brand a·ware·ness
noun
- the extent to which consumers are familiar with the distinctive qualities or image of a particular brand of goods or services.
Customer engagement is the lifeblood of any successful business relationship. This cannot be more evident than in the vacation rental business. Before all the advertising, listing sites, and everyone telling you what you need to do there was just you and your guests. A decade later we find it is those same relationships that have fueled the growth of this industry. It is the stories created by families enjoying their vacations and forming bonds with communities outside of their own. These bonds with your guests begin and end with your Brand.
In order to become a successful “professional host” one must develop that intimate relationship with the guests – before, during, and after the stay. In each phase of the relationship your Brand should be front and center. These days it is becoming more of a challenge due to outside influences interfering with these very important relationships. What can we do to stay front and center and continue to nurture these all important relationships?
Always communicate through your Brand.
Every Brand is unique, from your website, to your location, to your services. Be sure that each and every communication with your future guests highlights your Brand. Hotels have been doing this successfully for many years. Every vacation rental management company is its own unique Brand – make sure your guests never forget this.
Brand awareness drives intimacy.
Vacation rental and hotel travelers have different expectations. The level of communication needed to transact a vacation rental is much higher than that of a hotel. This provides multiple touch points from pre-booking to asking for that highly coveted review upon checkout.
Communicating through your Brand + intimacy = Repeat Guests
One of the key value metrics for any vacation rental business is repeat guests. The valuable metric allows you to look at other opportunities to expand your existing business. It is much more cost effective to manage a repeat guest than it is to acquire a new one. Invest in activities that will bring your Brand closer to your guests. It will be the best investment you will ever make!
Understanding the relationship between guests and your brand will open up opportunities to expand your existing business – from making yield management decisions to taking on new owners. This will also give you a greater perspective when selecting how your Brand is distributed in the future.
by: Vince Perez
Co Founder / Fetch My Guest
RSS