I love making memories through exploration and travel. I am the main planner in my family and once I set down the path of a destination, I become fully immersed in the planning process. I take a deep dive into all that the area has to offer, think through every detail, and envision possible scenarios that could occur. I research things to do, nature to explore, and places to eat, but the most important aspect of the trip research revolves around where we will lay our heads at night. My preference is almost always to stay at a vacation rental property. Growing up we rarely booked hotels for our family trips. Instead, we stayed at cozy family cabins throughout the midwest, we’d head to a resort, or stay in a time-share. I loved that the vacation homes had space to spread out and settle in, that they had unique personalities, that they were inviting, and relaxing. It was fun to feel at home with my family in a new place and I’ve carried that tradition with me as an adult planning my own trips. Don’t get me wrong, I do love a good hotel stay too, especially if it has a nice pool set up, but my go-to for vacation memory-making is a short-term vacation rental.

Most travelers wanting to book a vacation rental are spending quite a bit of time online researching the best options for their trip. They are looking for thorough details and want to get a clear picture of what they will experience while at the property. They create lists, bookmark pages, share with fellow travelers, and compare prices. Personally, I go on a pretty big deep dive into my online research. I start with a Google search and if I need more, I peruse online marketplaces like Airbnb and VRBO, check the area chamber & tourism sites, and snoop around social media. It’s so important for tourism and local businesses to have resources that make it easy for seekers like me to find memory-making experiences and adding a website is a great way to do so.

Adding a beautiful, high-performing website to the mix will benefit your business by

• Credibility: A high-performing website solidifies your business as a professional brand. It allows you to present your brand in a thoughtful way and give a clear picture of the unique experience you offer. You can share your story, introduce yourself, and add meaningful reviews from previous guests’ experiences. The credibility that your website adds to your business helps to build a direct relationship that leads to connection, trust, and repeat business.

• Get Noticed: Adding a Search Engine Optimized (SEO) website increases organic traffic that you’d otherwise miss out on if you relied only on outside sources. Your own website helps you stand out from the crowd, gets you noticed by search engines, and supports your chances of expanding your bookings.  

• Home Base: Your website is your online home base for connecting, communicating, and content sharing. You are in control and own the content, process, and flow vs. relying on social media or other marketplace platforms whose algorithms, rules, rates, and tools are constantly changing. Your website is where all your other marketing efforts should lead to. If you strategically design your site and utilize the tools available, it will be marketing for you 24/7.

• Communication: A website allows you to easily and directly communicate with guests. It saves you time on customer service by eliminating the back and forth via several 3rd party marketplace platforms and gives you space to add FAQs, announcements, and other detailed information. You can also encourage guests to join your newsletter where you share last-minute openings or special promotions. 

• Growth: You can increase profit margins by including direct booking options, avoiding booking and services fees. You can also add additional revenue streams using your site’s commerce options to add rental experience add-ons,merchandise, or even local goods. You can track your business using the analytic tools and adjust strategies over time.

Your guests will also benefit if your vacation rental has a website

• It will make research, communication, and booking easy for them.

• They will have all the details they need in one spot and will feel confident that they are making the right decision.

• They will have a better understanding of what’s included with the investment and truly understand the value of their vacation experience. They might experience potential cost savings through direct booking, could enjoy the ability to utilize specials or promos you are running, and welcome increased opportunities for add-on packages like boat rental or welcome packages. They will have a crystal clear breakdown of what’s included in the final cost before they finish their booking.

• They will begin to form a relationship with you, will feel comforted by the details, and will start to build trust in the process.

If you are considering adding a website for your vacation rental business, you want to ensure that it is beautifully designed, represents your brand well, and is set up to attract, engage, and convert. As a Squarespace website designer, I recommend the platform for all kinds of businesses, but I especially love it for those in the tourism industry. It’s visually appealing thanks to the many beautiful design templates, layout options, and tools that help the potential guests get a real feel for your brand and for what staying on the property will be like. The ability to layout your brand story and the rental details through individual pages, galleries, blogs, membership sites for frequent guests, and more is so great. I love that you can seamlessly integrate booking and scheduling with tools like Lodgify, Uplisting, Acuity, or your 3rd party promotional sites. Their marketing and commerce options are excellent for adding additional revenue streams and sales funnels as well. The fact that it’s easy to use and update and has quality SEO tools, analytics data, and Google Workspace setup is so helpful as you grow your business.

Having a high-performing website for your vacation rental property legitimizes your business, drives more targeted traffic, and gets you more bookings.

If you need support with your website design, take a look at my website design service options below.

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