How to grow your holiday rental business and income opportunities. Wake up to Booking.yeah

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1 How to grow your holiday rental business and income opportunities Wake up to Booking.yeah

2 02 When it comes to increasing bookings at your holiday rental property, the go-to move is typically to offer promotions and discounts. However, this can backfire. Although discounts may cause an increase in bookings at first, they re unlikely to generate enough income to make up for the money you lost by cutting prices. Also, these types of deals can end up making your property seem cheap and sending the wrong message to prospective guests. So what s the solution? Well, it all comes down to increasing your income opportunities and promoting your holiday rental in a way that doesn t impact how guests see it. This means that activities such as upselling, local partnerships, and effective advertising should all be considered. Now, before you start frantically trying to work out the best ways to implement these ideas, simply read on. In this guide, we ve distilled the key information down and covered the topics in a way that you can start using today.

3 Refer-a-friend programmes 03 Discounts and promotions can lower the value of your holiday rental in the mind of prospective guests. So, it s important to choose these carefully and not simply give your property away. The solution then is a refer-a-friend programme. These promotions are a valuable approach, especially in the hospitality industry, because it s not about reducing the cost of your property. Instead, it s about rewarding guests for their promotion of your holiday rental i.e. word-of-mouth marketing. Importantly, these types of activities only work if your guests are confident in suggesting your holiday rental to their friends and family. And, this confidence comes from receiving a superior experience at your property. So, before venturing into this approach, ensure you are providing guests with a great and memorable stay. Now, work out the programme details and determine how you will reward the referrer. Will it be discounted rates? What about free night on their next visit? These incentives don t have to be extravagant or overly costly. If you re a good host, and your property is of a superior standard then the referrals will likely happen anyway you re simply sweetening the deal. When your plan is agreed and in place, it s time to advertise the promotion to your guests. Asking people to recommend your holiday rental the moment they book can seem a little too keen. So instead, provide details either during checkout or by after their stay. By then, guests will have experienced your hospitality and will be in a better position to recommend you to their peers. Businesses with refer-a-friend programmes experience an 86% growth in income i

4 Relationship building 04 A successful holiday rental relies on finding new customers and potential guests. Now, identifying these groups can be hard work and in some cases even costly. So, is there a more manageable alternative? You bet there is and it s all around you. All you have to do is put yourself in the shoes of your guests. A holiday is more than just accommodation, it s about experiencing the location, so travellers will likely do some research before and during their venture to your town/city and this is your opportunity. Start with the obvious contact local restaurants and places of interest. Someone new to a location may visit these types of websites prior to arrival, and by ensuring your holiday rental is advertised here (or least features on their website) you re already reaching prospective guests. What about taxi companies? Your guests are likely going to need a way to get around the town or city. So, why not visit local taxi companies and suggest a relationship i.e. they recommend your holiday rental, or hand out your business cards, and in turn you recommend their cabs if a guest needs a taxi. These types of opportunities are everywhere, so be sure to keep your eyes open. If you are located near an office block or business centre, speak to the companies and suggest they make your property the approved location for colleagues travelling from other business sites (even suggest a corporate discount) it couldn t be easier. The UK received 3.7 million overseas visits in April, 19% higher than last year and setting a new April record ii

5 Additional income opportunities on-site This activity is a fantastic way to not only generate additional revenue, but also show guests that you have superior customer experience at the heart of everything you do. Generating income in a hotel, guesthouse or B&B is not just about room rates, there s also other opportunities, and given the below statistic, this one should be pretty clear. Guests arriving at your property without toothbrushes or phone chargers are going to have to purchase replacements from somewhere, so why let them walk out the door with money in their hand? Instead, provide a range of toothbrushes and phone chargers for sale in your reception/entrance area. Simply offer chargers for two or three of the most popular phones on the market, and a few toothbrushes in a variety of colours. Be aware that adding a huge mark-up to the products can make your business look like money-grabbers, but at the same time, selling them too cheaply could mean you lose money on each one sold so find a good balance. This on-site revenue stream can be used in a variety of ways. For example, if the weather is hot, start selling sun tan lotion to guests before they head out. Or if it s raining, start selling umbrellas in your reception. These are all products that guests may not have been planning to need during their trip, but they do now and you can provide them. Think memory cards for cameras, hair brushes or combs, adapter plugs for foreign guests, and even corkscrews. This activity will add to the guest experience and make them more likely to recommend your property to their friends and family. 59% of travellers said they were interested in upgrades or additional services iii

6 Repeat business 06 When it comes to increasing your income, a frequently overlooked opportunity is previous guests. These people will have stayed with you before and know how good your service is so surely they d stay again. The likelihood is that they would, but you have to make sure you keep your holiday rental at the front of their mind and give them reasons to come back. This is where newsletters are a great tool. When guests book your property, politely ask them to provide an address so that you can send them s and updates. You could even incentivise this with a free coffee or a discount on future visits if they oblige. With these addresses, you can now begin sending monthly updates in the form of newsletters. any redevelopments or changes you ve made to your holiday rental. Also, take this opportunity to update them on events or attractions which may be taking place in your town or city or any other reasons they may want to stay with you again. Ideally, you want this newsletter to create a community of previous guests, so pose questions and quizzes in the and ask people for feedback. One thing is for sure, if you make these communications interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable to read, there s no way guests will forget you. Engaged, returning guests can boost income by 23% iv Newsletters are not only a great way to build relationships and create brand loyalty (which generate repeat custom), they are also a nonaggressive form of marketing, which you can use to your advantage. So, on a monthly basis, your list of previous guests with updates such as

7 Measure and manage 07 A priceless approach when increasing income is identifying where your money and profits are currently coming from, and then maximising these routes. For example, is it mainly families? Business travellers? Do you charge for Wi-Fi? Do guests pay for parking? Once you have this information, you can look to invest more in the most lucrative channels. The likelihood is that even if other income channels are profitable, few will be as important to your success as the money generated from property bookings. So, in order to attract more customers, it s vital to understand your average booking rates and the source of your bookings. How are your guests booking with you? Is it online? Through a travel agent? Are they contacting you directly? If you change your rates for each channel, you ll now be able to work out which channel generates the most income for your property and focus more of your attention here. Based on the statistic to the right, it s likely that online bookings will be the source of most income and revenue for you, so it s time to start increasing your digital presence. This measuring and management activity may sound daunting, but it doesn t need to be. By partnering with an industry-leading online accommodation site, you ll benefit from a variety of reporting tools which will enable you to quickly and effectively maximise your income. 76% of people booked their holiday online in 2016 with the PC being the most popular choice of device v

8 Booking.yeah 08 At Booking.com, we care about the success of your holiday rental business just as much as you do, which is why we provide all the tools, support, and guidance needed to help you increase your bookings and income. Not only will we create a unique page on our site for your property, we ll also ensure that it features on search engines such as Google. Your audience will also grow to millions of travellers across the globe as we advertise your holiday rental on partner sites such as airlines, travel companies, and car hire providers. Importantly, you ll also have access to a wealth of tools and reports which will enable you to maximise your income. From booking management and competitor analysis, to rate calculators and advice on marketing, we have you covered. As the world leader in booking accommodation online, we always keep your property at the heart of everything we do. We have teams of support staff just waiting to speak to you if you have any questions, and we ll always make sure you and your guests have everything you need. So what are you waiting for? Register your holiday rental with Booking.com now and start saying Booking.yeah Sign up here Sources: referralsaasquatch.com visitbritain.org express.co.uk forbes.com ecommnet.uk