebooks Are an Essential Communication Tool For Today’s Hosts

The travel landscape is changing along with the demands and expectations of travelers. Today’s new vacation rental guests are the result of a couple of converging trends:

Business travelers are turning to vacation rentals. As many as 700,000 companies use Airbnb to manage travel for their employees.
Families are choosing vacation rentals more and more these days — and they’re staying longer. In 2021, families accounted for one-third of Airbnb’s bookings, up from just over one-fourth of bookings the previous year. Many families love the flexibility of being able to include their kids, friends, pets, or extended family during their travel.

These trends have sparked a new type of vacation rental stay: “flexcations.” Coined by Vrbo, flexcations tap into the reality of flexible and remote work and school schedules.

Whether a business traveler, family, or individual, each type of guest wants four things: choice, convenience, control, and comfort. They want a variety of amenities to choose from. They want information at their fingertips. And they want to know how to optimize the use of their rental for greater comfort. An Airbnb guidebook helps you achieve all of that and more.

In short, guidebooks are a necessity if you want to please your guests, build your brand, and create a solid base of repeat visitors.

5 Ways Guidebooks Benefit and Build Your Airbnb Business

Guidebooks are not only a great communication tool, but they are also a good brand- and business-building tool. Here are five ways guidebooks can help you grow your business and win more Airbnb guests:

1. Establishes You as an Expert Host

It should be clear by now that good, old-fashioned hospitality can be achieved with a thoughtful focus on great communication and relationship building.

Once a guest makes a reservation, you become their virtual concierge, tour guide, and host. Chances are, guests won’t be familiar with your property, neighborhood, or city. They’ll need an expert to help them navigate their way to a memorable stay. Your guidebook is their gateway to all the cool things about your home and destination.

Many guests like to pre-plan to create their perfect trip itinerary, some in great detail, with every minute mapped out. A guidebook is their essential planning tool. Whether it’s the kid-friendly local coffee shop or the new art gallery in the town center, your guests will appreciate your insider’s view.

2. Launches You Into Your Local Small-Business Ecosystem

As a vacation rental host, you are part of your town’s small-business ecosystem. An Airbnb guidebook is one way you can support other local small businesses. Specifically, you can highlight local restaurants, grocery stores, shopping malls, and more in your guidebook, helping drum up business for them.

This can have a boomerang effect. When these shops and eateries feel the positive impact you are having on their businesses, they may start recommending you as a top lodging choice to friends, family, and customers.

Strong local word-of-mouth can set you above the competition and establish you as a viable member of the local business network. In destinations where there is friction between short-term rental hosts and the community, this can help relieve some of that tension and build bridges.

3. Builds Your Brand and Leaves a Lasting Impression

Your guidebook is the best brand-building tool you have. It allows you to sell the benefits and features of your home and gives your guests assurance that they made the right choice. It also offers a personal view of your guests’ destination and shows that you care about guests’ stays.

All of this makes for a lasting impression, one that is shared every time a guest talks about their trip. Be sure you manage that impression well.

4. Improves Your Review Scores

That strong word-of-mouth we discussed above is the key to building strong and positive reviews.

Review scores have an impact on how your listing is ranked on searches for your destination on travel websites. High review scores keep you higher in the rankings and make you more competitive. Since communication is one of the top criteria upon which reviews are based, an attractive, useful guidebook can help garner more 5-star reviews.

A digital guidebook is part of your Airbnb listing page, so it contributes to the general look and feel of your listing and increases your credibility as a host. The more your guidebook stands out, the more you and your listing stand out.

5. Opens the Door to Added Revenue Streams

A good guidebook is not just a digital FAQ — it is also the key to selling add-on services or upselling your conveniences.

Beyond your room rates, there are a number of additional services you can provide at a charge for guests. Some of the more obvious upsell services include:

Early check-in fees
Late check-out charges
Mid-stay cleaning services
Pre-arrival groceries
Airport pickup
Floral services

Use your imagination and listen to guests’ requests to create any number of positive revenue streams for your vacation rental business. There may also be affiliate programs with your local attractions that pay healthy commissions to hotels and other lodging facilities that send them guests.

The good news with these extended revenue sources is that you keep 100% of the dollars you make on the upsell.

Vacation Rental Guidebook Basics

Guidebooks have become one of the most critical hospitality tools for successful vacation rental hosts. They’re your virtual front desk, room service, and concierge — all rolled into one.

The ideal guidebook assures your guests that they are in good hands. It combines the traditional handbook, containing all the details about the property, with a good travel guide that has all the details about the destination.

With a good guidebook, guests can run the place, find a good meal, and find out where the action is in the area.

Digital vs Printed

Guests are becoming accustomed to fewer face-to-face interactions. This means that a digital guidebook option is the best way to go in this new Airbnb-centric travel landscape. In fact, the use of digital guidebooks more than doubled in 2020, becoming what is considered a best practice for vacation rental hosts.

Many hosts still provide a physical handbook, as some travelers, particularly older travelers, want a physical guidebook they can touch and feel. By and large, however, guests simply expect a digital guidebook these days. From the moment they check out your listing on Airbnb or Vrbo, they expect a guidebook to be present.

Many booking channels, like Airbnb and Vrbo, include tools to create a basic digital guidebook with all the key components. That said, there are a variety of software choices for more sophisticated guidebooks, including:

What Goes In a Guidebook: Content Must-Haves

An effective guidebook should contain a useable handbook and a reliable travel guide.

Traditional vacation rental handbooks contain:

Welcome message: For a host, a friendly welcome is par for the course. Make your guests feel at home and that you’ve got their backs.
Outline of the house rules: These can include the number of guests allowed, quiet hours, trash and dishwashing etiquette, and pool rules.
Emergency contacts: Let your guests know how to reach you and local service providers for any perceivable emergency.
How-to guide for using appliances and amenities: WIFI codes, cable instructions, and other tips for using appliances should be covered.

To continue, an in-the-know, local travel guide should include:

Best dining options: Be sure to include your favorite hidden local gems.
Local services: Local cleaners, salons and spas, gym, printing and delivery services, and transportation services should always be highlighted. Directions to the train or bus station and local car rentals are things to include.
Tours and attractions: There may be attractions in your area that the locals take for granted but visitors would find fascinating. Local historic tours or pub crawls are all perfect choices for the out-of-towner.
Upcoming events: What shows and concerts are in town? Provide a list of local fairs, charity events, farmers’ markets, parades, marathons, and other events.
Language: Consider adding a section in your travel guide dedicated to the language in your area. List some common sayings to ensure that your guest can interact with others if they do not speak the native language. You may also want to encourage guests to download a language translation app, such as TripLingo or HelloTalk.

Presenting Your Airbnb Guidebook to Guests

Here are three ways you may wish to display your travel guide:

Shareable Link or File

Create a link to your website or file to share information electronically quickly. Consider communicating with your guests in advance of their trip to assist them as they start planning.

QR Code

A QR code is a scannable auto-generated code that directs you to a website or webpage with more information. By creating a dynamic QR code, your guests will be able to view your travel guide electronically right from their own personal devices.

Physical Book

Displaying a physical travel guide is an excellent add-on to any table. If you would like to get creative, use a website that can generate templates, customize fonts, and upload images. Next, print out the pages and add them to a binder or even publish them through an online company such as Snapfish or Shutterfly to create an impressive guide.

Guidebooks: The New Hospitality Normal

Given the rising popularity of vacation rentals, Airbnb hosts, new and old, have a tremendous opportunity to attract many new guests but also to achieve what hotels never can: true hospitality. Hospitality at its core is understanding and anticipating guests’ needs and making them feel at home.

A guidebook can help you achieve that hospitality. Make your guidebook personal and put yourself in the guest’s shoes. What would you like to know when arriving at a new destination? Always assume it’s a guest’s first visit to your location, and help them feel at home from the moment they arrive.

The post What Is an Airbnb Guidebook and Why Do You Need One? appeared first on Turno.