From Home you Can Market your Vacation Rental Property

I worked for other people for the first fifteen years before I realised we would never get rich like that. So I set up on my own. Then for the next fifteen years I was travelling the world, setting up companies, getting sales, handling finance with hardly any time to spare for the family. Had a wonderful time. I just wish I’d started earlier.

So I'd like to help others to start their business and here is a simple way to go about it.

We do it oursevles with a property of our own, and enjoy it, even though it is pin money for us now.

I run a free blog site to help vacation rental owners to market their property properly using the web.

Here is how to start your development.
Find an area where there is little property development, but a high tourist trade. We found the Highlands of Scotland. There is very little development there – difficult to get domestic water supply to this region, as rainy as it is.

Compare the high season rental income between different areas, and compare property prices between popular regions. You are looking for a reasonable income against a low property price.

We started it by looking through several tourist areas and comparing the vacation rental income. Strangely, the vacation letting rates were close to each other but the cost of buying properties was very different.

Then we had to think through the problem of managing a property at long range. You need people to do the cleaning for you, and you will definitely need builders and local suppliers. You’ll have problems if you cannot visit the site frequently. Best to try for your first property somewhere near where you live, within driving distance

Research the area
It is important to search for some national statistics about the tourism business, to find out how long is the season, and whether there is off-season business.

You need to research the area, talk to agents, lawyers, but remember they are selling you something – themselves. Better by far to talk to other owners and neighbours. You’ll get far more valuable information from them.

Market through the internet
Now to market your property through the internet.
First of all, behave like a customer and dial in a few search terms to find holiday properties like yours. See what turn up on the first pages.

The search terms that you and your customers use normally are vital to your web site design. The website url, title, description, and opening text on the index page, page one should all concentrate on your critical keywords.

Your area is a problem. If you choose “vacation property USA” your site will be on Google page 3,000 and no one will find you. It is a bit better if you say “vacation rental Florida” but the same problem applies. Better to go for “vacation property, Saratoga” You could get up to page 4 or 5 there. You can find and evaluate keywords if you go to “Google suggest keywords” and use the facility there. Also look at the Google advice to webmasters on setting up your site and making it suitable for Google. Their notes are easy to understand.

Vacation rental directories
There are vacation property directories. A few are free, and might be worthwhile as inbound links but they will not produce much in the way of bookings and referrals. They make their money in other ways, by selling advertising, or books or tours. Your mention in their directory is just a traffic builder for them, and a service for their site visitors.

Agencies
Some of them are agencies. These will take you on their books and do the marketing job for you but at a steep cost – 30% or more, commission, most of them. Take care with these, though you should experiment with one in the first year until you gain experience and can dump them later as your site builds up traffic. Some of them want to take all your high season period and market it, but give you no guarantee to get business. Bad news, this lot. You might find an agency which will let you market the high season yourself and just take the shoulder season.
You’ll just be another name on their books though, and they’ll put no real effort into selling your property. These agencies will not put a link to you on their own site – they prevent people from finding you direct.

But some vacation directories will do a good job for you if you pay them $100 or more a year for a good position. They’ll put on a photo of your site, sometimes more than one, and a description, a link to your web site and a straight through to you e-mail link.

Ring round some vacation rental property owners in other areas, non competitive with your area, and ask them on the phone for their experience of internet marketing. Some of them will be reluctant to talk, but at least a third will tell you how they do it and what works for them.

Finally you can select several good ones, which have been recommended to you and which seem to get high on many pages and use them.

Good luck. Within a few years you may have a big vacatgion rental rental company.

John