Promoting your property on the Web

Firstly some facts. There are an estimated 37,000 holiday homes in the Languedoc region. Each year around 350,000 people stay in holiday rental accommodation in the region.  Our research shows that there are approaching 1,500 rental properties advertised on the 10-15 holiday rentals websites that promote villa vacation rentals in Languedoc. This figure has grown by nearly 18% in the last 2 years. It is estimated that 80% of all holiday rentals are obtained through the internet.

Holiday rentals marketing

The conclusions to be drawn from this is that the market for holiday rentals is very tight. We have seen some evidence of prices being held level or even reduced to attract bookings.  The market for holiday rentals is predominanty a web based business. It pays off to work with professionals who understand the holiday rentals internet business for the Languedoc and who understand how best to market your property.

Over the last 6 years we have developed a wealth of experience in the holiday rentals sector. As well as managing Maisons Tournesol, we also run our own holiday rentals websites.  During this time we have remained focused on earning our clients more rental bookings and ensuring that the visitors are well looked after.  Our aim is to make owning a second home cost neutral for you by earning you more rental bookings. Here is some of our advice on promoting your holiday property.

10 tips for marketing your property

1. What is unique about you?

Every property has its own special feature: it has fabulous views, it is close to the beach, it is near a pretty town or village, it is remote and tranquil, it is located in a vibrant holiday spot, etc. Whatever it is about your property, you need to articulate this to the buying public. Give them one or two reasons why they should stay with you. Avoid being bland. Make your property stand out.

2. Excellent photographs

I can't state this point enough. Photographs sell holiday rentals - especially photographs of the outdoors. People like to see where they will be staying and picture themselves being there. Give them a taste of your village or the view from the bedroom window. The other photographs should emphasise how your property is clean, light and airy.  Make sure that your photographs feature your unique selling point.

3. Tight description

Offer your potential guests a concise and accurate description of your property. Emphasise your unique selling points in your first two or three lines. Avoid listing every knife and fork that you provide. Make use of strong adjectives: comfortable, spacious, relaxing, etc. Paint them a picture in words of what it will be like staying here.

4. Power of Recommendations

If you have time and space, include comments from past guests. Research from USA has shown that consumers are 6 times more likely to follow a recommendation than a standard classified advert. Recommendations give us confidence to purchase. Just one or two lines will do. Too much and it will come across as 'cheesy'.

5. Availability

You have about 1 minute to capture a potential bookers attention. They want to know how much it is going to cost? Will it be big enough? Is it nice enough? and Is it available? Don't frustrate them once you have got them interested by expecting them to search high and low for your availability details. Let them tick all their requirements there and then. Wherever you advertise your property keep your availability calendar up to date. Also leave a date on your availability showing when the details were last updated (to show that the information is accurate & up to date). If you have two weeks left in July, tell them this.

6. Respond quickly

This is not so much a promotion issue, but more one of common sense. If you do get a booking enquiry, get straight back to them. We try and get back within 2 hours with confirmation. We have alerts sent to our mobile phones and we can pick up and send emails on our PDA. Never lose a potential booking by being slow off the blocks. Also, try and offer them an incentive to book there and then. Throw in an extra night, mention a fete taking place nearby during their stay, tell them if you have added something to the house. Tell them anything that might wet their appetite.

7. Guests list

Build up your guest list

8. Follow up

It is always a nice touch to write to a customer after they have stayed at your house. We generally thank them for their stay and ask them if everything was OK. Firstly, this helps us find out if there are any negatives about the house that we need to give attention too. But secondly, it helps emphasis the personal relationship that the internet is so bad for. When it comes to getting referrals or repeat bookings this is absolutely essential.

9. Keep track of your enquiries

It is always wise to keep track of your booking enquiries. Which of your advertising areas generated the most enquiries? Where did your guests find out about you? It might be that one website generates lots of enquiries but no bookings. Speak to the webmaster about why this is the case. All of this information will help you update your advert details and plan your marketing plan for the next year.

10. Sow to reap

Unfortunately, if you want to get rental bookings you have to invest in advertising. We advise our clients that they should look to spend 10% of anticipated income on advertising. But where to advertise? There are so many websites out there all after your money. Where do you choose? Well, it pays to do your homework. Ask the webmaster what the average enquiry and conversion rates are. Ask them where they advertise their site and how much they have in their advertising budget for promoting the site to potential renters (not to getting more properties). Also, ask around. If you know of people who rent out their house, ask them where they get the best returns. Post a message on one of the local ex-pat message boards and ask people for their advice.

Also it is important to mix and match where you advertise. Combine global sites with national and location specific sites. Think about what marketeers call 'short reach' advertising. Market your property to people you know - your work colleagues, your friends, your golf club members. We also place our properties on a number of free to advertise websites that charge a commission for a booking. We add in the commission to the rental price so that this does not cost us too much. We also keep a bit of a budget back to pay for short term adverts on places like eBay, laterooms.com and lastminute.com.

If you would like some advice about marketing your property then please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   at Maisons Tournesol. Iain can talk to you about your requirements and Maisons Tournesol's  advertising and rental booking service for your holiday. Maisons Tournesol also operates its own holiday rentals site www.golanguedoc.com that will help you promote your holiday rental in Languedoc.