Can Foursquare Be Used for Vacation Rental Marketing?

Some of you may have noticed friends on Facebook checking into a location on Foursquare and like myself, may be wondering what it is all about. Foursquare is basically a free app that users can share and save the places they visit with friends and pick up on any special offers in the area.

As of January 2014, over 45 million people worldwide use Foursquare and over 5 billion check-ins are made daily. Businesses are wising up to this trend and currently over 1.6 million companies are using the Merchant Platform. These statistics got us thinking, can Foursquare be used for vacation rental marketing?

To shed some light on this question, we're going to establish some of the ways and benefits of using Foursquare for your vacation rental business.

Make Your Property Discoverable

A business page on Foursquare can even be created by your guests 'checking in' so it is worth checking if your property is already visible and claiming the page as yours. That way, you can update the page with the correct property information and insure that your vacation rental website is linked.

Also, by putting your property on the Foursquare map it will increase chances of filling any last minute bookings. Foursquare users in the area looking for somewhere to stay will be able locate your property on their mobile device and pick up on any special deals you may be offering. Foursquare is also good for guests at your property that check-in to the app to show their friends where they are vacationing. It will encourage conversation on social media about their holiday and increase chances of your property being referred to family and friends.

Promote Property with Foursquare Ads

A few months back, Foursquare introduced ads for small businesses. This is a great marketing opportunity for vacation rental businesses wanting to push any last minute bookings. They give small businesses like vacation rental managers a chance to compete with larger chains like hotels, without huge advertising costs. You are only charged if a user taps on the promoted listing or checks-in to your property. That way you can really boost chances of your property being clicked on and booked.

Monitor Property Reviews

Foursquare users have the ability to leave reviews on any listing, which is great if they are positive but not so great if they reflect negatively on your vacation rental business. By becoming an active user on Foursquare, you will be able to monitor reviews and respond in a timely manner to negative feedback.

We hope we have given you a clearer idea of how Foursquare can be used for promoting your vacation rental. Please do share with us any of your experiences with the app or comments in the box below:

If you are interested in operating your own vacation rental website complete with a beautiful reservation system, we will be more than happy to help. You can request a demo from our website or call us directly: +34 512 702 104