With many people starting rentals it can be hard to keep your vacation rental fully booked. The great thing about the internet is that you don’t need a fortune to promote your rental. There are plenty of free ways to market your vacation rental. Here are the top free ways to promote your vacation rental.
Use Social Media
The best free method is to utilize social media. You can start pages for your vacation rental and connect with other pages asking them to promote you rental for free. Facebook groups or Instagram pages that promote your area are another great place on social media to promote your vacation rental. You can also use Facebook Marketplace.
List on as many websites as possible.
The more places that you list your vacation rental, the more exposure you will get. The top places are booking websites like Vrbo and Airbnb. If you have a cabin rental you can list for free on CabinDreamers.com. Some other websites are Wimdu, Owner Direct, One Fine Stay, and others. Often a quick search in your state or area and you will find websites with relative audiences. It can be hard to build your own audience. By listing your vacation rental on as many websites as possible, you can take advantage of their audiences. You can also ask websites to promote your vacation rental on their blog.
Create your own website and use SEO.
A website will give you the ability to create an audience for your own area/booking. You can also feature more pictures, guides on the area, and save on fees. Learning how to use Search Engine Optimization is a great tool to use. Make great articles about your area that answer many questions a visitor might have.
Claim your local listings.
Local listings are what appear on Google searches for “rentals near me” or “rentals near…” By claiming your Google, Yelp, and other listings, you will boost your visibility and be able to keep track of your reviews. This also gives you a great place to promote your website and pictures.
Offer influencers free stays.
I know this is arguable not free but this is a great way to save on marketing costs. Social media influencers often have very loyal followers who trust them. By doing a quick search on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or TikTok you’ll find many travel social media influencers who have large followings. By offering them a free stay in exchange that they post about their stay is a great way to get in front of many of their followers. It is a fair exchanged… you get more eyes on your rental and they get more content. That leads us to our next free way to promote your vacation rental.
Create a (photogenic) experience.
Vacations are about experiences. Create a good experience for your guests (especially photogenic ones.) Including a unique gift basket or perfect porch area for the best #vactionshot is a great way to get your vacation rental on your guests social media pages. Nowadays people love to share their photos online with their family and friends. The more photogenic shots you have for your guests, the more likely they are to post and share their experience. The best free marketing is from a happy guest!
Be different from your competition.
Know what your competition is offering and more importantly what they are not offering. By filling holes in the market you can easily get more bookings. One example of this is pet friendly listings. Being someone who loves to travel with my little Lhasa Apso, often my first search includes “pet friendly” which eliminates many rentals. See what it is that you can offer your guests that the competition isn’t. Sometimes this can be as easy as adding an AC unit other times you might offer a free shuttle or hot tub.
Taking advantage of these free methods can help you keep your vacation rental booked. Know that they may take time and a bit of effort but with consistency you can eventually sit back and enjoy a booked rental. Do you have a rental that is a cabin or log home? Cabin Dreamers lets you post for free and is one of the fastest growing cabin communities on the web! It is completely free!
