Whether you’ve been listed with us for years or are just starting out, you may not be aware of some very helpful features that we offer. None of them cost you a dime, and each can provide you with an opportunity to stand out from your competition and increase your marketing success.
Text message alerts
One way to significantly increase your odds of making a booking is to beat your competition to the draw. Vacationers rarely inquire about just one property at a time – so make sure that they hear from you first! Enabling our new Text Message Alert feature gives you an immediate heads-up when a vacationer has inquired about your home. In addition, a link in the text allows you to access the full inquiry as well as your calendar so that you can respond to the inquiry directly from your phone.
About the Owner
Another great way to set you apart from your competition and to provide vacationers with that valuable personal connection with you is to fill out your About the Owner page. Doing so provides a great opportunity for you to offer a slightly different, more personal, and perhaps more emotional perspective on your home and its location.
Map zoom
Vacationers want to know exactly where your home is. Seeing it pinpointed on a Google Map, verifying that it exists and is located where you say it is, significantly increases their trust when considering sending a perfect stranger hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars sight unseen. Vacationers also have the option to view their search results plotted on a map. If your zoom is not enabled, the pin to your listing will disappear as they zoom in closer, leaving only your competition’s listings for them to see! Most of you have enabled the map zoom capability, but have you taken a look to make sure the pin is accurately placed? If it isn’t, give us a call, and we can override Google’s coordinates to place the pin appropriately. Read more about the Search Results Map and the map zoom feature.
Guest Review Request Form
Do you sit back and wonder why your guests haven’t submitted some lovely guest reviews about your home? It’s probably because you haven’t asked them! Or perhaps you haven’t asked in the right way. Use your Guest Review Request Form to email every guest after their departure. The email includes the first picture from your listing, a request for feedback about the stay in your home, and, most importantly, a “Write a review” button enabling them to submit the review quickly and easily. Learn more about soliciting valuable guest reviews.
Our new, streamlined search process
Have you used our property search recently, perhaps to check out your competition this year? If so, you’ve seen how much quicker and easier we’ve made it for vacationers to search for and find your home!
So, check your listing to make sure it’s as competitive as possible. By investing just a few minutes of your time to enable text alerts, enter a thoughtful About the Owner write-up, enable the map zoom and check its accuracy, and send a few guest review requests, you can significantly improve your booking results!
Have you used these helpful features? What do you think of them?
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