Managing Your Vacation Rental

Listing Accuracy Maximizes Bookings

Written by Elizabeth Weedon
5/5 - (4 votes)

checklisticonAre you confident that your listing is accurate and up-to-date? If not, you could be missing out on valuable marketing opportunities and losing bookings to your competition!

Use the helpful checklist below to quickly review your listing to be sure that it adequately markets everything your home has to offer, including any updates you’ve made over the years. Make your listing outshine your competition, and reap the benefits!

Listing Review Checklist

What to check for:
Amenities Are they accurate? Have you added any new ones? (Smart TV? AC units? Green amenities?)
Calendar Do you update the date stamp at least every few weeks?
Google Map Is the zoom capability enabled on your listing, and is the pin accurately placed on the map?
Title Does it promote your home’s greatest assets?
Property Description Does it include plenty of information about your home’s interior, setting & location? Did you mention some of your valuable amenities including any special entertainment packages like Netflix, Prime, Wii, etc.?
Nearest beach field Do you provide both the name AND the actual distance (not the time it takes to get there)?
Photos Do you have enough? Are they large? Good quality? Do they include the nearest beach?
Photo captions Are they descriptive and informative to really market your home?
Guest reviews Do you have at least one or two reviews from each year? Do you use the Guest Review Request Form to easily solicit reviews from your guests each booking?
Inquiry Text Alerts Beat your competition to the draw by enabling the Inquiry Text Alerts feature to receive instant notification that you’ve received an inquiry.
About the Owner Write something about yourself and what you particularly love about your home and its setting in order to make that valuable personal connection with your potential guests.
Optional:
    Owner Special Do you have any availability you’d like to specifically promote, or a price reduction or special deal?
    Last-minute      Alert Do you have any last-minute (within the next 4 weeks) vacancies to fill?

Note: Included in the checklist are reminders to take advantage of some of the valuable features we’ve made available to you including:  Inquiry Text Alerts, the About the Owner feature, the map zoom capability, and the Guest Review Request Form.  (Read more about Our Newest Features.)

About the author

Elizabeth Weedon

Elizabeth Weedon - Although I’ve worked for WeNeedaVacation.com since 2008, I’ve been a loyal homeowner on the site since early 1998, just a few months after the website was launched by the Talmadges. I grew up summering on the Vineyard and managed my family's rental home there since the mid-1980’s. I’m passionately devoted to the Vineyard – and to WeNeedaVacation, which I credit with enabling me to hold onto the special property that has been in our family for nearly a century. An enthusiastic member of the WNAV Homeowner Support Team, I endeavor to keep my finger on the pulse of the Cape and Islands vacation rental industry so that I can provide homeowners advice about how to ensure their booking success with us. With owner Joan Talmadge, I am also responsible for editing and writing much of the text on our website, our monthly newsletters, and Homeowner Blog posts.