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Marketing Your Vacation Rental Home Part Two – Online Marketing

This article, part two of a series, will help vacation rental home owners learn more about how to market a rental property online. It’s important to understand that people looking for a vacation home often look for more than they can at a branded hotel. They usually want space, privacy, laundry and – almost always – a cheaper rate than if they were in a hotel.

The main difference between booking a private vacation rental home and a branded hotel chain is that you know in advance what you will receive when you book with a hotel chain. Also, if things are not right, you will always have the manager available to sort things out for you. On the other hand, vacation rental homes are almost always privately owned and operated, and in the past you were never sure what you were buying.

The Internet has changed everything about marketing a rental property. Prospective tenants can now visit a website to view photos and read information about a vacation home before making a final decision – meaning that marketing a rental property online must be a top priority.

The Benefits of Marketing a Rental Property Online

By marketing your rental property online, you have the perfect and inexpensive way to show this vacation rental home to the world. Online marketing can put you on a par with major hotel chains; In fact, it really gives you an advantage. While the sites are practical and informative, you can take time and TLC to make your site warm and welcoming, while reassuring prospective renters that your vacation rental home will more than meet their needs.

In addition, establishing a website for your vacation home offers a global presence. Although the US vacation rental market is still in its infancy, it is the norm in many other countries for families to stay in vacation homes rather than hotels. Marketing a rental property on the Internet can help a US homeowner reach families from abroad and attract them home.

Bringing Your Vacation Home Online

There are several ways you can use the Internet to market your rental property:

Create your own website
List your vacation home with an agent or property manager.
List your vacation home on one of the many vacation rental sites.
While all three options for marketing a rental property have their place, it is essential to create your own Internet site. Having your own website gives you complete control of how your vacation rental home looks to potential renters. If someone contacts you and wants to rent your home, do you really want to submit it to a site that contains other homes similar to yours? Remember, there are always other landlords out there who are also involved in using the Internet to market their rental properties and who will only hurt you to get the rent. Site listing can help you reach more people, but in the end you want a renter to see your individual site.

Creating Your Own Website for Your Vacation Home

Your site should consist of the following standard pages, which are important for optimizing the marketing of your rental property:

Home page
Property Description
Photo gallery
Visitor Information
Rates
Contact information
The Home Page
The home page is probably the most important part of your rental property marketing strategy, as this is the visitor’s first point of contact with your home. Make sure your homepage design is simple, clean and organized. Consider adding two photos instead of just one to make your site stand out from the competition. One image may be the traditional photo of the front of the house, while the other may be something that differentiates the rental property – a great view, a beautiful sunrise, a poolside scene and so on. You can also take a picture of the illuminated house at night, which will surely make the image memorable.