The Minefield Of Short Term Holiday Rental Digital Marketing

I remember when I listed our first short term rental property on Stayz almost a decade ago. I was so excited to see the inquiries and bookings rolling in. It didn't take long to realise that we had a real chance of success.I can shoot off a list of booking portals that you could list with. Most of them will probably generate bookings. Some more than others. These include FlipKey (TripAdvisor), Villas.com, Booking.com, Stayz, HomeAway, Wotif, Gumtree, AirBnB. The list goes on and the market is highly competitive. Most will allow you to list with them free of charge and they'll take a commission for all booking revenue.While you will get swept up in the number of bookings and the amount of revenue generated from these sites what would happen if any of them closed for business permanently? How else will you be marketing your property and how will your business remain sustainable into the future?Think about it as a growing business starting from the grass roots level. You'll want to tell your friends and family and ask them to spread the word that you have a fabulous holiday home available. You may consider sending an email to your contacts. You may also consider drafting a flyer to promote your short term rental.Ask yourself what information you will include in that email, that flyer or business card? Will you provide a web address/domain which provides more information to prospective guests?If you do not have a website for your holiday rental I urge you to consider it. There are some very basic and affordable websites available for purchase nowadays. The templates are user friendly and professional.If developing a website still remains in the too hard basket then at least develop a Facebook business page and link to it from a web address/domain. This allows the prospective guest to find information on your holiday rental through Google, click on the link which will then take them to your Facebook page which should have all the information they need including your contact details to make an enquiry.Once you've taken some professional images of your property and developed a digital/online presence (website and or Facebook page) then I suggest it's time to draft a succinct flyer and business card. Make sure your branding is consistent. Use similar font types, sizes and colour and even consider naming your short term accommodation venture. Build a very basic brand and personality for your short term rental.So by this stage you have your flyer and your business card which directs prospective guests to a website and/or Facebook page which provides more detailed information on your short term accommodation. Information that can be shared amongst their own networks. Information that could potentially go viral...organically.Once all your operational procedures are in place and your holiday rental is fitted out you are pretty much ready to start advertising. Before you follow the urge to list on the major booking portals mentioned above we suggest you start building a stakeholder list. Under "tourism" find out the following;a) which tourism region do you fall under? in Western Australia we call them Regional Tourism Organisations. These sit under Tourism WA but operate as their own independent entities. Within these RTO's are sub regions. These are usually the one you should be affiliated with and will be attached to some form of Visitor Centre that will have an online presence and a place to advertise your short term rental.b) what the name of your local government authority is. They will normally work with the local visitor centre. Most local governments fund visitor centres. There may be some rules to keep in mind for setting up and operating a holiday rental venture. Be sure to familiarise yourself with the local laws and planning requirements.c) your state tourism organisation and advertising opportunities.d) same with the federal tourism organisation which is Tourism Australia in Australia. They will provide information on how to become an accredited tourism operator as well.e) there will be a number of local community based tourism organisations. Ask your local government who they are and how you can connect with them. Networking on a grass roots level will be so good for your business development and you may find that locals love renting out your property for their family and friends who visit outside of the region. These are the guests you are wanting as they will come back again and again if you give them an experience they won't forget and a level of service they will appreciate.Remember to have a great booking procedure in place. Preferably automated through your own website but this can be costly. If not make sure you are only maintaining one calendar or if you must manage several be very organised to avoid double bookings. There really is no room for error if you are wanting to provide a quality holiday rental accommodation experience for your guests.If you have enjoyed this article maybe you'd like to subscribe (free) to the Welcome In e-news. I try to publish these every few months to a community of holiday rental managers in Australia. I encourage you to make contact with me if you have any queries about any aspect of your holiday rental management journey. If I cannot assist you I can certainly point you in the right direction. I am well connected with niche industry holiday rental stakeholders in Australia.