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Vacation Rental Marketing War Room

TACTICAL ELEMENTS OF MARKETING STRATEGY FOR VACATION RENTAL MANAGERS

VRMA Annual Conference, October 29, 2015

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INTRODUCTION

Vacation Rental Marketing War Room

TACTICAL ELEMENTS OF MARKETING STRATEGY FOR VACATION RENTAL MANAGERS

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In-house Marketing in the Vacation Rental Industry

Marketing Tactics

In order to keep up with increasing competition, marketing expectations for 2015 and beyond are astonishingly high in the vacation rental management industry..

Today’s marketing managers for vacation rental companies are charged with being web developers, SEO/SEM experts, copywriters, marketing technology and automation specialists, graphic designers, media buyers, social media professionals, email strategists, and marketing analysts.

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Who We Are

Amber MayerPresent: Amber Mayer ConsultingPrevious: St Joe, Wyndham Vacation Rentals, Instant Software, TravelStorm, Newman Dailey

Amy HinotePresent: VRM Intel, VRM Consultants Previous: NAVIS, HomeAway, VacayStay, Instant Software, Kaiser Realty

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A Day in the Life of a Vacation Rental Marketer

Social MediaNew Marketing Ideas

Repeat Guest MarketingContent Marketing

Loyalty ProgramsOnline Marketing (SEO/SEM/Retargeting)

Website TechnologyEmail Marketing

Systems IntegrationMarketing Automation

Offline MarketingDistribution

Past Guest and Lead Database Management

Reviews/Online Reputation

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Just like any other industry, there are basic steps to creating an intentional and actionable marketing plan.

Vacation Rental Marketing Plan

ObjectivesWhat do

you want to accomplish this year?

AnalysisMarket

Destination Competitive

Internal

Identify ChannelsDistribution

OnlineOfflineEmail

RemarketingDirect Mail

Alternative MediaSocial

PartnershipsPR/Branding

Budget and Resources

Determine BudgetPrioritize Channels

Add into budgetCreate a backup

planReporting

EvaluationIdentify KPI

MetricsMonitor

PerformanceAdjust based

on data

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HANDOUT: 2016 MARKETING OBJECTIVES -EXAMPLES

• Increase overall rentals• Increase occupancy rate• Increase revenue and

profitability• Increase market share• Increase number of

rebookings from past guests• Increase number of referrals• Increase number of new

visitors

• Increase number of quality properties in rental program

• Decrease distribution costs• Decrease marketing costs• Accumulate more data on

prospects and past guests• Increase real estate sales• Increase brand awareness• Identify additional sources of

revenue and profitable expansion opportunities

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HANDOUT: MARKET ANALYSIS• Analysis of your area, your market’s pricing, your competition and your

company’s SWOT analysis

Area Analysis

Size of your market

Your market share

Economic conditions

Government regulation

Tourism behavior

Pricing

Historic changesYour market

positionDiscounting

Revenue Management

Internal Analysis

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Competitive Analysis

Top competitorsYour competitive

positionCompetitive

pricingVRBO

Competitive advantage

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HANDOUT: AREA ANALYSIS

MarketSize

Market Share

Economic Conditions

Government Regulation

Tourism Behavior

1How many vacation rentals are in your market?

2How many properties do you manage and what is your market share?

3What are the economic conditions in your area?

4Are you facing any regulatory issues?

5Has tourism behavior changed in your area?

• An in-depth look at your area’s challenges

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HANDOUT: COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Top competitors

Competitive position

CompetitivePricing VRBOs Competitive

Advantage

1Who are your top competitors?

2What is your competitive position?

3How is your pricing different from your competitors?

4Are you competing against VRBOs?

5What are your competitive advantages?

• Let’s look at your competitors

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HANDOUT: PRICING ANALYSIS

Historic environment

Your market position

Owner contracts Discounting Revenue

Management

1Has the pricing paradigm changed in your market?

2Where do your prices rank in the marketplace?

3Do contracts with your owners limit your setting of prices?

4Do you regularly discount?

5Does your company have a revenue management strategy?

• Your vacation rental company’s pricing strategy

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SWOT

Your company

STRENGTHS

For example:AwarenessMarket ShareLongevityTechnology

WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES THREATSFor example:RemarketingAcquisitionDistribution

For example:AwarenessMarket ShareTechnologyNew company

For example:WeatherEconomyNew Business ModelsRegulation

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DETERMINING YOUR MARKETING BUDGETTypically vacation rental managers spend 5%-12% of rental revenue on marketing.

• If your budget includes salaries, distribution costs and marketing technology, you might be on the higher end.

• If your budget does not include salaries, distribution costs and marketing technology, you might be on the lower end.

Properties Rental Revenue Marketing Budget

Average Annual

Rental per Property

$15,000 $27,000 $35,000 $15,000 $27,000 $35,000

Low (5%) High (12%) Low (5%) High (12%) Low (5%) High (12%)

50 $750,000 $1,350,000 $1,750,000 $37,500 $90,000 $67,500 $162,000 $87,500 $210,000

100 $1,500,000 $2,700,000 $3,500,000 $75,000 $180,000 $135,000 $324,000 $175,000 $420,000

250 $3,750,000 $6,750,000 $8,750,000 $187,500 $450,000 $337,500 $810,000 $437,500 $1,050,000

500 $7,500,000 $13,500,000 $17,500,000 $375,000 $900,000 $675,000 $1,620,000 $875,000 $2,100,000

1000 $15,000,000 $27,000,000 $35,000,000 $750,000 $1,800,000 $1,350,000 $3,240,000 $1,750,000 $4,200,000

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Determining Return on Investment (ROI)

How much does it cost?

Who will have to spend time? How many hours?

Are there other resources we need

to commit?

Money Time

Resources

Marketing Tactic Cost

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Vacation Rental Marketing War Room

MARKETING TACTICS AND CHANNELS

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A Day in the Life of a Vacation Rental Marketer

Social MediaNew Marketing Ideas

Repeat Guest MarketingContent Marketing

Loyalty ProgramsOnline Marketing (SEO/SEM/Retargeting)

Website TechnologyEmail Marketing

Systems IntegrationMarketing Automation

Offline MarketingDistribution

Past Guest and Lead Database Management

Reviews/Online Reputation

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Marketing Tech Stack

Lead Management

CRM/Database

Reservations & Payments

Accounting System

Marketing Automation

Website

Online Marketing

Distribution Channels

Evaluation (Analytics, BI)

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MARKETING CHANNELS• Considerations of potential marketing tactics

ObjectivesWhich of your objectives does this accomplish?

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ElementsWhat are the elements of the tactic?

What is newWhat are the new elements and considerations for 2015?

What are you doing now?And what would you like to do?

Content StrategyAnd what would give you a competitive advantage in this element?Current SpendWhat are you currently spending on this channel?Proposed SpendDo you want to increase or decrease your spend on this element? How much?ResourcesWhat resources do you have in place? What resources do you need?Evaluation MetricsWhat metrics can you use to evaluate performance?

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4

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9CompetitionAnd what would give you a competitive advantage in this element?

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CONTENT MARKETINGContent creation: Key to all marketing channels and the most critical part of your vacation rental marketing plan.

Offline

Online

Technology

DistributionContent

WebsiteSEOPPCSocialEmailBlog

TitlesDescriptionsResponsesNon-text content

Direct MailPR

Print AdsCatalogs

Sponsorships

Area InfoAutoresponder

Communications

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It must be modern and relevant or consumers will not “stop in”!Your Website is Now Your Storefront

Incredible ContentThis text can replaced with your own text. All Phrases can replaced with your own text.

Responsive/Adaptive DesignThis text can replaced with your own text. All Phrases can replaced with your own text.

Error FreeThis text can replaced with your own text. All Phrases can replaced with your own text.

Simple Pricing & CheckoutThis text can replaced with your own text. All Phrases can replaced with your own text.

Logical Site StructureThis text can replaced with your own text. All Phrases can replaced with your own text.

Live Chat/Push To TalkThis text can replaced with your own text. All Phrases can replaced with your own text.

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Know the Difference

Responsive vs Adaptive Design

RESPONSIVE WEBSITE Pros:• Content fits any browser size and

can be found across any platform, adjusting UI elements, i.e. top navigation bar may transform to a hamburger menu icon

• User experience optimized for each browser size

• One version to build and maintain Cons:• More design work due to necessity

for different break points• More development consideration

due to changing functionality

ADAPTIVE WEBSITEPros:• User experience optimized per

each defined browser size • Can design for preferred screen

sizes Cons:• Cannot possibly cover all browser

sizes that each user could potentially access, i.e. 7” tablet vs. 9.3” tablet

• More design work due to having multiple versions

• More development consideration due to having multiple versions

• Multiple versions to maintainFIXED WEBSITEPros:• Less design work due to having only one version• Less development consideration due to having only one version• Usually less expensive if only optimized for one browser

Cons:• Designed for one platform, doesn’t take advantage of affordances of different browser sizes• User experience not optimized• Visual design may become compromised across different browser sizes• Can be more expensive if you need a fixed website for each device type (3 sites instead of 1)

RESPONSIVE ADAPTIVE

FIXED

MODERN WEBSITE

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Making it Easy for Your Clients to Navigate

Logical Site Structure

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Merchandising Your Properties

Merchandising Your Properties

Property Images

Detailed Descriptions

Helpful Attributes

Floor Plans

LIVE WEBSITE ANALYSIS

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Descriptions

Description Checklist

1. Why is this rental amazing?

2. Detailed Layout of the Home

3. Are there any community amenities?

4. Who does this rental work for best?

5. Why should the consumer book this home with you?

The Verbal Tour

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Descriptions

Description Do Not Checklist

1. DO NOT SHOUT NEGATIVE THINGS AT YOUR GUESTS

2. Do not make your description one large paragraph

3. 6 Bedrooms – 3 sentences?

The Verbal Turn-Off

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An Organized At-A-Glance

Helpful Attributes

Categorized Attributes & AmenitiesEasy to find the information you are looking for…

Just a listThank goodness there is a toaster!

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Increase Conversion Online and OfflineFloor Plans & Interactive Tours

Floor Plans Tools for your guests and your call center staff

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Go Ahead – Be Judgmental

The Website Checklist

Responsive/AdaptiveDoes the website have a great experience across devices?

DestinationCan you tell where this is located at first glance?

SearchQuick Search, Refine Search, Site Search, Results Sorting?

ImagesHigh Resolution, Large and Lots of them w/great thumbs?

Videos/ToursIs there more than just photos to experience the rental?

Floor PlansLets not argue. This is a must have.

PricingDoes the pricing quote match the pricing in the booking flow?

InteractionsClick to Chat, Push to Talk, Lead Capture, Site Feedback

BrandingDo I get a clear understanding of your brand positioning?

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Everything You Know May Be WrongSearch Engine Optimization

Clean CodeThe less errors in your coding – the better. You can use tools like W3C HTML Validator

and your Webmaster Tools to hold your vendors accountable.

Mobile FriendlyMore than 50% of web traffic is now occurring on Tablets and Mobile devices. You will lose rankings if your site is not mobile optimized.

Powerful Public RelationsNever, ever and I mean – EVER buy links or let a

vendor buy links for you on your behalf. Do you want great backlinks? Public Relations is

an incredibly efficient way to get links from high authority websites.

Incredible ContentNo Keyword Stuffing! Invest in a talented

copywriter that will write things people will read. Have incredible images, videos, tours,

area info, blogs and more.

Local Map Lis

tings

Have consis

tent and co

rrect d

ata across

all of

the local search

engine listings/m

aps is cr

ucial.

Local results

often show up before Orga

nic

Results.

Strategic Ad Placements

Look into opportunities for advertorials and

direct buy ads on some of your target

advertising websites.

Site Speed

Clean code plus code optimization = fast page

speed load times. Shoot for 80%+

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Google, Bing, YahooPay Per Click

Money is Controlled at the Campaign LevelCampaigns, Ad Groups, Keywords – Oh My! Just remember that Money is controlled at the campaign level. Don’t get stuck in the weeds looking at how every single keyword performs every single day. Be

strategic with your campaigns and build lots of different ads with different sitelinks.

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040203

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Internal/Local VendorYour Pay Per Click should be handled by

someone who knows your market..

Display/RemarketingTo do this – you must use attribution modeling or you will think it does not work.

Know Your Budget/ROI GoalsPPC is where marketing budgets go to

die. Measure. Measure. Measure.

What’s NewUsing your client databases to build more efficient, targeted ads and look-a-like audiences.

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A Successful Pay Per Click Campaign is DiversePay Per Click Ad Types & Networks

SEARCH ADS

DISPLAY/REMARKETING

ADS

GOOGLE

GOOGLE NETWORK

90% Users Worldwide

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Tell Me the Goal Again?

Social Media

FACEBOOKRegular Posts, Interact with Comments,

Answer Messages, Buy

Ads, Remarketing

55%

PINTERESTPost all of your

products, favorite things to

do, other idea boards.

20%

GOOGLE PLUSThis is a great

place to interact with Travel Writers and Travel Sites

10%

INSTAGRAMPlace for

inspiration – but no real

attribution or measurement.

10%

TWITTERStill a bit of a

mystery outside of customer

service but can be useful if you

have bargain basement deals.

5%

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Advantages of having a vacation rental blog

Drive Traffic to Website

Provide Landing Pages for Social Media

Feature Individual Homes

Get Leads

Establish Authority

Provide Thought Leadership

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How does having a blog fit into your overall plan?

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Vacation Rental Blog Content

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Individual Homes

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Events

3

Attractions

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Restaurants

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Area Information

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Pet-Friendly Area Info

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What’s New

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Area VR Legislation

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Blog Example: Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations

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Compounding BloggingCompounding posts may not necessarily be blockbusters when they’re first published, but their structure and substance are so relevant that they continue to deliver value and grow traffic organically -- no additional marketing needed. –And great for getting new homeowners!

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Marketing Communications

Leads OwnersGuests

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We have a long way to go as an industry to get this nailed down. CRM Database Management

New Leads

Old Leads

Guests

Owners and Prospect Owners

Guest’s GuestsCRM

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Marketing Tech Stack

Lead Management

CRM/Database

Reservations & Payments

Accounting System

Marketing Automation

Website

Online Marketing

Distribution Channels

Evaluation (Analytics, BI)

The foundation of our data is based in transactions, not marketing.

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Process for implementing marketing automation Marketing Automation Set Up for VRMs

Closely Evaluate and Adapt

Determine Rules for Automated

Communications

Begin Automation

Clean and Add Existing Database

Set Up Autoresponders

Set Up Data Collection for New Leads and

Guests into CRM

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Marketing Communications

Leads OwnersGuests

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Your subtitle will go here

How Leads Come In

3rd Party Distribution

Channels

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Your Website

02

Call in to Reservations

03

Cold LeadsCVB/DMO &

Marketing Channels

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Marketing Communications Flow for Online Leads

LEAD Auto-responder

Follow Up

Reminder

Next Year

Inquiry Date

Next Year 30

Days Out

Move Out of Automation

Distribution & Website

Autoresponder(AI)

Follow UpXX Days

30 Days From Booking

Email following year STSP

Reminder of vacation days

Gone cold

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Marketing Communications: Guests

Leads OwnersGuests

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Guest Emails/Communications

Transactional Upselling Rebooking Additional Stays

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Data Fields To Generate Marketing Automation for Guests

Name Email Booking Date

Check-in Check-out Property Location

Property

Other: Lead Location, Number in Party or BR size of Home Requested, Pet-friendly

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Marketing Communications

Leads OwnersGuests

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Owner Emails/Communications

Business & Thought

Leadership

Upselling Renewal Prospect Owners

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Example: Email Flow for Owner Leads

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There are 3 reasons to list your home on 3rd party channels 3rd Party Distribution Channels

To make sure you are where your competitors are

To appease homeowners and gain a competitive advantage

To reach customers who would not otherwise find you

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Distribution Channel Strategy

3rd Party Channel Strategies

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A few homes with partial availability

Several homes with real time availability

None

Most homes with real time availability

All homes

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Image Holder

Distribution ROI

Number Transactions

ASV 4 8 12

$ 1,500.00 $6,000 $12,000 $18,000

$ 2,500.00 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000

$ 3,500.00 $14,000 $28,000 $42,000

List property you can get a 15:1 base ROI. (The average HomeAway listing is $27,360.)

• On HomeAway, for Gold listings, you need to book $12,735.

• On HomeAway, for Platinum listings, you need to book $18,735.

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Merchandising Your PropertiesChannel Managers and Intermediators

What does your PMS allow? Whom do they integrate with?

Pricing: The future in parity

Property Listing Enhancement

Response Strategy

Cost of Integration (Flat, %)

Specials and Promotions

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OFFLINE MARKETING

Let’s again go back to basics: How do guests find you?

1. Online (SEM, Distribution, Travel Guides)2. Name Recognition (Destination Marketing)3. When they are in the destination

(Signage, DTV, In-room Guides, Destination Guides, WOM)

4. Events & Sponsorships (i.e. Sports Commission)

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OFFLINE MARKETING

PR Catalog/ Collateral

Partnerships

Print Ads Direct Mail Sponsorships

Let’s again go back to basics: How do guests find you?

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Q&A From Managers

How do I get more social followers?

How do I get more guest referrals?

How do I get guests of guests emails?

How do I market out of my core target area?

How do I get business travelers?

How do I strengthen my brand?

How do I get a better presence in my community?

How do I know when to cut ties with a vendor?

Your questions