Guide to advertising your holiday home

Written by Nick Grant 27 Jun 2025 10 min read

How to advertise your holiday let

Whether you’re an existing holiday let owner or looking to start a new venture, knowing how to market your holiday home is key to running a profitable holiday let. Keep reading as we share tips on how to advertise your property, covering everything from understanding your target market to crafting a winning holiday home listing.

Understanding your holiday home target market

Firstly, ask yourself which type of guests your house is right for and which market you want to target. For example, is it suitable for families and couples? Or is it better for a group of friends? You could also ask yourself some practical questions, like whether it’s dog friendly. If your property is in an area brimming with walks and activities, it could be a good idea to equip your holiday home for outdoor clothing and muddy boots. Providing walking guides and leaflets is a nice touch too.

Seasonal trends and booking behaviours

Be aware of seasonal trends and travel patterns. For example, consider school holiday dates not just in your local area, but nationally too. You could also factor in specific events happening locally which may draw people to the area. On average, 35% of the UK book their holidays 1-3 months in advance. However, this fluctuates depending on your target market, with a further 27% of people saying they prefer to book a holiday more than 6 months in advance ¹. So, it’s worth considering marketing your holiday let year-round to capture different booking behaviours.

How to write a compelling holiday home listing

If you want to attract bookings, your holiday home listing needs to sell the experience. Here’s how you can do it.

Writing the perfect product description

Customers are typically looking for a welcoming home, so try to make it as inviting as possible. Be sure to include property details and highlight standout parts of the property, like the garden size, period features, and added extras such as a hot tub or pool table. Provide information about the local area and its attractions. Highlight your recommended pubs and restaurants, local shops, and countryside walks to help you appeal to guests. Research similar holiday homes in your area. Read the descriptions on the first page of the search results, as well as the information they include in their listing for inspiration when writing your own. Looking at the competition can also provide a good steer on the prices you should be charging.

How to take eye-catching photos

While a well-written description is crucial, the old saying ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’ rings true too—particularly when you consider people spend 60% of their time looking through pictures and just 20% reading property listing descriptions². To help bring your property to life, you might want to consider a professional photographer. It’s also a good idea to take pictures when your property is looking tidy and clean.

How important are video tours of your holiday let?

A video helps guests visualise what it’s like to live in your property. You’ll also help build trust and transparency with your potential customers, as a virtual tour can remove any uncertainty that a guest might have. Potential guests can get a true sense of room sizes, for example.

Choosing the right advertising platforms for your holiday home

Deciding on a suitable place to advertise your holiday let depends on many factors, such as your target audience, budget, and the marketing objectives for your holiday let.

Online listing sites

If you’re looking to reach a broad, national, or global audience, listing your holiday let on a holiday rental portal can maximise your chances of multiple bookings. This is because of the large volume of traffic visiting the site. When picking platforms to advertise your holiday rental, go for ones that reach the most people and offer a great user experience. Try to make sure they have secure payment options and a calendar to make booking easy. Some of the main advertising platforms you might want to consider include:

Airbnb

Since it launched in 2007, Airbnb has grown into a global powerhouse. It currently lists over five million hosts ³, who have welcomed over one billion guests. Among the current listings on Airbnb, there are around 90 thousand cabins, 2,800 yurts, 2,600 treehouses, and 1,600 private islands. There are also 300 lighthouses and 140 igloos listed4 Key benefits:

There's no listing fee, so it's free to advertise your property on Airbnb
Most hosts pay a flat service fee of 3% of the booking subtotal5
Guests are billed automatically, and you receive the money as soon as they check in

Booking.com

Booking.com offers more than 28 million accommodation listings, including over 6.6 million listings of homes, apartments, and other unique places to stay. According to its own figures, more than 1.5 million nights are reserved on Booking.com every day. Key benefits:

Listing is free
Commission is between 10% and 25% per booking⁶
Check-ins are automated and you get paid once the guest is checked in

Vrbo

Unlike Airbnb, Vrbo only features entire properties and doesn't promote spaces that guests share with the homeowner or other guests. It also doesn’t advertise hotels, like Booking.com. However, it still advertising properties globally and boasts listing too. Key benefits:

Listing is free
Fees to owners are typically 8% per booking, made up of a 5% manager fee and 3% for payment processing⁷
Vrbo takes the payment, and you get paid one business day after the guest checks in

Social media channels

63.9% of the global population now use social media, with the average person spending almost two and a half hours on social platforms each day⁸. So having a social media presence is worth considering to help improve brand awareness. Assess which platforms your target audience is most likely to use. For instance, Facebook is primarily used by older generations, whereas millennials and Generation Z are more likely to use Instagram and TikTok to seek information and recommendations.

Local tourism websites

By advertising your holiday let on a local tourism site, you'll target people who have specifically entered the site to find local experiences and recommendations. Concentrate on unique aspects of your property or nearby attractions when advertising on local sites to stand out against competitors.

How can you improve engagement with your holiday home audience?

Engaging with your holiday home audience is important to retain past customers and attract new ones. Take note of customer recommendations, respond to feedback, and go the extra mile so that your guests talk about you to their friends, family, and through their social channels.

Respond to enquiries

Act as a welcoming host and offer advice to customers wanting more information about your holiday home or the local area. That way, you’re not only offering your home to your visitors but also building up your brand reputation.

Build relationships

Consider offering a welcome gift upon arrival, along with a detailed information folder, listing important information about the property and local area. To help build a lasting relationship with past customers, encourage them to follow you on social media and consider using email marketing to keep them informed about upcoming local events and news—this will help maintain a connection from afar.

Use testimonials

People put a lot of trust in reviews, so ask past guests to write a few words to help you promote the property. A great review can make a huge difference by boosting visibility. Showcasing reviews on both your holiday home listing and social media will help guests feel more confident when choosing your property. Real feedback from previous guests provides proof that your property is up to standard and fills future guests with confidence in choosing your holiday home.

Secure as much repeat business as possible

Keep in touch with guests during and after their stay. Building relationships might help tempt them back for repeat visits. You could also offer them a discount if they were to book again.

Get suitable insurance

Advertising an attractive holiday let successfully can bring plenty of bookings. That's good news, of course, but more guests can increase the likelihood of mishaps and damage. That where insurance can help. Our holiday home insurance can help protect properties from the everyday risks associated with letting to different guests throughout the year. Finding suitable cover for your holiday let can help with issues such as damage, theft, and liability. Get your quote online, or speak to one of our friendly UK-based representatives by calling 0345 111 0680.

The sole purpose of this article is to provide guidance on the issues covered. This article is not intended to give legal advice, and, accordingly, it should not be relied upon. It should not be regarded as a comprehensive statement of the law and/or market practice in this area. We make no claims as to the completeness or accuracy of the information contained herein or in the links which were live at the date of publication. You should not act upon (or should refrain from acting upon) information in this publication without first seeking specific legal and/or specialist advice. Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited trading as Intasure accepts no liability for any inaccuracy, omission or mistake in this publication, nor will we be responsible for any loss which may be suffered as a result of any person relying on the information contained herein. Intasure® is a trading name of Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: Spectrum Building, 55 Blythswood Street, Glasgow, G2 7AT.

Sources

Nick Grant
Business Development Manager

Published on: 27 Jun 2025

Nick is a Business Development Manager at Intasure, heading up our wholesale team.

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