Digital Redefined, LLC

My 4-step framework that helps vacation rental companies grow and optimize their internet presence for more direct bookings: G - Gain an understanding of your existing internet presence and ideal clients through research and data analysis to develop a strategic plan R - Redefine or establish an online presence by building/redesigning your website and implementing email marketing to share your messaging O - Optimize marketing for growth with direct booking and property owner education campaigns to build awareness and trust W - Widen your presence and influence through ongoing analysis, testing, and SEO Let's talk to see if my strategic internet presence framework is a fit to help grow your vacation rental bookings.

5 Tips to Drive Direct Reservations Without Increasing Marketing Costs Driving direct bookings from your website can be more cost-effective. Unlike the field of dreams, you can't just build it and they will come. You need a strategy. A direct booking strategy. Here are 5 practical tips to drive direct reservations without inflating your marketing budget. 1. Education Campaigns   The first step of any buyer's journey is awareness.   Many vacation rental management companies don't take advantage of this essential first step when marketing their properties directly.    Create pages and social media content to bring awareness to booking directly with your company.   Go beyond the "Book Direct and Save" and describe what staying with you means.   2. Segment and market to past customers   You can't control which followers the social media platforms show your posts.   You can control your marketing emails getting into subscribers' inboxes.   Don't squander this opportunity by sending only general newsletters.   Send contextual communications based on customers' past stays.   Think location, property type, and number of guests.   3. Utilize property owners   Are your property owners brand ambassadors?   Encourage owners to promote their listings on their social media channels.   Ask owners to share promotions, deals, and referral codes with their network.   Create an affiliate or referral program that rewards owners for driving new bookings.   Feature select owner properties each month in your email campaigns and social promotions.   4. Talk to past customers   Find common threads to leverage in future marketing campaigns.   How did they hear about your company? Identify effective marketing channels to continue leveraging.   What factors convinced them to book with you versus a competitor? Look for ways to highlight those winning differentiators like location, amenities, and services.   What resources or information were most helpful when researching and choosing our rental? Double down on providing those details upfront.    What convinced them to book directly instead of using a third-party site? Reinforce those motivators in messaging to encourage direct bookings.   5. Leverage referrals and loyalty programs   Offer existing customers a discount on their next rental for every new customer they refer.   The bigger the rental, the bigger the referral bonus.   Partner with other local businesses to offer loyalty program members exclusive discounts and deals as an added benefit of membership. I could keep expanding on these items, but LinkedIn limits me to 3,000 characters. Want more? Sign up for our newsletter to get more actionable recommendations on how to build your direct booking strategy. The link is in the comments. Get Redefined!