Is your vacation rental marketing strategy missing something? Struggling to drive web traffic, attract OTA guests, and boost revenue?
You need to find a way to your target audience and make sure they convert. Fortunately, we’ve got some great tips, and we’ve compiled them into this article.
Let’s get started!
Outline marketing in your Brand Strategy.
- Find the right mix of distribution channels
- Optimize your listing content
- Encourage reviews for your vacation rental
- Create your business website
- Drive traffic to your website
- Leverage on social media marketing for vacation rentals
- Build a mailing list
- Enhance guest communication
- Offer special discounts on major OTA’s
- Foster local partnerships
- Boost your vacation rental PR
- Work on your pricing strategy
- Stay informed about the industry trends and news
- Use a channel manager to handle and increase bookings
1. Find the right mix of distribution channels
If you take away one thing from this guide, it should be this: find channels that fit your rentals and target audience, and get listed on as many as you can.
Relying on only a handful of channels is risky – algorithms can change, booking sites can go bust, and you could be putting your business on the line.
Using a vacation rental channel manager like Rentals United can help you manage your listings across your channels. But how do you know which channels are best for your business? Explore all channel posibilites you can connect to.
Online travel agencies
Ranking high on big OTAs like Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia, HometoGoTrip.com, and Agoda requires optimizing your content and gathering many positive reviews, which takes time.
Alternative vacation rental channels have less competition – which means it’s easier to rank highly. Plus, they often target a specific type of traveller who’s looking for a rental with specific characteristics.
But even if you’re committed to optimizing your listings, it may take time to start ranking high on the big OTAs. In the meantime, it’s a good idea to start listing your properties on alternative vacation rental sites.
These channels may not get as much traffic as the big OTAs do, but there’s also less competition – which means it’s easier to rank high. Plus, they often target a specific type of traveller who’s looking for a rental with specific characteristics.
If you manage to find the channels that fit your properties and align with your target audience, they can be a great source of bookings.
Metasearches
Vacation rental metasearch engines are websites that aggregate listings from thousands of different booking sites, making it easy to compare prices and find the best deals.
Metasearch engines like HomeToGo (US) and Holidu (Europe) are very popular among cost-conscious travellers, highlighting budget-friendly rentals, with features like flexible cancellation options.
ic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as travellers turned to metasearches to find the most affordable accommodation options out there.
Besides offering budget-friendly rentals, metasearch engines use the same tactics to attract travellers that OTAs do, like providing flexible cancellation options. This means that property managers have the opportunity to optimise their listings and, as a result, increase their conversions.
Local listing sites
Often overlooked by property managers, these sites offer fantastic booking opportunities, since guests view them as specialists, providing hyper-local expertise, unmatched by global OTAs. Domestic tourism has surged since the Covid-19 pandemic, and nearby, drive-to destinations have become hugely popular for weekend getaways and remote work retreats.
To identify the most popular local channels, a simple Google search—such as “vacation rentals in [region]”—can yield great results. You’ll find that SmokyMountains.com is a leading channel in the Tennessee market, while similarly, Spain-Holiday.com is a leading site in various Spanish regions.
To find the most popular local channels in your region, you need to do a bit of digging.
A simple Google search can be of great help: just type in “vacation rentals in ” and skim through the results for anything that looks like a vacation rental marketplace.
Niche websites
Niche websites target specific groups of travellers with specific needs who don’t necessarily look for accommodation on OTAs.
They generally fall into two categories: curated lists and trend-responsive sites.
Curated lists select, organize, and present rentals based on their own criteria, and may focus on properties that are:
- Business-friendly
- Family-friendly
- Pet-friendly
- Premium/luxury
- Inclusive
- Accessible
- Quirky
- Outdoor/close to nature
The properties listed on these websites usually need to meet a specific set of requirements. For example, Glamping Hub only accepts listings that have access to nature.
Trend-responsive sites often address particular and growing travel trends, such as:
- Sports tourism
- Responsible travel
- Micro-trips/Last-minute travel
- Digital nomads
- Sustainable trips
- Crypto travel
If you have rentals in your inventory that fit into any of these categories then make sure you list them on the appropriate niche channels.
Wholesalers/global distribution systems
For years, wholesalers and global distribution systems (GDSs) were a prerogative of hotels, leaving vacation rentals out of most B2B channels. Now, platforms like B2Book are bridging the gap by enabling property managers to access B2B distribution, reaching retail travel agencies, wholesalers, tour operators, airlines, and corporations.
B2Book operates on network agreements with travel agents, and integrates with wholesalers who distribute to thousands of travel agents through their channels.
Most property managers are not yet utilizing B2B channels, so early adopters gain a competitive edge.
Google Travel
One of the best sources of commission-free vacation rental bookings these days? Google.
Google has been the talk of the town ever since the tech giant first announced its plans to display vacation rental listings alongside hotels in search results.
You can connect via a trusted channel manager like Rentals United and have access to a free ans easy to use website builder, to start gaining direct bookings while you connect to other major channels.
By connecting to Google via a channel manager like Rentals United, you can advertise your listings for free, with no commission fees.
2. Optimize your listing content
Getting listed on a variety of websites is not enough. Your listings need to rank high in OTA search results and have a good conversion rate.
Make your listing pop, with engaging descriptions, and high-quality photos, and don’t forget to show off all the facilities and amenities your property offers!
Photos
The first impression your property has on a guest comes from the front image you have on your listings. You want to see the place you’re booking, and you want to see it clearly. Taking a good set of photos is something you only need to do once, and will directly impact your conversion rate.
To make your property stand out, you can:
- Take bright, clear photos of every space. Get everything clean and tidy, and take multiple angles of key rooms. Hiring a professional is a smart investment.
- Tailor your photo to the type of guest you want to attract—highlight work-friendly spaces for mid-term renters, for example. Include a hot cup of coffee to give the photo a cosy feel.
- Include photos of the building exterior, local area, view from the property, or the beautiful nature surrounding your rental. This is especially relevant for luxury property listings.
Descriptions
Just like your photos, your descriptions should be targeted to the type of guest you’re trying to attract, and keep in mind, this can also vary by channel.
Highlight what matters most to your target client, using language and tone that resonates with them. Mention facilities that they’ll need the most at the top of the list (ie: spacious desk with natural light for remote workers).
As always, a bit of storytelling can go a long way, so use your words to paint a picture of the ideal user experience of your property, and keep current (and evolving) travel trends in mind.
3. Encourage reviews
Reviews are an essential part of every vacation rental marketing strategy. They give you credibility and inspire trust in travellers.
The easiest way to collect reviews is by using automation tools in your property management system (PMS), which send follow-up emails or texts after a guest’s stay.
Feature your best ones on your website’s testimonials page for an SEO boost and share them on social media – make sure everyone sees it!
4. Create your business website
Having your own website (in addition to using OTA listings) brings several key advantages for your vacation rental marketing plan.
- Greater control over branding and the guest experience.
- Dedicated page for each rental.
- High-quality photo galleries, and detailed amenity lists.
- Additional engagement features, like a blog.
These features drive traffic towards your website, and mean that someone who is interested in one of your properties can easily browse your entire portfolio.
By integrating a direct booking engine into your website, you can streamline the reservation process for these guests and eliminate commission fees associated with OTAs, significantly improving your profit margins.
5. Drive traffic to your property’s website
If you manage more than a handful of properties, you probably already have a vacation rental website.
In order to increase organic (unpaid) traffic to your website, you need to become an expert at search engine optimization. Improving your SEO is the only way to make sure that your website pages show up in search results when potential guests type in the relevant keywords.
For example, the property management company Hills of Texas Lodging has optimized their website to rank for “vacation rentals in Texas Hills”, which is a high-intent keyword that has the potential to bring the company lots of direct bookings.
To really leverage the power of SEO, start by regularly creating content that adds value to your target audience.
Starting your own vacation rental blog, with travel tips, recommendations and places to see when visiting the place where your properties are located can significantly improve your websites visibility on search engines.
A blog can help establish yourself as an authority in your area. This kind of inbound marketing can be extremely beneficial for vacation rental businesses as it’s cheaper than outbound marketing methods and can provide a steady stream of leads.
Another important SEO factor is backlinks – links pointing from other websites to yours, which tell Google that your website is considered a credible source. Backlinks are not easy to come by, but there are some things you can do. For example, you can write guest articles on other blogs and ask them to link back to your website.
6. Leverage on social media marketing for vacation rentals
Social media is a powerful marketing tool, and choosing the right platforms requires experimentation. Instagram is a strong starting point due to its visual appeal, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and even TikTok (especially for Gen Z).
Vary your content for maximum engagement– and monitoring analytics will help you understand which posts perform best.
7. Build a mailing list
A mailing list gives you an owned channel—email—so you can reach your audience directly whenever you need.
Start with a mailing list. Target travelers who’ve already shown interest, such as newsletter subscribers or past guests.
Use website signups or tools like StayFi (available in the US), which collects guest emails via the property’s Wi-Fi login. When guests arrive, and connect to the wifi, they’re asked to type in their name and email. This way, you can collect contact details from every guest, not just the booker, and email them later with special offers, loyalty programe invitations, feedback surveys, and blog links to drive website traffic and repeat bookings.
Platforms like Mailchimp or Klaviyo allow you to track results and refine your strategy, so stay connected with your audience and increase bookings through personalized, targeted email communication.
8. Enhance guest communication
Effective guest communication leads to a great guest experience.
In turn, a great guest experience leads to positive reviews and repeat bookings, both of which are fundamentally important for running and growing your vacation rental business.
Prompt and personalized responses to inquiries, clear pre-arrival instructions, and readily available support during their stay contribute significantly to guest satisfaction.
Make use of automation tools within your property management system to send welcome messages, check-in details, and post-stay thank you notes with review requests. Consider using Rentals United’s Unified Inbox to centralize your guest interactions across multiple channels, enhancing your communication, and earning you more conversions.
9. Offer special discounts on major OTAs
While driving direct bookings is crucial, strategically offering special discounts on major OTAs is another powerful strategy you should use to boost occupancy, and attract early bookings, especially during off-peak seasons.
These promotions can include percentage-based discounts, length-of-stay offers, or last-minute deals.
Be sure to make use of multi-rate pricing options to target different client groups simultaneously, to increase your properties’ visibility and attract a wider audience.
10. Foster local partnerships
Generate referral business by collaborating with nearby restaurants, activity providers, local attractions, and even transportation services to offer exclusive deals and recommendations to your guests.
This adds value and convenience to the guest experience and also positions your property as an integral part of the local community.
Offering premium package experiences is an excellent way to give your guests value without discounting your rates, and is particularly successful with high-value clients who are often more willing to pay extra for services that maximize their time and make their trip more convenient.
11. Boost your vacation rental PR
Have you ever thought about getting the word out there by sharing your story with a publication?
This might sound unusual, but cultivating a strong PR strategy by forming relationships with journalists can work wonders. You can pitch to consumer-facing outlets orto business publications: promoting domestic tourism is a smart angle, as it aligns with the current trend of supporting local businesses and encourages visitors to nearby destinations.
Strategic PR helps you create trust between your brand and your customers – check out our guide to learn how to get started!
12. Work on your pricing strategy
Pricing is key. Pricing helps you position yourself and set expectations.
It’s one of the first things that travellers look at when they search for accommodation on OTAs – it’s up there with photos and the listing description.
If your rates are too high or too low compared to competitors, you risk losing bookings. Keeping prices competitive is essential, but challenging, as demand constantly fluctuates due to seasonality, day of the week, and other factors.
If you’re managing multiple listings, manually adjusting rates is unrealistic. That’s where dynamic pricing tools come in.
Using dynamic pricing prevents undervaluing or overpricing your property. Providers claim it can boost revenue by up to 40%, so make it part of your strategy.
13. Stay informed about the industry trends and news
The vacation rental industry is dynamic, with ever shifting trends, preferences, technological advancements, and regulatory changes.
Stay informed to keep your competitive edge. Follow industry publications, attend webinars and conferences, and engage with online communities to understand emerging technologies, shifts in booking behavior, and new marketing strategies. Keeping abreast of topics like sustainable tourism, remote work trends, and the increasing importance of technology in the guest experience will allow you to effectively adapt your listings, ensuring your business remains relevant and appealing to your target audience.
14. Use a channel manager to handle and increase bookings
So what’s the best tool to start with? Using a channel manager is probably the most impactful way for property managers to save time, reduce the risk of errors, and increase booking potential across multiple properties.
This software centralizes your calendar, pricing, and listing information, preventing overbookings and ensuring consistency across a range of OTAs as well as your own direct booking website.
Rentals United Channel Manager seamlessly connects you to more than 90 channels while offering features like performance analytics, allowing you to use data to tailor your listing to your target audience. This allows you to adapt your strategy to drive bookings and ultimately make more conversions.
Conclusion: The key to upgrading your vacation rental marketing strategy in 2025
Every year, competition increases and consolidation moulds the vacation rental industry, so implementing new and effective strategies within this ecosystem is essential.
Here are some of our key takeaways:
- Diversify your channels, including alternative options such as local and niche booking sites. Consider using a channel manager like Rentals United.
- Streamline guest communication by leveraging automated messages to obtain reviews, optimize guest satisfaction, and save you time.
- Become a pro at SEO and content marketing, making use of paid ads, social media, email marketing, and PR to drive traffic to your direct booking website.
- Using dynamic pricing strategies to boost your revenue.
Get these strategies working together smoothly, and you’ll stand a great chance of building your brand, increasing your bookings, and boosting your revenue in 2025!