So with that in mind, here are three areas worth focusing on if you want your special offers to work well.
1. Timing
You need to be careful when you make your special offers available. For example, if you open up a special offer on your holiday let for October and it’s currently March, you’ll look desperate. People will wonder why you’re encouraging them to book cheaply so far in advance and therefore backfire on you.
The other downside of setting up offers too early is that you may miss out on a full payment booking. Always stick to last minute offers for dates you haven’t been able to fill up until that point.
2. Message
Your message should be as simple as possible. The more complex your promotion is and the more rules you impose on it, the less likely it is anyone will make a booking. When you have an idea for a discount or special offer, go through it carefully to keep it as simple as possible. Keep the language easy to understand too, so there’s no question of how good the offer is.
One good tip is to write down what you want to offer and then put it away for a day or two. When you take it out and re-read it you’ll see whether it is too flowery or complex, and be able to adjust it accordingly.
3. Location
Price isn’t the only special offer you can use. Try offering a special that is consistent with your market but also helps you stand out. For instance, instead of offering a percentage discount on your holiday rental, try offering free ski passes if your holiday let is in a ski area. Alternatively offer tickets to the local theme park for kid-friendly rentals, vouchers to one of the best restaurants in the area, or tickets to a local event. I’m sure you can come up with lots of other ideas which will help you stand out from your competition.
The idea here is to set yourself apart from your competition by giving your guests better value. They will pay the same rate to stay in your holiday let, but they will also get more for their money than they would have done without the special offer. You can experiment with different offers over time too, to see which ones gain the best results.
As you can see, a special offer can work wonders if you know how best to use it. It takes a little practice to achieve the best results but once you get it right you can enjoy increased bookings throughout the year, no matter where your property is situated.
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