In the age of Airbnb, it’s easier than ever to turn your home into a vacation rental property. That means there’s more competition, especially in popular vacation destinations like Los Angeles and Orange County. Websites like VRBO are so saturated with vacation rental properties that it can feel impossible to get noticed, which means hosts have to get creative in order to be successful.
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to stand out from the masses: By setting up your own vacation rental website.
Why You Need a Vacation Rental Website
Setting up a vacation rental website gives you the power to completely customize the booking experience for your clients. You can post incredible photos, highlight key features, and add your own personal touch so your clients can get to know you. In a sea of vacation rental properties, these extra steps can go a long way towards securing more bookings.
If you’re overwhelmed at the thought of creating a website from scratch, there’s no need to worry. It’s never been simpler to get your own personalized vacation rental website up and running.
5 Steps to Set Up Your Site
There are 5 major steps to take in order to get your vacation rental website off the ground.
1. Choose a host: The first step is to choose a host for your website. There are plenty of free options, like Weebly and Wix, as well as paid options like GoDaddy, SiteGround, and Squarespace. Each one offers different levels of customization, so choose one that’s within your comfort zone. Companies like Rentivo or Lodgify cater specifically to vacation rental properties.
2. Pick your domain name: This should be something catchy that captures the essence of your vacation rental experience. It needs to be easy to spell and shouldn’t be so long that a potential client would have a hard time typing it in. Search for a few preferred names – you may have to get creative if your first choice is already taken.
3. Design your site: Depending on the hosting service you choose, this could be as easy as dragging and dropping the page elements you’d like to have. Prepare to spend some time uploading quality photos and writing good, informative content that would answer a potential customer’s questions before they ask.
4. Optimize your content: Use a tool like Ubersuggest to discover what local keywords people are searching (for example, “vacation rentals in the Bay Area.”) Then incorporate these words naturally into your web content. You don’t want it to sound robotic, but you do want to capitalize on searches for those keywords.
5. Make it easy to use: The whole purpose of your vacation rental website is to secure more bookings, so you want it to have a simple interface. Include a contact form so people can get in touch, and head off potential questions with About and FAQ pages. Think about what features VRBO and Airbnb lack and be sure you include them on your website.
Overall, setting up a vacation rental website is a quick and easy way to stand out in a crowded market. With a little time and patience, you’ll have a slick website that shapes your customers’ rental experience from the very first click.
A vacation rental website can be the boost you need to see more business. If increased bookings leave you wishing for a turnaround cleaning service for your space, check out what MaidThis! can do for you!
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