The Short Term Let Marketing Blueprint (Simplified)
Hello.
Today we are going to be going through the simplified blue print to marketing your property.
Often, marketing is made far more complicated than it needs to be.
Marketers use stupid jargon to sound cool and most of the time it makes things more confusing.
Follow the steps below and if you need help, the team at Hostimize would be happy to guide you and your business for free. (genuinely)
Follow these steps…
(We will continue to add to this article over time and if you have any requests, do let us know)
Step 1. Identify your target market
Families?
Corporate stayers?
Vacationers?
Step 2. Identify your competition
Similar properties
Close in proximity
Amenities
Service
Pricing
Target market
What Is A Compset And Why You Need To Keep An Eye On Yours — Hostimize
Step 3. Set your pricing
Compare rates with competition
Understand commission costs
Think of incentives or offers (length of stay, discounts, package value, brand strength)
Look at local area forecasts for the year
https://www.hostimize.co.uk/resources/what-is-yield-management-5-strategies-to-boost-your-revenue
Step 4. Take high quality pictures of your property
Internal
External
Local area
https://www.hostimize.co.uk/resources/the-benefits-of-property-photography
Step 5. Choose what online channels to use
Online travel agencies (Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia)
Meta search engines (TripAdvisor, Kayak, Skyscanner)
Your own website
Global distribution systems (Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo)
https://www.hostimize.co.uk/resources/how-to-build-an-effective-distribution-strategy
Step 6. Create your property listings on chosen channels
Create an account
Add your business information
Create a new listing
Add your property pictures
Add your properties copywriting (titles, descriptions etc)
Select relevant amenities
Create your rates in line with your above pricing strategy
Make sure all of the information is correct
Make your listings live
Map your rates with your channel manager (if you have one)
Step 7. Create a reputation management strategy
Join online review platforms (Trip Advisor, Google my business, OTA channels)
Create personal response templates
Choose a positive tone
Schedule time to respond
Send feedback requests to guests
Incentivize positive reviews and 5 star ratings
Property Reputation Management Explained (briefly) — Hostimize
Step 8. Create social media content to drive traffic to your listings
Create social media profiles for your property (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest)
Use your property photography from your listings to create posts
Engage with other relevant profiles
Put your lowest booking cost link as the call to action
Send followers to the link to view your property listing
Regularly post across all of your profiles
https://www.hostimize.co.uk/resources/ways-to-market-your-property-on-social-media
Step 9. Re-target guests that stay at your property
Opt guests in to receive future marketing communications
Create print marketing leaflets for guests to take away
Incentivize guests towards your desired actions (follow your social media pages, rebook with a discounted price, book direct next time)
Step 10. Set key performance indicators
Average daily rates (ADR)
Revenue per available room (RevPAR)
Average length of stay (ALOS)
Occupancy rate (OC)
Market penetration index (MPI)
Gross operating profit (GOP)
Conversion rate (CR)
Online reviews
https://www.hostimize.co.uk/resources/understanding-property-performance-metrics-and-kpis
Bonus step 11. Optimize Optimize Optimize
Reduce customer acquisition costs by motivating them to book direct
Increase the lifetime value of each booker
Choose what aspects of your marketing strategy you can improve on based on evidence or data
https://www.hostimize.co.uk/resources/cognitive-biases-and-heuristics-that-can-influence-bookings
Conclusion
This is a basic property marketing blueprint.
As I have said above, we will continue to add to this article if and when it develops further.
The only thing we charge for at Hostimize is property photography, everything else is free.
Get in touch with our team today if you need any help.
Thanks for reading! (follow our Instagram @Hostimize)