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Creating an ad that works
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Adjusting to an evolving market
See also our Help with Managing your
vacation rental home or condo.
Creating an ad that works
Your web page should be an attention-getter, an "invitation" to inquire about
your home. Remember, you are competing with others, so your ad must offer
competitive value. Focus on your home's most attractive and appealing elements.
The title is important because it appears on our summary lists of homes. If it
is snappy, appealing, and descriptive, vacationers will click on it to see your
web page. Vacationers will already see the name of the town, so there's no need
to include the town name in the title. A few examples: "Spacious Home with Pool
near Ocean and Golf," "Immaculate home, beautiful location, walk to beach," or
"Secluded Cottage on Pond."
Next to the pictures, this is probably the most important part of your web page.
Your goal should be to create an ad that presents your home as inviting,
welcoming, and relaxing. A well-written, carefully thought-out description
gives a positive impression of both the home and of you as the owner.
Accurately describe your home and its environment, and provide information
about the area and the activities offered. Keep in mind that the Internet
brings vacationers from all parts of the world; thus, many vacationers may be
totally unfamiliar with the Cape or Islands.
Describe the layout of your home: If it has two floors, describe the rooms on
each floor. The bedroom layout is important to most vacationers; describe the
location of each bedroom and the size bed or beds in each room.
For the most part, use complete sentences rather than the short phrases and
abbreviations of a typical newspaper ad. All capital letters and excessive
exclamation points are not allowed. Avoid filling your web page with pricing
policies and restrictions; your goal is to encourage inquiries about your home.
Also, there is no need to repeat information (amenities, price, availability)
that is listed elsewhere on your web page. Do include extra amenities that we
do not ask about, such as room air conditioning, extra TV's, and hot tub.
Above all, describe your home and its environment accurately. Do not exaggerate
its strong points or try to hide its flaws. It is better to have tenants be
pleasantly surprised than disappointed. Happy tenants often become repeat
tenants.
The adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" is as true as ever in the case
of your web page. Good pictures are crucial to successful renting. You should
be sure that the quality of your pictures compares favorably with those of
other listings. Do your pictures create a mood, or are they just pictures of
rooms? Vacationers are more likely to book a home if they can envision
themselves vacationing there.
The average number of pictures on our site is now eight, and the larger and more
upscale homes often include more. Put yourself in the shoes of the vacationer:
If you found two similar homes and one had only four pictures, and the
other had many attractive pictures, including exterior, living room, dining
room, kitchen, bedrooms, deck, yard, and the nearest beach, which one would you
be more likely to inquire about?
Your pictures are the vacationers' first impression of your
home. The first picture is particularly important, especially since it appears
as a thumbnail in the search results and in the property directory. If it is a
compelling picture, the vacationer will be tempted to click on the link to see
the rest of your listing. So be sure your first picture--whether the exterior,
a water view, the deck or patio--is eye catching.
Exterior pictures should show your home in its environment.
Take exterior pictures on a sunny, blue-sky kind of day, preferably in the
spring or summer. Consider adding a picture of the nearest ocean or bay beach.
Many vacationers who see your web page will be totally unfamiliar with the Cape
or Islands. If your home affords water views, by all means include them.
Pictures of a deck or patio with pots of colorful flowers or a patio table set
for a meal are also nice touches.
Interior pictures are essential. The living area is the most
important interior shot, but vacationers will also want to see the kitchen and
bedrooms, especially the master bedroom. When taking interior pictures, avoid
letting in outside light, which could wash out or darken your shot. Close
draperies, turn on lights, and aim the camera at a corner rather than a flat
wall (this produces a more interesting photo).
If you would like help with your pictures, our staff photographer will visit
your property to take interior, exterior, and beach photographs. This popular
service includes "staging" your home for marketing success. In addition, we
offer an on-site consultation service. Our consultant will tour your home with
you, giving you on-the-spot recommendations. She will follow up the visit with
a full report of recommendations and a price comparison analysis. . (Cape & Islands only)
Unsure of how to price your rental home? You might begin by checking the prices
of comparable homes on our website. As you make comparisons, consider in
particular the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and the setting. Consider any
extra features that other homes may not have, such as a swimming pool or a
waterfront or waterview setting. The availability calendar and week-by-week
pricing gives you the ability to change your pricing as often as you want.
Early in the season, you might consider pricing your home aggressively; you can
always reduce the price for any unbooked weeks as the season approaches.
The most popular summer weeks, and therefore the easiest to rent, tend to be the
last few weeks of July and the first two of August. Some owners establish
"shoulder season" price for June and September or May through October; an
in-season price for July and August; and an off-season price for the remaining
months of the year. Keep in mind the cost of heating your home if you rent it
off-season.
Even though late spring and early fall can be the loveliest times of the year
for a vacation, the demand for homes is down and vacationers tend to have more
homes from which to choose. Larger homes, in particular, can be harder to rent
off-season, since fewer large families and multiple families vacation
off-season. If you own a large home, you might consider offering a discount to
smaller parties. If the price is right, a family of four might consider renting
your home.
Adjusting to an evolving market
When prospective tenants see your home on weneedavacation.com and wish to
inquire about renting it, they will either call or email you directly through
our service. We recommend that you respond to them quickly, particularly if the
week they have inquired about is open. Visitors to our site frequently email a
number of homeowners at the same time; thus, a prompt response from you is in
your best interest. If the inquiry comes as an email, you might respond with a
phone call rather than an email. Again, the more personal touch of a phone call
often "closes the deal." Even if the week is already booked, treat this inquiry
as a marketing opportunity; the vacationer might be interested in renting your
home at a later date.
Some homeowners create a canned response in a word processor. It includes more
details about their home. When they get an inquiry, they simply "copy &
paste" this document to their email reply, tailoring it to particular
circumstances.
Because you are showing interest in the vacationers and their needs, they are
more likely to follow through on renting your home, especially if they are
following several leads simultaneously.
Even if the week inquired about is booked, a reply is important, since the
vacationers may be able to change their vacation date to one of your open
weeks. Some owners keep a list of interested parties and contact them the
following year for the next summer.
Fully 90% of our homeowners take advantage of our pricing/availability calendar
feature. Vacationers tell us that the availability calendar is one of our
site's features that keep them coming back to us every year. As one vacationer
put it, "I don't want to wade through all the listings that are no longer
available. It's like finding a needle in a haystack. Your site shows me the
rentals that suit my needs and are available."
Since we publish the "last updated" date on your calendar, vacationers can see
whether it is up to date or if it may be woefully out of date (for example, if
it hadn't been updated in four months). Thus the importance of keeping the
"last updated" date fairly current; you can easily do this just by logging on,
going to your calendar, and clicking the "Submit" button. This will
automatically change the "last updated" date even if you made no change to the
calendar itself.
Chances are, you keep a record of all your previous tenants, as well as
prospective tenants who may have contacted you but who you were unable to
accommodate. If you do, you've got the makings of a prospect list! Even
inquiries from folks who didn't follow through can go on this list, as well as
all your friends and relations. You can easily generate marketing emails by
setting up a "distribution list" in your email address book.
Simply add all your prospects' email addresses to your email address book. Then
set up your distribution list.
To create a distribution list for Microsoft Outlook Mail,
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Pull down the Go menu, and click Mail.
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On the toolbar, find New (left hand side of toolbar) and click in the arrow,
then click Distribution List.
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In the Name box, enter a name for the distribution list.
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Then click Select Members and specify the address book from which you want to
import members. Click on the person/record you wish to add to the Distribution
List, and then click OK.
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Repeat for each person/record you wish to add. When you have finished, the
distribution list is saved in the Contacts folder.
Now all you need to do is set up your email. Photos make your email appealing
and your prospect want to read on. Adding a link to your WeNeedaVacation.com
listing and calendar makes it quick and easy for your prospects to view your
listing, especially important if you have remodeled or posted new photographs.
And offering some special terms or discount makes the prospect feel he is being
offered something others aren't, and makes him want to take advantage of the
offer.
If you need to fill a few unbooked weeks, consider reducing the price for these
weeks and indicate to vacationers that it is a price reduction. If you do this,
be sure to change the "Minimum summer price" field as well as the calendar.
Leave the prices for the booked weeks so that vacationers will see for
themselves that they are benefiting from a price reduction. You may even want
to begin your description with something like "Special reduced rate for the two
remaining summer weeks, August 11-25." Some owners have told us that they don't
want to upset tenants who have already booked their home at a higher rate. This
is a personal decision, but we see it differently. Keep in mind that your
regular rate is a fair price for your home. As the owner, you need to do what
you can to rent your home, even at a reduced price (think of it as an
end-of-season special). Some summer weeks are harder to rent than others, and
every year is different. Generally, however, the last two weeks of July and
first two of August are the most popular weeks of the summer.
With the number of vacation rentals growing every year, competition for
vacationers is stiffer than ever. More than three quarters of our Cape and
Islands clients are annual listers, because they realize the benefits of
year-round advertising:
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If you get even one more rental, you will have paid for the extra advertising
many times over.
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Pay less per month for more advertising time.
Click here.
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Your listing will be there for the early birds to see! Those vacationers
looking for a larger home (4+ bedrooms) are particularly likely to start
looking early. They know that there are a limited number of larger rentals
available, and they want to book early. Demand for 4+ bedroom homes peaks in
January and February and starts to drop in March.
If vacationers didn't get their first choice this summer, they may well try to
book earlier for next summer.
Early bird vacationers are far less likely to be looking for a discount than
they do as the season draws near. Renting your home early assures more bookings
at your asking price.
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Your listing will be there for the procrastinators to see! Many vacationers
delay their vacation decisions these days, partly because they know they can
find a rental (often at a bargain). Although booking early is in the best
interest of the homeowner, you may find yourself with a few open weeks or even
a cancellation.
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Extra pictures (beyond the first 8) are $10, regardless of the length of
subscription. So if you have more than 8 pictures, pay for the extra
pictures only once a year, not each time you renew.
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