A study conducted some time back found that around 6-7 million travelers in India alone booked their holidays using online booking websites – perhaps reason enough for the vacation rental industry in general and holiday home/ homestay owners particularly to post their properties online, enabling travelers to book their property at the click on the mouse.
WHY HAVING AN ONLINE BOOKING INTERFACE IN YOUR PROPERTY WEBSITE IS JUST WASTE OF MONEY:
While many owners have tried to integrate an online booking system in their property website, they have not got much success. Here are some facts and reasons why an online booking interface in your personal website is of not much help:
1. The entire online booking technology is very complex and costly to be integrated in the personal website of your property.
2. Security is a key issue for travelers before they make a transaction. Ideally, travelers are not comfortable booking directly through personal websites of homestays and holiday homes.
3. There are very slim chances of your website being ranked higher in search engines. Ideally travelers shortlist a particular destination and then search for accommodation in that particular destination in search engines. Here’s an example: If I have decided to holiday in Kerala, I will search for “homestays in Kerala” or “holiday homes in Kerala” in Google. And all the results I get on the first page will be that of vacation rental websites. Your property website will probably figure on the second or third page. But travelers hardly go to the second page. So if you had created an online booking interface, it was probably a waste of money.
4. Handling queries, taking payments online, refunds in case of cancellation can take up a lot of your valuable time, which otherwise you could have utilized in doing-up the house, preparing it for the forthcoming guests, etc.
HOW A VACATION RENTAL WEBSITE CAN MAKE LIFE EASY:
It goes without saying that a vacation rental website is more equipped to handle online bookings. They have designated teams working on various issues related to bookings, thus ensuring that not only travelers have a smooth experience, but also owners get the booking amount instantly. Because these websites have a huge pool of resources, they can carry out ad campaigns which can drive more travelers to their website and thus can immensely help you too. Here are some advantages of having your property online on a vacation rental website:
1. Vacation rental websites are highly ranked in search engines, so finding your property is very easy for travelers
2. The booking interface of vacation rental websites are very user-friendly and travelers can book an accommodation in just 3 to 4 steps
3. Vacation rental websites take care to ensure that all transactions are safe and secured.
4. For an owner, vacation rental websites gives you an interface to showcase your property. You can add unlimited photographs, description and a list of amenities of your property. You are also given an availability calendar which you can update according to occupancy of your holiday home/ homestay.
5. Because vacation rental websites have their call centre, they can guide you in various stages – right from listing your property to connecting with guests to receiving payments.
6. A vacation rental website will also have a list of travel agents who will promote your property.
7. The best part of being a part of a vacation rental website is that, registering and listing your property is totally free. They will charge a nominal commission when a guest books your property. Which means, if you don’t earn, you don’t have to pay the vacation rental website anything. Can it get any better!
If you have not registered your property yet, here’s the chance to register it with Asia’s largest vacation rental company. Click here and start earning from your holiday home/ homestay today.
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