In speaking with homeowners, I sometimes hear comments like this: “I think I’ll let my subscription expire for a while and reactivate it next year. I need a break from the inquiries.”
You need a break from calls and emails from interested vacationers? I’m pretty sure I never felt that way when I was renting out my home.
The primary reason I advocate advertising your vacation home year round is plain and simple – It will bring you more bookings at your asking price. I like to think of vacationers falling into three buckets: the early birds, the regular folks, and the procrastinators. Early birds are far preferable to the procrastinators because they are more likely to pay your asking price – plus, you get half their rent months ahead of their tenancy and are able to put it towards home maintenance and improvements.
In fact, some vacationers look for their next summer’s rental as early as the previous summer while they are still vacationing on the Cape or Islands. They may be looking to re-book or they may not be happy with their current rental and decide to look around.
Early birds are also more likely to be seeking multiple week rentals. One year, I got an inquiry in October for a three-week booking the next July. Had my listing been inactive, I would have missed this booking altogether. This party returned three summers in a row!
Among the other reasons to advertise year round are:
- Our site enables vacationers to save and/or share listings with others. If they attempt to return to your listing at a later date and it’s inactive, it will not be visible and they will likely move on.
- Advertising year-round increases your chances of getting valuable shoulder and off-season bookings.
- Your booked guests want to return to your listing to review it or share it with others. If it is not there, they panic and think it might be a scam.
- The annual listing is the most cost-effective plan. So, if you’re not already advertising year-round, keep in mind that three-fourths of your competition is!
