Have you seen a great opportunity in the vacation home market, and you’re planning to get deeper into short-term rental (STR) investment? It helps to start strategizing how you can make your STR stand out in a crowded market. And, if you haven’t thought about it yet, you need to start now.
There are unique things about investing in vacation rentals. Please note that your short-term rental can be the most significant investment of your life. In the current competitive market, you need to give it your all and run the business in the best way possible. This is crucial to realize returns on your investment (ROI).
Remember that many fresh STR investors are getting into the market with big, bold ideas. More so, the number of vacation rentals is increasing quickly. And you cannot let competition eliminate you from such a promising industry.
So, if you’re looking forward to being part of those winning in the STR market, how do you make your short-term rental stand out in a crowded market?
Let’s learn the tips and secrets below.
How to Make Your Short-Term Rental Stand Out in a Crowded Market
- Discover and Use the Ideal Rental Property Investment Strategies
Like other investment choices, short-term rentals come with rewards and risks. The more you know what you’re getting into and understand the right rental property investment strategies, the better things will be for you.
You’ll get to know the ideal target market and how to craft the best short-term rental strategy that’s in line with that market. For instance, it helps to understand what activities visitors in a particular location enjoy doing. That way, you can find outstanding STR strategies for maximizing those activities to entice guests to your property.
Notably, as you venture into the field for the first time, there are essential questions you need answers to. This is the best way to start on the right foot and stand out from the crowd.
As a result, you get to enjoy the rewards of venturing into rental property investment. And you also minimize the risks associated with investing in short-term investments. Some of the popular searches on Google that beginner investors would want to find answers to include:
- How to buy a rental property?
- Investing in a rental property for beginners
- How to make money with rental properties?
- How to buy your first rental property?
- Are rental properties a good investment?
- How to find investment properties?
- Investing in vacation rental property
- Give the Best Listing Description for Your Short-Term Rental
Listing descriptions for vacation rentals is a fundamental part of the booking process. Potential guests will often go through the rental description before making a choice.
So, you must upgrade your game and ensure that you describe your property and the existing amenities excellently. It’s a meaningful way to ensure that you garner more bookings. More so, the description often complements the images posted, plus the title on the listing.
Many short-term rental homeowners focus too much on the property’s pictures. They forget that the words that describe their homes also matter most. Here, you need to consider the kind of words you use and how you use them to attract potential visitors.
The words should formulate the right image in the guests’ minds. And you should also use them creatively so that you can easily entice potential visitors. You can check out some examples of creative listing descriptions for real estate.
Here are more tips to help you come up with a captivating rental listing description that may set your property apart and contribute to more booking inquiries:
- Create a compelling title
- Ensure the language resonates and connects with your target audience. Do the visitors comprise tourists, business travelers, millennials, or young couples going for fun? Speak to them
- Include personality and character to stand out from other vacation rentals descriptions
- Define the property’s location clearly, and avoid generic terms
- Include SEO keywords by finding out what people search for most to see your listing. For instance, you can be specific by writing, ‘the best short-term rental in Maryland, Washington, D.C.’
- Highlight your unique selling point to make your rental property shines above the rest
- Showcase Your Vacation Home Using the Best Photos
As mentioned before, vacation home pictures go hand in hand with the listing description. These elements are crucial in setting your rental property apart. They’re the most fundamental to persuading guests that your STR home is perfect for them.
There’s power in visual attraction! Visuals are everything when it comes to attracting eyes! As the saying goes, “a picture speaks a thousand words.”
The best images of the rental property can make all the difference in whether someone will click and choose your property online or not. It’s also the top thing that attracts potential guests to book your short-term rental property.
No one would want to give a second look at the blurry, boring-looking, overexposed holiday rental home photos. Indeed, your first image can either spark the interest of potential guests or put them off.
So, ensure you take photos wisely and display the unique features of your guest home. You need quality and professional images to accurately showcase your property and the services you offer.
The truth is that many travelers now prefer to book their STR accommodations online. Thus, you must use your property’s pictures to stand out and ensure that the first image potential guests set their eyes on is exceptionally enticing.
Some of the best tips for showcasing your vacation home with pictures include:
- Use a High-Resolution Digital Camera
It helps to use a real camera for better-quality photos instead of a phone. When shooting rental house photos, the camera should be set to high definition. Doing so will help prevent pixelation of the images when listing on your vacation rental website or other online travel agency (OTA) sites.
The best thing about high-resolution digital cameras is that they have unique settings that allow you to shoot photos indoors. Furthermore, the shutter speed and aperture allow for lighting control. Besides, with optical zoom lenses, the cameras are easier to use.
You can also save the photos in high-resolution mode to get the highest-quality images that showcase your rental property just as you wish.
- Apply Different Angles
Guests want to see the vacation homes where they will stay. Hence, you must show them that your home is the best place to stay, just as it looks. Taking photos of a room from different angles can help showcase more of your rental and entice visitors.
It helps to take many photos and then look back and select the best ones that will portray your rental business well. This way, you won’t have to keep taking pictures.
Remember to take photos of extra amenities such as the swimming pool, private balconies, and others. You can use a tripod stand to avoid blurry images and test various camera settings for the ultimate photo results.
- Make Good Use of Both Natural and Artificial Lighting
It helps to make good use of lighting that can make your photos look bright and professional. To achieve this, open the curtains and switch on all the lights. The lighting should be even and consistent throughout the entire room.
With natural illumination, taking photos during the day helps bring out the best shots. Ensure the natural lighting is at its best to create warmth in the images and advertise your vacation home in the best lighting possible.
If one of your rooms has fairy lights, wait until it gets darker and switch off all the lights. Have the photo shot with the fairy lights on to create a charming and magical look. Keep an eye out for light reflections from mirrors and windows. Also, ensure that you do not appear in the photo yourself. Avoid using flash, as this will interfere with the natural lighting.
- Wait for the Perfect Weather
Alongside lighting, it’s essential to take photos in perfect weather. Avoid the dull, rainy, and cloudy seasons, where photos may not entice potential guests. This may give a negative impression of your property, which is not always the case. However, a sunny day brings out bright images that attract guests to the vacation home’s warmth.
Good weather also adds to your property’s interior. The sun highlights the furniture and makes the rooms appear naturally brighter.
- Display and Highlight Your Key Amenities
Check through the photos and see if your vacation rental photos perfectly represent your property. Ensure that all the best amenities and color schemes are displayed in your key rooms.
That way, you can easily attract the market. We say this by looking into the future of the short-term rental industry. Remember that: The number of guests in the vacation rental market in the U.S. alone is projected to rise to 62.2 million by 2025. Now, what about globally? Undoubtedly, the numbers will skyrocket.
Key Takeaways
It is no secret that short-term rentals are a great source of extra income. That’s why many investors are considering pursuing the path of being short-term rental hosts.
There’s a lot that short-term rental property owners can do to entice more guests into their vacation homes and improve ROI. You must engage experts to ensure you employ the right STR strategies. It would help if you also used unique listing descriptions. Remember to include the best photos of your property.
That way, your rental property will market itself, and you’ll realize more bookings. In short, you must be ready to put in more effort to get the most from the rental property investment market.
