Top Tips to get more bookings in low season

Renting out your home for a couple of days or even weeks is nothing new and you can see these kinds of advertisements in many places, so it may be important to think about how to make your holiday letting stand out in the UK or abroad.

Here are our Top Seven Tips which could help you generate more bookings in the low season:

1. Great pictures and descriptions

When renting your property ask yourself this question: would I stay in my own place just looking at the pictures and reading the descriptions I currently have on the website? It’s possible that some of your competitors may hire professional photographers to take pictures of their properties, so you might want to think about taking pictures with a good camera. Include enough detail about the property so that potential guests won’t have to send you emails asking for more information, it might also be worth highlighting some of the unique or special features about the property to help make it stand out above the rest.

2. Quick replies

Try to respond to every message as soon as possible. You don’t need to reply within minutes but under 24 hours would be ideal. This shows that you care about your tenants, and that you are a serious renter.

3. Improve your offer

Price adjustments and minimum days of booking might be untouchable factors, but it’s something to take into account. You should consider that the more you restrict the minimum days of booking, the fewer options you can offer to potential tenants. Particularly at the beginning, in order to get the first reservations and comments you might want to consider offering reservations for just a couple of nights. Some people think it doesn’t pay to rent your property for a short period of time, but it’s something to consider during low season.

4. Narrow down your audience

If you want to ensure your holiday let meets the requirements of your ideal guest, it makes sense to know your target market. It’s good to visit your property at several points of the year, as it could bring different guest in winter or summer. You might want to consider renting your property to another kind of market during low season. Maybe no smoking is an untouchable house rule, but what about rules forbidding children or pets?

5. More bookings, higher position

Some rental accommodation sites reward properties just for getting reservations. If you look closely, shortly after receiving a reservation your holiday letting may improve its position in the classification for your city. These sites positively rate holiday rentals for getting a booking

6. Availability

Updating the available dates of your calendar is a fundamental factor to demonstrate you are serious about renting your home and you won’t have to tell potential guests that your property is already booked. But what can you do if you don’t have bookings for a period of time? Make a few changes, marking some dates as unavailable and later making them free again. It’s a way to keep it updated regularly!

7. Happy guests

Try to make people feel welcome in your accommodation. When a person comes to your place, ensure a great check-in experience. Confirm arrival time, address details, transport or local recommendations. Make them feel impressed with your attention to detail. Surprise them by adding a personal welcome letter in their own language, a pet biscuit, or any personal touches that could make a difference to their first impression. During the stay keep in contact with your guest to make sure everything’s running smoothly. Always try to get as much feedback as you can to improve, and you many want to ask them if they would write a constructive review.

Holiday homes come with their own specific set of risks and so an ordinary home insurance policy is unlikely to provide the required cover. The most important thing to do is to speak to a specialist provider like Intasure about your needs so we can help you get the cover you need.

Give our friendly holiday home insurance team a call on 0345 111 0680 to find out more or request a quotation.

*The opinions and views expressed in the above articles are those of the author only and are for guidance purposes only. The authors disclaim any liability for reliance upon those opinions and would encourage readers to rely upon more than one source before making a decision based on the information.