3 Secrets of the Perfect VR Listing

Your property listing on your vacation rental website is like a 10-second pitch that you get to make to your guests.

And, you will be lucky to even get 10 seconds. With the abundance of choice and minimal patience for inconvenience of Internet shoppers, you have to make a good impression quickly.

Your vacation rental listing and description needs to be eye catching and engaging. The best listings allow your guests to picture their holiday in your property.

We are going to analyse what makes the perfect vacation listing, using a variety of properties and a variety of portal websites to demonstrate exactly what makes these pages so effective. It doesn’t matter what sort of property you have, these are just the rules of creating appealing listings for any property or site.

Vacation Rental Property Listing Image Best Practices

In the first part of this post, we’re going to explain the features of a vacation rental image that draws people in and makes them want to book. We’re using an example from Airbnb:

1: The image is flooded with natural light. It dominates the image, making the room appear airy and large. It is clear that the property manager that created this listing has checked the best time of day for their property and waited until to take the photo at the most inviting time. For truly professional images, it is possible to measure and enhance this lighting with professional equipment.

2: The areas are uncluttered and clean. There is clear space everywhere whilst the apartment still looks inviting and warm. There is nothing in the image that would give a guest a sense of being a stranger in someone else’s home, it gives the sense of being a guests in a home designed for their arrival.

3: If you have something like this fireplace, a unique feature, make sure it is being used and highlighted in your listing. Make your property shine as the best it can ever be. Never waste an opportunity to show off your properties as guests’ eyes will scan the page so quickly, and you will rarely be given a second chance.

4: These flowers add colour and life to the image. They are a small touch that just helps to make the image, and the property look so inviting. A touch of colour not only makes the image brighter, it makes the clean lines and whites of the rest of property stand out even more.

5: The price is listed clearly, as well as having a clear path to booking if the visitor to the site wants to confirm right away. The bright, visible red button will draw people in and actively encourage them to book. Placement, size and colour have all been studied to make this design and location the most effective for getting people to book.

Next comes the description. In this example from OneFineStay, we can see how the listing stresses the individuality and character of the property. They manage to mention the key details of the property such as the transport links whilst creating a more vivid and interesting picture. It presents individual and unique features that separate this property from any other. The description of the property matches the character of the property.

There is a separate section that lists the key features and amenities for quick reference. Guests can use this to make sure that the property has everything they require and then read the longer description once they are more intrigued. This description is designed to do something different. It is written to recreate the sense or atmosphere of the property. It is written in a style to help guests imagine themselves there, walking through the neighbourhood and having a stay that really feels like travelling somewhere new and worthwhile.

Next, in this example from TripAdvisor we see how an interactive map adds even more to a listing. It shows the location of the property as well as local landmarks. In addition, it also has interactive pins that show local restaurants, including their rating and price. This allows guests to truly see the area they are considering and understand if it is the sort of area that they would like to stay in. Some people may want to make sure that they are staying in the sort of area with a lively nightlife. An interactive map will allow you to show your guests real places they can visit, being able to select the highest rated restaurants and attractions in the city. Guests do not even have to leave the page to get a sense of the character of the area and ideas for things to do. The fewer pages a guest has to go through to get the information they need, the more likely they will be to convert.

These are just three of the factors that make a vacation rental listings look professional, appealing and will help convert more visitors to your site into booked guests. There are many more things that you can add to custom designed websites that makes every property seem irresistible.