How To Market And Promote Your Short-let Apartment Business

How To Market And Promote Your Short-let Apartment Business

If you want to succeed in any business you will need to learn how to promote your business. Short-term rental business which is known as short-let business is now one of the great investments. Most people are diving into the short-let apartment business because of its high demand. Knowing how to market and promote your short-let Airbnb business will help you meet your target audience and thrive in the competitive industry. Promoting is very important in business because it allows you to navigate through the marketing industry. I have put together different marketing strategies that can help you promote your short-let Airbnb business. You don’t want to miss it! Let’s dive right into it.

Why You Should Market Your Short-let Apartment

There are lots of reasons why you should market your short-let apartment Business. Many people are investing in short-let apartments hence resulting in high competition, the only way for you to be seen is by putting your business out there for people to see. If you want to increase your income you should start promoting your short-let apartment business.

Here are some reasons why you should market your short-let apartment business.

1.     Increased Income: The major reason for starting a short-let apartment business is to create wealth or a passive income. When you market your short-let apartment you have the opportunity to increase your visibility which can increase income.

2.     Boost Visibility: Marketing your business either offline or online can help you reach a larger audience. Marketing works in a very strategic way because people tend to patronize what they are familiar with. They may not know your apartment on a personal level but they already have a picture of what it looks like because of constantly seeing it online.

3.     Meet Your Target Audience: Marketing your business will give you a clearer view of your target audience and what they want. As a newbie looking for how to market your short-let apartment, you need to be more focused on the people interested in your business. You can meet your target audience by using the algorithm to get people from different locations.

4.     Build Trust: Once you have a strong reputation, guests will trust you and they will refer their friends and family to patronize you. Building trust will increase your occupancy and your income which is one of the reasons why you should be eager to market your short-let apartment business.

5.     Build Reputation: If you want to create a standard for your short-let apartment is through marketing. Promoting your business helps you collaborate with different people and gain new customers. These customers can in return boost your business standard through reviews and 5 stars which can build your reputation. Your guest will rate you if their experience was great and this will help you build your standard. Getting a lot of 5 stars shows you are dutiful.

6.     Increase Occupancy: When you market your short-let apartment you get the opportunity to reach a larger audience which can be converted into customers. When your occupancy rate is consistent your cash flow increases and your business growth increases as well.

7.     Better Guest Experience: By marketing your short-let business you can increase better guest experience. Guests get a clearer picture of what your short-let apartment looks like, through your apartment photos and description. Marketing your short-let business will enable guests to see the different amenities in your apartment and what your apartment entails.

8.     Great Pricing System: Marketing can help you optimize your pricing. When the demand is high you can make changes to your prices and get more bookings. Marketing your business enables you to give discounts and special offers to guests.

9.     Keep you updated with industry trends: When you market your short-let apartment business you stay updated with industry trends. Staying up-to-date with the latest trends can increase your chances of maximizing your listing and increasing bookings.

10. Make you familiar with online platforms: When you market your property online you become familiar with different online platforms. This enables you to be familiar with the algorithm and helps you make good use of analytics. 

 These are some of the important reasons why you should market your short-let apartment business.

Short-let apartment business is highly competitive, for you to thrive in this business you need to be ready to put in the work. What sets you apart from your competitors? This is where marketing and promotion come into place to reach a larger audience, increase bookings and enhance revenue.

If You have the time to manage your business you should do it yourself at the early stage if you have marketing knowledge. Although some people go into business they know nothing about and hire people to manage it for them. If you are just starting you can do it yourself by following the steps in this article but if you have other things to attend to it is preferable to involve an agent who is professional to handle your marketing.  Short-let Airbnb business requires dedication and time. Some factors you will need to consider are:

•  Dedication and Time: Marketing and promoting your short-let apartment business is usually time-consuming because you need to put in extra effort to get results. Marketing requires different strategies to pull off and is usually a continuous process until you meet your desired target. If you have other tasks you will need to hire an agent to help you with marketing your business.

• Excellent Market Knowledge: Running a short-let apartment business requires in-depth knowledge of the local market and various marketing strategies. Agents have better marketing knowledge because of their areas of specialization. They can help you with market trends and strategic pricing which can earn you more revenue.

• Experience: If you are familiar with real estate investment you may have gained a good experience that you can implement in your short-let Airbnb business. But if you have no experience you will need an agent who has the expertise to help you manage your short-let business.

• Expense: It will be at your expense if you fail to use an expert who has in-depth knowledge of marketing and managing a short-let business because of the costs of hiring one.  Hiring an agent might be costly but it is better to take the risk than to remain stagnant in your business.

• Networking: Agents have great networks because of their expertise, they can link you to other professionals that you can work with. Hiring an agent to help market your short-let business will allow you to connect with their audience which can increase your bookings and your revenue.

• Pricing Strategy: Agents have a better idea of the local market which makes them experts in optimizing pricing. If you don’t have an idea of how the local market works you won’t be able to utilize various pricing strategies in your short-let business.

Before thinking of doing it yourself you need to consider the factors listed above. If you want a great income you should involve an agency who has the expertise already rather than being overwhelmed with the procedures of doing it yourself. 

Ways To Market My Short-let Apartment Business 

There are different ways to market your short-let apartment which include online and offline methods. Marketing your short-let apartment will depend on the quality, location, and size of the apartment you are trying to increase booking. Here are the different ways to market your short-let apartment.

1.     Listing on short-let apartment booking website: When you list your short-let apartment on a booking website you get the opportunity to improve your bookings. This is because of the credibility and the large number of guests visiting these booking websites daily. Listing on popular short-let apartment booking websites like Airbnb and booking.com will help you reach potential guests.

2.     Creating a brand on social media: Do you know when you create your brand on social media you can meet your target audience? Creating a brand also builds credibility for your short-let business. Social media is a powerhouse to build your brand, you can identify your target audience with the help of social media. 

3.     Email Marketing: Email marketing is a reliable way of creating leads and converting those leads to customers. You can collect potential guest emails online when they visit your website and update them occasionally by sending them emails for special offers and discounts. Another way to market your short-let apartment is to collect your past guest emails and send them emails about special offers and discounts.

4.     Join a property or short-let apartment community: when you join a community of short-let apartment agency  you tend to learn more about the different strategies in marketing your short-let apartment. People in these communities work or collaborate with travel agencies to use their apartments for their guests.

5.     Content Marketing: If you want to promote your short-let apartment you will need to use content marketing to tell stores or share an experience about your apartment that will keep interested guests glued to your page. Writing blog posts on recreational centers, events, restaurants, and local attractions will attract more people to your website. People who enjoy reading your posts may book or share your blog posts with their friends and family who may book your listing.

6.     Build a Website: If you don’t have a dedicated website for your apartment you will need to create one for your business   A dedicated website is very necessary when setting up your short-let apartment because potential guests can visit your website. Owning your website can increase your credibility and increase bookings.

7.     Collaborate With Local Partnership: You can partner with local brands to help increase awareness of your short-let apartment. Creating partnerships with tour guides or restaurants in your location can help increase your brand visibility. Create different special deals with them which can encourage their customers to patronize you and yours to patronize them too.

8.     Search Engine Optimization: Make use of search engine optimization when listing your short-let apartment. This will be to incorporate those keywords that potential guests are always searching for. You can optimize the Google search engine by checking for what potential guests in your areas are searching for then use those keywords on your listing. You can optimize search engines on other platforms to get more visibility.

9.     Influencers and Content Creators: If you want to see growth in your short-let apartment business you should consider Collaborating with influencers and content creators. Before you collaborate with influencers ensure their niche is related to your brand. 

      When you collaborate with influencers and content creators they can organize a marketing video for your apartment which allows their followers to see your apartment. The good thing about influencers and content creators is that their followers trust their judgment and will buy anything they market. This is a great way to increase your visibility and enhance booking.

10. Referral bonus or discount when guests recommend: Offering a discount and referral bonus to guests when they recommend your apartment is a great way to improve booking. Create a referral package for guests when they refer your apartment to their family and friends. This will encourage returning guests and also expand your bookings through their referrals. This Bonus can also be available to returning guest as well. 

Extra Bonuses On Ways To Market Your Short-let Apartment

If you have optimized these above ways to market your short-let apartment and want to make sure your marketing and promotion are at another level, here are some extra tips on how you can market your short-let apartment and enhance your revenue.

•  Photography: With professional photos, you can easily get more bookings. Take quality photos of your short-let apartment and upload them to your listing. When you post on social media ensure your photos are of good quality this will attract potential guests to your short-let apartment.

• Showcase Popular Amenities: When marketing your short-let apartment ensure you have quality photos of the popular amenities guests are interested in. You can even make yours unique by telling your potential guests what they will enjoy when they book your apartment. You can simply attract guests to your apartment because of your amenities and how they are presented.

• Offer Special Discount: Offering special discounts can attract potential guests to your apartment. If you are looking for a way to gain a new audience you should consider offering a special discount. Potential guests are always searching for affordable short-let apartments once your pricing is cheap you tend to get more occupants.

• Use Paid Ads: Social media and email marketing can help you build your brand but these processes are usually slow because your brand won’t get to your desired target audience. The use of paid ads can help you reach your target audience faster. The use of Google ads can boost your visibility because Google recommends promoted brands at the top page before any other brand. When people visit Google to search for short-let apartments in your location google will recommend your apartment to them. Using other paid ads like Facebook ads can expand brand visibility. This is because the Facebook algorithm uses the interest of people to create a targeted audience. The difference between Google ads and Facebook ads is Google ads make use of searches while Facebook ads make use of people’s interests.

• Encourage online reviews: Encourage your guests to drop their reviews on your online page. People are always checking for reviews before booking an apartment, your reviews can be used to market your apartment online. The exciting thing about reviews is that guests will always book an apartment with a lot of positive reviews rather than book an apartment with fewer positive reviews.

Top 5 Websites You Can Post Your Apartment And Get Bookings

Listing your short-let apartment on top websites is very important. This helps to optimize the listing as much as possible. Most of these top websites are free; you just need to create an account with them and host your listing for free and they collect a percentage from you anytime you get a booking. The percentages vary for the different websites. Here are the top 5 websites where you can post your apartment and get bookings.

1.     Airbnb: Airbnb is a leading website when it comes to short-term rental apartments. You can become a host on this website for free without having to pay a fee. All you need to do is complete your profile host and your listing details and you can list your apartment, the website also provides a variety of tools to optimize your listing. Airbnb collects a 3% commission any time a guest books your apartment and you get to receive your payment after 24 hours once a guest books your apartment.

2.     Booking.com: This is a very popular website that encompasses vacation rentals, hotels, etc. This website has a large ground for hosts from different parts of the world. Tourists and travelers are always making use of this website to create bookings. You can post your short-let apartment on booking.com and get instant bookings. On this website, you get to pay a commission fee of 15% per booking.  

3. TripAdvisor: This is a travel website that offers vacation rentals, hotels, car rentals, restaurants, etc. This is a global platform used by different people from around the world, listing on this platform will boost your visibility. This is a great website to list your apartment because you get to pay a 3% commission for each booking.  

4.     Vrbo: Vrbo is a great listing platform for vacation rentals, it allows you to list your apartment on their website for free. Vrbo connects travelers to rental homes where they can live comfortably, the website is mostly used by families searching for short-term rentals. For Vrbo the host is required to pay a compulsory fee of 5% and an extra 3% for your first booking.

5.     Expedia: Expedia is a popular website that supports short-term rentals. The website has a lot of booking options such as short-let apartments, hotels, car rentals, vacation packages, etc. This website creates awareness for your apartment because of the large number of people utilizing this website. You get to pay a commission fee of 10% – 30% fee for each booking depending on the accommodation type.

Other Websites where you can post your apartment and get bookings are:

Homestay: Homestay is a platform for short-term rental properties, you can connect with potential guests through this listing. Local travelers make good use of this website to book their homes. Homestay collects a booking fee of 15% per booking from the host.    

Flipkey: Flipkey is a platform that connects people to rental homes and hotels from different parts of the world. This website is owned by TripAdvisor and encourages listings from over 180 countries in the world which is a great way to connect potential guests to rental homes. Flipkey charges a small fee of 8% – 15% commission for each booking.

HomeToGo: This is a great website for potential guests to compare prices because it encompasses different booking websites. They show listings from Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia, Vrbo, etc. Their commission fee ranges from 3% – 15% per booking. This is an easy way for potential guests to compare prices from their favorite websites.

Conclusion: In summary, you can market and promote your short-let Airbnb business in the different ways listed in this article. Marketing has become easier because of the different online tools and marketing strategies. Utilizing platforms like Airbnb for your listing can help you reach a larger number of potential guests in no time. Building a social media brand online is a good way to connect with your targeted audience. You can either do it yourself or hire a social media manager to do it for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.     Is It Expensive To Market My Short-let Apartment?

The cost of marketing your short-let apartment will depend on certain factors and the marketing method you choose to use. You can market your short-let apartment for free if you don’t want to pay for advertising or an agency.

2.     Why Is My Apartment Empty On Some Days?

Short-let apartments are a seasonal business, sometimes you will be fully booked, and other times you may find it hard to get bookings. But some factors can cause your apartment to be empty, which may be your location, accessibility, apartment amenities, interior design,  etc. Another reason why your apartment may be empty is that you may not be getting the visibility that is needed for you to get bookings.

3.     Can I Market To Corporate Organizations?

Yes! You can market and promote your short-let Airbnb business to corporate organizations because they may need your service. Corporate organizations might want to host a party and will need an apartment that is conducive to hosting their guests. Marketing to corporate organizations can increase your chances of getting bookings.