Are you burnt out from a busy rental booking season?  Maybe you feel like you need a break from dealing with questions.

Maybe your “idea fountain” has run dry and you’re unsure how to promote your vacation rental in new and effecient ways. Or maybe you think you can save a couple of bucks by putting your rental listing subscription on hold.

Perhaps you feel that the bulk of your reservations come in after the new year, so you don’t need to advertise on the off months.  There are all kinds of legitimate reasons you can come up with to convince yourself to take a break.

The reality is, if you aren’t marketing your vacation rental, you are losing renters.

Below are 8 essential reasons why you need to advertise year-round.  Keep in mind, these tips for renting a vacation home apply to any listing site, including VRBO/Homeaway, AirBNB and New York Rental By Owner.

1. Annual subscriptions pay off with more booking potential.

Some owners feel they can let their annual subscription lag during the offseason.  They think they will save money by waiting to re-activate a subscription at the beginning of the year. Don’t shortchange your rental potential.

By failing to renew or deciding to let your listing lag you risk losing bookings.  Sure, keeping your annual subscription active costs a few dollars more in the short term, but it isn’t significant.  In the long-term, that extra exposure will likely pull in more bookings.  Even one additional booking more than covers your costs.

2. Inquiries aren’t pesky, they are full-price sales opportunities.

Customer service fatigue is real.  The speed of your response time to inquiries matters, and sometimes the questions just keep pouring in.  That is a great problem to have.  Inquiries mean your advertising is working.  If you stem the flow by cutting off advertising, you might get a break, but you are losing bookings.

3. Early interest allows you to lock in previous tenants quickly.

Advertising year round helps you gain advance bookings for your property.  Have a great repeat tenant that waits longer and longer to commit?  Generating interest in their usual dates allows you to approach them with a real deadline to lock in now.

4. Higher visibility translates into more opportunity.

If you aren’t advertising, you aren’t getting your rental in front of new customers.  How will you fill your place?  Some people see that that the bulk of their reservations come in after the new year.  They assume they can let their subscription lag until then. That is not true. Vacationers often research their next rental long before booking.  Miss the early planners, and you miss opportunities to book.

5. Your competitors are advertising year-round.

Your competition wants to take your listings and they are advertising year-round to do it. Enough said.

6. Social media becomes your best friend.

Year-round advertising adds social media to your arsenal.  People like to share listings that they have used and loved or are simply considering.  Be active so they can find your listing and start a social conversation.

The organic growth social media can add to your reach makes your advertising investment stretch further. Plus, New York Rental by Owner advertises our listings on all of our social media platforms.

We include a direct link to the owner’s listing, increasing reach and opportunity.  If your subscription lags and your listing becomes inactive, the link won’t work.  Potential guests won’t know how to get in touch with you and will move onto the next listing.

7. Demonstrate to potential renters that you are a hospitality professional.

There are studies showing that vacation renters are regaining a desire for old-fashioned hospitality and amenities.  As the vacation rental market has exploded, the differences between hotel amenities and privately-owned rental properties has become more apparent.

Travelers are now seeking hosts that understand their needs and meet them.  Would a hotel or serious hospitality professional stop advertising their property for a few months each year?  Of course not.  And neither should you.

Your commitment to running your rental as a premiere destination needs to be apparent in your business practices.  Show your renters that you are the better vacation rental.

8. Active and updated listings with accurate availability and rates appear in more searches.

When you renew your annual subscription, it is a great time to review and update your listing details.  Most vacationer searches include dates, rates, and amenities.  If your subscription is inactive, or your information incomplete, your listing won’t show up.  This results in lost opportunities.

• Renters are getting savvy about Booking Fees. It’s wise to keep your listing active on New York Rental by Owner and any other Booking Fee free sites you choose.  For more information on the importance of keeping your listing updated, visit [link to listing blog].
• New York Rental by Owner is seeing traffic every month. Don’t miss out on an opportunity that may reward you with a high dollar amount rental!

Have a property in New York you’re looking to make some extra money on? Want to have direct communication with your guests and not pay commission fees?  Get listed on New York Rental By Owner today and join our growing community!

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