The Adventure of Renting a Villa

Rather than focus on facts of the property for sale or rent, Generating Media tries to focus on the emotion of the experience. The feelings, the underlying emotions that clients have had or will have when they purchase or rent a property. This will motivate potential clients to take action. Some homes and villas can be the sexiest products on the planet. When a client enters your home it’s the first moment you have to inspire them. It sets the stage for their adventure.

How to increase your rental revenue

Vacation villa rentals must be promoted to believe they will have a “real estate rental adventure”. Great villa rental adventures are like art, they move clients and evoke their innermost feelings. Every piece of content from website, email, photographs, videos, text, etc must be designed to build an emotional connection. It doesn’t require a costly ad agency or millions of dollars to get people to feel emotion.

Excite your clients prior to their arrival

We need to excite clients or inspire them by showing them how their lives can be filled with positive joyful emotions by renting a villa. Emotions drive people to action. They make us laugh, shout, and cry, and they make us talk, share, and rent. So, rather than quoting statistics or providing information all the time, Generating Media tries to focus on feelings. Clients want to be emotionally moved. Activating emotion will be the key to transmission. We need to get clients excited or make them laugh…then they will share.

Give your guests something to talk about

A big factor for sales is word of mouth. Every rental home should have a “social media spot.” What this means is they need an object or location that is perfect for social media. Make this place spectacular and it will become your branding. Many restaurants and locations have been using angel wings.

Angel Wings outside of Eden Rock in St. Barths

By providing a spot for your clients to photograph themselves, they are more likely going to post something to social media. This could be a statue with a great view in the background or a likely lookout spot from a gazebo.

Using Hashtags to Increase Social Media Awareness

Create a hashtag for your vacation rental. This is a great way to keep track of your clients throughout their stay. Ask your clients to use the hashtag during their stay. To increase the usage, provide giveaways every month to your favorite photo. This could be a small token that will inspire them to use it. Your hashtag is also a great way to have an archive and searchable database to review what your clients are up to during their stay.

Keeping Track of your Clients

Now that you have inspired them to use your hashtag, you are able to follow their vacation via social media. Here are the ideal steps.

Before the client leaves for their vacation, they have checked out your website and social media. They see you have a great photo opportunity spot and you have samples of past guests who have all taken a photo there.
They see you do a giveaway for a $50 Amazon Gift card to the best photo each month.
Upon arrival, the guest goes to the photo opp and take their arrival photo and post it to their social media. They even use your hashtag.
You now check the hashtag to see their post. Now you have their social media accounts and can follow them using your vacation rental social media account.
They continue to post throughout their stay. Maybe they have posted a photo from a restaurant nearby. You start to notice more and more clients are going to this same spot.
You now reach out to the restaurant to see if your clients can get a special deal for going to the restaurant. You send them all the samples of their clients who have gone. This now opens up a wonderful relationship between you and the nearby restaurant.
The next guests who arrive at the villa have a gift card or discount card for that restaurant waiting for them upon arrival! They are now even happier to be on their vacation and see this extra added touch from the owner.

How do I get more positive reviews on my vacation rental?

It’s these little add-ons that can truly go a long way. If a guest senses that you really care about your home and their stay, they may overlook other issues and obstacles. We’ve had guests provide us with 5-star reviews for public viewing, but sent us issues privately because they can sense we care. Be in contact with your client so they see you as a person and not as a business. They will be more inclined to leave positive reviews because they want to support you for opening up your home. If they feel like you care, they will want to help.

If you have any questions or want more tips for ways to increase your rental revenue, feel free to contact us!