What is the best vacation rental marketing strategy for listing your property? Many property managers claim that technology and tools like dynamic pricing are the keys to success. But what happens when everyone uses the same tools and technologies? You may find yourself lost in a sea of similar listings, making it difficult for your property to stand out. To understand the Vacuum Approach to your vacation rental marketing strategy, it’s important to first grasp the key drivers of property visibility. These include:
Competitive Pricing: This is the number one factor for gaining visibility in search results. Guests often sort and filter by price first, so maintaining competitive pricing is critical, especially when a property is new to the rental market.
Number of Reviews: Second only to price, the number of reviews your property has across various marketing channels drives visibility in vacation rental algorithms and directly influences how often your property appears at the top of search results.
Diverse Exposure: Listing your property on multiple well-trafficked platforms is essential for standing out in a competitive rental market.
To best leverage these algorithms and maximize listing visibility, the Vacuum Approach suggests starting with competitive rates to “suck” in views from your competitors. This leads to more bookings and more reviews. After accumulating reviews and a successful booking history, you can gradually raise your rates, ensuring your position remains stable in search results even as you adjust pricing.
Many property managers today employ an inverse strategy to the Vacuum Approach by starting prices at a maximum and discounting to fill gaps in their booking calendars. The issue with this strategy is that it often takes a year or more for a property to gain credibility in the market, as it gets buried under older, higher-ranking listings. As a result, the Vacuum Approach can often be the better choice for launching a new vacation rental property successfully.
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