You must have noticed that when you list your property on a holiday home rental website, there are some basic components on the listing template:
- A headline
- A thumbnail image of your property
- A full description
- A rental rates table or tariff card
- Property photos
- An amenities tab
- An availability calendar tab
- Guest reviews.
First of all, not only is the headline important because it appears at the top of your listing, but also because it determines how your ad shows up in the property summary that shows up in search results.
Here are some tips to write an attention-grabbing headline for your listing:
1. An ideal headline should have a few well-chosen words to generate interest in your holiday home.
2. These words should clearly describe your vacation home and its major selling points. Use keywords that catch the eye of potential guests and also help your listing show up higher on the results pages of search engines. Describe your property type (e.g. cottage, cabin, condo, etc), location type (e.g. beachfront, mountain-view, etc), suitability (e.g. pet-friendly, perfect for kids, etc), and available amenities (e.g. hot tub, pool, pool table, tennis).
3. Never include information like the number of guests your property can accommodate, its location, or the number of bedrooms or bathrooms in the headline. Also never assume your guests are familiar with the area so avoid using local jargon in the headline.
Here is an example of writing a good headline:
Bad Headline: “Peter’s seaview paradise”
Good Headline: “Cozy beach house near Patong beach”
Great Headline: “Luxury beachfront home with private pool near Patong beach.”
Now, let’s go to the other important part of a holiday home listing – the description.
If you’ve thought of making some changes in the description of your holiday home rental advertisement, before you start, take a moment to think about your target audience/target guest. Get into the shoes of the traveler and think what he would like to see in your advertisement. Invariably, most travelers start their search with these criteria in mind:
Location: Before a traveler starts looking for accommodation, he shortlists a couple of locations he would like to visit. Ideally the location a traveler chooses, is a known tourist destination. So have you mentioned the location in the description of your advertisement? Even if you are couple of kilometers from the main tourist destination, mention it clearly.
Proximity to major attractions: Often, travelers look for a holiday home that is close to specific attractions. So when you write your description, instead of being vague and just writing ‘near tourist attractions, restaurants and shopping centre’ give exact distances. If there is any particular tourist attraction which tourists invariably visit, mention its distance from your property. Mention other distances as well, such as “2 km from the nearest coffee shop, 1 km from the shopping mall” etc. This will help the traveler know what to expect and how much he will need to travel to get something.
Rental/ Price: While the holiday home rental website will give you a separate area to add the rental rates, make sure you state your prices clearly and they are easy to find in your listing. Pricing is another aspect that helps travelers in their decision making. Almost all travelers search with a certain budget and price range in mind, so price is an important factor. To know more on how to set your rental read our article:
Size of the holiday home: In the description, clearly state the size of your holiday home, laying more stress on the number of bedrooms your property has and the maximum number of guests it can accommodate. Guests specifically want to know about your bed setup as well as the seating available in your living area and dining room.
Preferred dates: All travelers base their vacations around long weekends or school calendars of their kids. So always keep your availability calendar up-to-date to attract travelers looking for specific dates, even at the last minute. This will also save your time answering enquiries of travelers wanting to book on days when your holiday home is not vacant.
Since travelers search for holiday home accommodation based on these five criteria, make sure the description of your holiday home rental advertisement clearly addresses each of these factors.
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