Are You Promoting Features or Benefits of Your Holiday Let?

Perhaps you haven’t thought about there being a difference between the two. So let’s look at a couple of examples in order to see how different they are.

• Feature – a decking area with table, chairs and nearby BBQ
• Benefit – guests can sit and relax over a barbecued meal, watching the sun go down as they enjoy a complimentary bottle of wine (this manages to add in another benefit too)

• Feature – main bedroom has a balcony that overlooks the swimming pool
• Benefit – imagine waking in the morning, throwing open the balcony doors to feel the warm sunshine against your skin and see the glistening pool that awaits enticingly below. Sip your freshly brewed coffee before going for a dip. Or perhaps you’d prefer a few refreshing lengths before returning to your private balcony for a romantic breakfast?

You can see the difference. A feature is practical – something that is included with your holiday let. The benefit, on the other hand, is something your guests can imagine happening – it’s an experience. Think of the ways they can enjoy the features of your holiday rental and use those to help promote your property.

It’s very easy to get focused in on the practical side of things. But it’s well worth delving into the benefits your holiday rental has to offer, appealing to their emotional side instead. When you do this, you can uncover plenty of triggers your guests could respond to. After all, we all respond to different things. In the example above, some might enjoy the fact they can have a barbecue every night. Others might like being able to sit out on the decking and relax with a nice drink. Still more might think about going swimming whenever they can, or gazing out at the scenery from their balcony. With so many perks and benefits, it makes sense to share them all.

If you’re not sure where to begin, take a tour round your own property. Make a list of its main features and then work out how you can turn them into benefits. Be prepared to edit your material before you think about publishing it on your website, to make sure it looks its very best.

Many holiday let owners find their written content converts enquiries into bookings better when appealing to the senses, using benefits. If you are struggling to up the number of bookings you’re getting, why not give it a try? If you do, make sure you have your ideal target audience in mind. For example, are you targeting families? If so, write with adults and children in mind. Or perhaps couples are your ideal market. If so, you could use words such as private, romantic, sunsets, champagne, etc. You get the idea I’m sure! Always have your ideal audience in mind when writing website or listing ad content with a more emotive flare.