Austin gets around 30 million visitors per year, making it one of the hottest tourist destinations in the South.
If you're an Austin property owner, turning your home into a short-term rental is a brilliant idea. Owning a vacation property is a great source of passive income that you can quickly turn into a real estate portfolio if you're successful.
Success in the world of vacation rentals comes down to maintaining a high occupancy rate. To do that, you need to employ vacation rental marketing strategies.
In today's post, we'll give you some tips for maximizing your rental income. Keep reading and you'll see how marketing strategies and other tactics can bring you more vacationers and more money.
Creating a Great Listing
To secure bookings initially, you need to create an eye-catching vacation rental listing. This involves writing a detailed description of your property and taking lots of professional-quality photographs of the interior and exterior of the unit.
When writing the description, make note of any special amenities that the unit has. You should also detail the best local restaurants, parks, bars, coffee shops, and boutiques. Location is just as important for appealing to guests as the unit itself.
Digital Marketing Tactics
Armed with a solid vacation rental listing, you can start marketing your property. Start by listing it on the vacation rental platforms of your choosing, of which there are many.
You can take your rental marketing to new levels by incorporating digital marketing practices. Tools like SEO or paid online ads can put your rental listing in front of the right types of vacationers. Investing time and resources into marketing can pay major dividends when you do it well.
Encouraging Reviews
You must put a major emphasis on rental marketing when you're starting out as a short-term rental owner. Once you're more established, the property will take care of securing bookings on its own. For that to happen, you need to optimize the renter experience.
The most important thing for vacation renters is that you're available. You don't want to be overbearing, but make sure they know how to contact you if they have any questions or if something goes wrong.
When you provide an optimal guest experience, your renters will leave happy. That's when you ask them to leave you a review. The more good reviews your rental has, the more bookings you'll secure.
Pricing for Success
Our last tip is to take advantage of sliding-scale pricing. There are busy and less busy times for tourism in Austin. During the less busy months, lower your rental prices to maintain your occupancy rate.
During busy times, like SXSW or college football season, bring your rates back up. Always make sure you're pricing the rental competitively so that you appeal to more renters than the next vacation property.
Implementing Vacation Rental Marketing Strategies
These vacation rental marketing strategies will help you secure more bookings for your Austin rental. The more rentals you have, however, the more work it is. That's when hiring a property manager becomes a great idea.
PMI Austin Metro is the area's top short-term property management company, offering comprehensive management for your short-term rental. Contact us today to learn more about what we do and how we can help.
