Breaking free from Online Travel Agents

The reason why Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, Booking.com & TripAdvisor are so popular is because they have an extremely strong brand (which guests trust), a seamless user experience & an enormous marketing budget.

Brands help build repeat business and allow guests to find you direct. They are important for listing sites but they’re also important for holiday rental businesses.

What listing sites do not have is a personal & genuine touch, insider local knowledge and marketing spend in specific niches. This is where you strike!

The goal is to match listing sites trust & online user experience but raise them 10 by building your core brand & positioning around the very things they can’t provide. Be VERY smart with your advertising copy, if you have to use them! Guests may only read the two descriptive top lines, and skirt through the rest.

The guest experience

Provide an amazing guest experience, with perks only available to direct guests. Focus on personal touches & strong communication. Be extremely helpful & provide insider knowledge of the location - only information that they can get from your brand!

Don’t be a “no name brand”! Here’s what you can do…

Many listing sites don’t show your name so that guests are forced to funnel booking and enquiries through them. Here’s what you can do…

  • Add a photo with your property/brand name on it (use Canva for example)
  • Make sure your property/brand name is included in the texts & descriptions
  • Ask your reviewers to mention your property/brand name
Location & niches

Build your brand & business around a particular niche. For example, “holiday rentals in Ludlow”, “luxury cottages in Church Stretton” or “family friendly rentals”. The point is, listing sites can’t go toe to toe with every niche company in the world. They are jack of all trades, master of none.

Here’s your opportunity. Branding, marketing, SEO etc is 100x easier because you’re not directly competing with 800lb gorillas just spider monkeys.

Trust & flexibility

Trust is crucial. Airbnb swing their “$1 million” guarantee around to hosts and their double review system which encourages guests & hosts to only leave positive reviews. Guests trust Airbnb and they need to trust you too.

You could publish your reviews on a third-party reputable source like Google or Trustpilot and clearly display them, only allow people who’ve actually stayed in your rentals to review their stay and make sure to provide a consistently good service. Be prepared to add in Manager Comments to personalise your offering.

Messaging

Booking direct is cheaper (no commission) for you and for the guest (no service fee). MAKE THIS AS CLEAR AS DAY. Explain why it’s cheaper and provide special discounts for being a direct customer.

Have clear messaging that highlights your value proposition.

Seamless online experience

Listing sites have a great online experience. In a world moving to digital, it’s also important to provide the same level of service or better! Big companies have spent millions in researching how people search & book properties and designing amazing user flows. Look at them and learn! Check what your customers do, the information they want – get someone not too closely involved to navigate your site and see how well they find information. If they want B&B, does your site say Bed & Breakfast? Holiday rental vs holiday cottage etc