Captivate Prospective Short-Term Rental Guests With A Compelling Property Listing
A photo may be worth a thousand words, but pair gorgeous photos with compelling words…and your online listing becomes sales powerhouse
Last time, we spoke about photography. About how powerful and compelling a thoughtful visual story can be, how it can create a positive emotional connection between your property and prospective guests, and how crucial it is to use a mix of property and stock photos to maximizing bookings for your short-term rental property. For prospective guests evaluating your rental against those of your competitors, the visual story is the first half of the persuasion equation.
Today, we’re going to talk about the second half: captivating your prospects with a fantastic property listing and moving them closer to booking with you.
A photo may be worth a thousand words, but pair gorgeous photos with compelling words…and your online listings become sales powerhouses.
USE UNIQUE, INTRIGUING HEADLINES TO DIFFERENTIATE YOUR PROPERTY
Listing headlines answer one critical question in a few seconds with few words: why should I stay at your place instead of theirs? Headlines are the distillation of what’s compelling and different about your property, and (when written correctly) prompts prospects to click on your listing to learn more. It can be a complete sentence or a short list of WOW! factors; either is fine. Use words and phrases that your prospects care about, highlighting unique property features, and /or mention important area attractions. Write a line that paints an emotional picture in the prospect’s mind. Talk about property benefits, not features, as much as possible. Maybe you have a popular beach across the street, are located two blocks from the new downtown restaurant district, or have a 50-mile view of the valley below. Mention the most important aspects, the ones that differentiate you from competitors. Sell the experience. Be short, sweet, and to the point.
Above all, be DIFFERENT! Most owners rehash the same repetitive, boring phrases to describe their property (how many ‘cozy mountain retreats’ and ‘chef’s kitchens’ could there possible be?!). Avoid this at all costs. To boost your bookings you need to be unique, not cliché. Before you write a headline, review your competitors headlines, then look at headlines of properties in other popular areas. Which headlines grab you, and which don’t? Can you see how some are more compelling than others, and make you want to click to see more? Headlines that are boring or similar to others that appear in a prospective guest’s search tell them the experience at your property is interchangeable with that of your competitors, which means you’ll be battling for guests based on price alone in the best case, or they’ll completely ignore your property in the worst. Either way, it’s a recipe for spiraling nightly rates and lost revenue.
MAKE THEM FALL IN LOVE
Some communication opportunities (e.g. headlines) demand brevity. Your main property description isn’t one of them. Here’s where creativity and storytelling need to shine, and every last character space available should be leveraged to tell your (compelling!) story. Unless you’re unusually lucky, your property is surrounded by competitors offering travelers plenty of choices. When faced with so many options and the need to ultimately select just one, prospective guests are looking for reasons to nix a property from their short list as much as they’re looking for reasons to keep it in consideration.
Consequently, you need to load your listing write-ups with exciting, enticing elements as you take prospects on a thoughtful, detail-packed tour of your property plus local attractions that are important to your area’s visitors. Travelers want to read more, not less, despite what many owners believe, so write a listing that will make them fall in love with your vacation rental. Vacationers aren’t selecting a replacement battery for their TV remote; they’re deciding where they will spend a LOT of their hard-earned money, and they’re more discriminating than ever. Use that to your advantage and leave uninteresting competitors in the dust. And with so many competitors, you better make your property sound like it’s absolutely worth every cent of the nightly rate (or better yet, an unparalleled bargain!). We’ll tackle rates in an upcoming blog.
Lakeside hot tub under an endless sky
If you can create and use a theme, even better. Homes on the water, mountain getaways, wine country escapes, ranch rentals, and central urban locals all have inherent themes you can play with, and set the tone for everything from photos, listing headline and property description, right on through to décor, signage, graphics, property name (yes, you NEED a great name), and all guest communications. Together, they’re your brand, and a strong, memorable brand with emotional resonance is the key to long-term success. For rental listing body content, consider the following lines from two active competitive vacation rental listings in California wine country:
Slip into the soothing hot tub and watch hummingbirds flit by as you sip one of your delicious local wine finds. Bliss.
Enjoy (list of property features)…and a hot tub on the fenced patio.
Which of those two make the hot tub sound more appealing? Which paints a more vivid emotional portrait that captures the imagination and sets a tone that makes the location more appealing than the other? Which makes you want to experience their hot tub? (Hint: no reader thinks, “Wow, fenced patio! Can’t wait to see that!”). If the lines above are representative of the content, tone, and quality of the entire property listing (and they are), which one do you think gets more views and bookings? Which gets higher guest ratings? Which gets more return guests?
WORDSMITHS ARE WORTH IT
Finally, a few honest words about words. Most STR owners and hosts write their own listing content, and it shows. Poor grammar, hit-and-miss information, boring lists of features (not the benefits!), no theme, no emotional hooks, and lots of missed opportunities to tell a story - a compelling story (yes, there’s that word again) - are far too common. If you’re not a fantastic content writer (few owners are), and don’t have experience writing copy to attract consumers, find someone who does this exceptionally well and have them craft your story. You’re running a business, and it’s highly likely your property is in an intensely competitive market. Your listings are your 24 hour a day sales team and need to function at peak performance, so do what’s necessary to make them the best they can be.
Until Next Time,
Mick