subject: How To Make Your Cottage And Vacation Rental Stand-out [print this page] For cottage and vacation home owners, attracting prospective renters and tenants is important to maintain a steady flow of income. Effective marketing of a property can attract prospects to your property, and help to ensure that it remains occupied.
An attractive cottage or vacation rental listing doesnt require a degree in marketing, but it does call for a strategy that will help your listing to stand out from the crowd. Here are some helpful tips and best practices to get you started.
Show Me, Dont Tell Me
You have just seconds to make a positive first impression with renters, which means that the images that represent your property are of paramount importance. You may have a beautiful vacation home or cottage, but without high-quality images, website visitors may pass right over your listing.
The best vacation rental listings have lots of great photos. Choose the best features of your property and have them professionally photographed. Yes, its an investment up-front, but it will pay off in the long-term. A professional photographer will know the best time of day to shoot and has a trained eye for highlighting the best features of both the interior and the exterior. Also, make sure your rental is clutter free before shooting. You may want to include photographs from different times of the year, if you have a summer or winter listing.
Once you have the shots selected for the listing, be sure to upload images that are high enough resolution to appear crisp, but low enough resolution not to compromise download speed. This will vary by site, but a good rule of thumb is 640 x 480 or 800 x 600.
Include Details, but Not Fluff
Once potential renters have engaged with the images of your property, next theyll move onto the description. Its important to have a well worded detailed description. Start with an introduction that describes an overview of your vacation home or cottage and then dig into specific highlights. Think about what sets your rental apart from the others and make sure that comes across in your description. Also include any key information, such as pet-friendliness and proximity to areas of interest.
You may want to use bullet points to convey information for easy readability.
Add a Testimonial
Feedback is a critical part of improving your rental and securing new tenants. If available, include a testimonial from a previous tenant or renter.
