The trick is to make sure your property has a USP. This is your unique selling point and it’s what sets you apart from your competition. It’s what makes people look twice at your website or listing instead of glancing at it and moving on. Put simply it’s the one thing that can help fill up your order book.
So what’s your USP?
Maybe you thought of something the moment you read the title of this post. Maybe your property has a hot tub. Maybe you’ve got the advantage of being halfway up a mountain that offers superb walks and access to all kinds of activities, yet gives the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere. Maybe your holiday let is in an old building with lashings of history attached to it.
If something did immediately spring to mind, good for you. You’ve already got your USP. Now all you have to do is to promote it. But don’t worry if you haven’t thought of anything in particular. All you have to do is to let your mind run in the right channels to find it. Think about every aspect of your property. What sets it apart? What makes it a must see property?
What would you look for in a holiday rental?
If you’re really stuck think back over places you’ve stayed at in the past. Which ones were the most memorable (for good reasons)? Which ones would you happily head back to?
It’s also worth checking out the websites of your competition to see how they have exploited their USPs. You might also find yourself spotting a USP that hasn’t been taken advantage of by the owners. This is a great sign because it means you’re getting the hang of what you should be looking for.
Creating your own USP
So you haven’t found anything yet? Not to worry – now it’s time to create a USP to be proud of!
Even if your holiday let isn’t in a special location and doesn’t have anything particularly noteworthy to play on, you can still create a USP to draw people in. How about a welcome basket with tea, coffee, biscuits and a couple of local delicacies in there? You could add a local map too, and some suggestions on where to go. Just remember to promote your welcome basket on your website so you get more bites!
You’ll soon see whether you’ve hit on a successful USP because you can gauge the reaction it gets. And remember you can always promote more than one if you really want to stand out.
Whether it’s amenities, location, a cost effective romantic package for two or anything else, there’s no doubt that finding your USP is the route to success when you want more bookings for your holiday rental.
Thanks for this article about creating a USP or “purple cow” as the great Seth Godin would say. 🙂
In the first instance, I think you have to understand who your guest is before thinking about creating a USP. Without understanding your guest and their needs, your USP has no power imho.
Secondly, I think you then have to ensure that your USP is represented by imagery on your website. A picture paints a thousand words, as the old saying goes … so true when it comes to property marketing.
People “buy with their eyes” and will often press “images” instead of “web search” on google.
Therefore, your USP must be photographed and tagged as well to ensure find-ability on the web.
Finally, for maximum impact, your USP should tap into this new phenomenon known as “anticipation happiness”. I wrote a blog on this topic here http://www.yulpa.com/blog/wish-you-were-here-leveraging-anticipation-happiness-in-property-marketing/
On Property Tribes, the U.K.’s busiest Landlord and investor community, we have a whole tribe dedicated to holiday lets and holiday lets marketing strategies.
http://propertytribes.ning.com/forum/categories/holiday-lets-tribe/listForCategory
As a holiday let owner myself, I am always looking for new strategies to increase my occupancy, and for 2012 have achieved nearly 100% occupancy from June to mid October already.
As the old saying goes, when you go the extra mile, it’s a lot less crowded, so go the extra mile with your holiday lets marketing. It really does work.
Some good points there Vanessa. We would agree that it’s important to understand your guests and their needs before you start with any marketing activity. Also, agree that images play a vital role when it comes to getting the message across. Your blog post on “anticipation happiness” is a good read. Thanks for the mention of our service!