How do you attract high-end travellers to your ultra-luxury, premium properties?
Luxury guests don’t book through mainstream booking sites that list budget-friendly city apartments and homes.
Instead, they browse niche sites or hire travel professionals to help them arrange their perfect getaway.
Smiling House is a niche travel platform that offers a highly curated list of luxury properties, from Mediterranean villas to ski chalets and country castles. They serve top-tier vacation rental guests, and the concierge travel professionals hired to help them.
With Rentals United, you can list your property on Smiling House and get exposure to these discerning clients while ensuring that your pricing and calendars are always reliably synced across all channels, including this luxury vacation rental website.
Attract guests from all over the world to your luxury rentals by getting listed on Smiling House now. Rentals United can fast-track your application. Apply here.
What is Smiling House?
Smiling House is a luxury vacation rental booking platform catering only to the most exclusive, premium-tier guests.
Founded in the Swiss Alps by husband and wife team Ira and Moriya Rockman, Smiling House provides once-in-a-lifetime, memorable experiences in breathtaking properties located all around the world.
“ From day one, we realised that OTAs are not built for the ultra-luxury niche, which requires high-touch customer service, lots of communication, getting to know every guest, and plenty of opportunities for upsells,” says Moriya.
“We have properties never listed on mainstream OTAs – that never could be listed on OTAs.”
Thanks to years of experience and knowledge of luxury rentals, they have intimate knowledge of the market, as well as inside connections with the luxury travel community. They partner with other travel providers, such as concierge companies, travel agents and travel designers, to provide unique, one-off travel experiences.
“ Whoever is dealing with luxury, it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, we understand your journey, and we understand your guests’ journey,” says Moriya.
Source: Smiling House
What makes Smiling House properties unique?
A Smiling House property can be anywhere in the world, from cosy Swiss Alps chalets to Greek villas, country mansions and even castles.
Each property is unique, but all promise unparalleled luxury and an experience-led vacation.
Most properties have at least 5 bedrooms and are incredibly spacious, with impeccable interior design. Local leisure destinations and activities are within easy reach, and there are plenty of private amenities, such as swimming pools, sauna, jacuzzis, home cinemas and more, within the property.
It goes without saying that they must meet the highest standards in cleanliness and property maintenance, and hospitality is beyond 5-star.
Another thing that sets Smiling House bookings apart is that it’s a whole experience, not just a property booking, and Moriya explains that guests can request a multitude of bespoke, additional services.
“ French chefs, ski instructors, private jets, yachts – you name it!” says Moriya.
They can also customise the property amenities. An example of this, Moriya explains, could be a guest requesting that all shampoos, soaps and toiletries be organic and vegan.
With connections to professionals in the travel industry, Smiling House offers a concierge-style service to ensure that all bookings cater to the guests’ every need.
Why should you get listed on Smiling House?
Marketing luxury rentals require a totally different approach to traditional vacation rentals.
With Smiling House, luxury property managers can get exposure to the top guests in the market and receive high-quality, lucrative bookings.
Increase your ADR, length of stay and occupancy rate
With a listing on Smiling House, you’re likely to increase your ADR, length of stay and occupancy rate.
Smiling House guests spend more money. The average booking value on the platform is $24,300. By listing on the platform, you are agreeing to provide the utmost high quality in terms of experience and luxury.
Guests who use this platform aren’t shopping around for deals.
“ There are no discounts, early bird or last-minute special prices,” says Moriya. “ A deal won’t break because of a $150 difference in price.”
You can charge a substantial daily rate, and still have plenty of opportunities for lucrative upsells. For an amazing, all-around experience that lives up to their dreams, guests are willing to pay the price.
In luxury travel, cancellations are relatively rare. Smiling House has a cancellation rate lower than 1%, so your bookings are very secure.
The platform also tends to attract guests looking for long stays, whether they come for “workation”, business opportunities or a 2-month-long summer holiday.
Reach a global audience of discerning travellers
As previously mentioned, luxury travellers don’t use typical booking sites. They prefer to place their trust in exclusive travel providers who understand their needs and offer a curated selection of amazing properties.
Smiling House guests are affluent, of course, and they also often travel in large, multi-generational family groups, sometimes with pets and domestic staff in tow. Some travel for business or workations, others are international jet-setters seeking their next luxury break.
Listing on Smiling House allows you to reach these discerning clientele. And, thanks to Smiling House’s B2B layer, you’ll also get exposure to travel professionals and exclusive clubs that help the most high-worth individuals book their next destination.
Source: Smiling House
Be selective about the bookings you accept
As a Smiling House property manager, you don’t have to accept every booking that comes your way. In fact, Instant Book, which is popular on mainstream OTAs, is actively discouraged in the luxury rental space.
All Smiling House bookings operate on a Request-to-Book basis and are subject to the property manager’s final approval. Request-to-Book is essential in luxury vacation rentals because every booking is bespoke. Every guest, and host, has unique needs and requirements.
Smiling House aims to make a perfect match between guests, hosts, and properties. Instant Book is not an option because there are so many things to consider and so many opportunities to provide upsells catering to the exact desires of the guest.
Plus, anyone who manages luxury properties must ensure that guests meet their standards before agreeing to let them stay in the property.
“ Homeowners sharing their assets are not purely money-driven,” says Moriya. “ The final yes or no is always down to the homeowner or property manager.”
Have your guests treated as if they were family
Smiling House offers concierge-style customer service to cater to every guest’s unique demands.
Unlike a typical bookings service, they believe in treating guests like members of the family, and going “beyond 5-star”. This is evident in the time they dedicate to each booking, and how they partner with other luxury travel services to offer a customised, holistic travel experience.
“ We are connected to hundreds of local providers, and work closely with concierge companies,” explains Moriya.
With guests paying top dollar for the most luxurious experience, high-touch customer service is essential.
Source: Smiling House
Capture demand from B2B travel professionals
Smiling House has an additional B2B layer. This means that as well as getting bookings from luxury clients, you can also capture demand from luxury travel professionals who work on their behalf, such as travel designers and luxury clubs like American Express or Third Home booking for their members.
Smiling House also partners Homes & Villas by Marriott, meaning your properties will get exposure to these potential high-worth clients.
Moriya explains how, post-pandemic, these professionals are helping the luxury vacation rental market to boom:
“ Luxury travellers who used to stay in the presidential suites of 5-star hotels are now coming to these travel professionals, saying, ‘we want a private home to ourselves with a pool, all the amenities – and we’re willing to pay whatever it costs’.”
Choose the Rentals United-Smiling House connection
As a Rentals United customer, you can list your luxury properties on Smiling House. You’ll get all the benefits of listing on the platform – exposure to high quality guests, increased ADR, opportunities for upsells, low cancellation rates and more – and you’ll also be able to keep your availability and prices in sync on Smiling House and across all your channels.
Our API connections are second to none, so you can rest assured that you’ll never have to worry about double bookings, which are disastrous for any clients, and unthinkable in the luxury space.
Plus, with the deep data insights you’ll get from our Data Studio, you can monitor the performance of all your listings and optimise to strike the perfect balance between your ADR and occupancy.
Your properties deserve a niche platform that understands ultimate luxury
If you manage properties in the luxury vacation rental space, don’t miss the chance to reach an audience of exclusive, luxury guests who book properties through Smiling House.
Bookings that come through Smiling House will be more lucrative and give you plenty of opportunities for extra profit through upsells and extras.
“ Booking a stay in a luxury home is sometimes just the beginning of a journey with a guest – and we’re involved in that journey,” says Moriya.
Rentals United can even speed up the approval process. We can fast-track your application and help you on the way to getting your luxury rental booked with premium guests.
Attract guests from all over the world to your luxury rentals by getting listed on Smiling House now. Rentals United can fast-track your application. Apply here
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