Insights: Blog updates

As you know, Google Travel has integrated vacation rentals into the Hotel Search functionality. Now both show up in both Google maps and search results alongside hotels.  If you are looking to grow your business, you ensure a) Google knows to index it in general (learn how), and b) that your properties get included in Google Travel searches (it’s not automatic, but our Atlas platform and channel management partners like Lexicon can do this and much more for you). In this Marketing Monday, we are going to review a few benefits of being listed.  Online Visibility: Google comprises 90% of the search engine market in the United States, so to have any shot at being discovered through search, you need to make sure they crawl your site (it doesn’t just happen). It’s worth building some basic SEO knowledge so you can optimize your site. It’s well worth your time to know the broad strokes of SEO. Fortunately, there are plugins (e.g. WordPress) and platform-specific (e.g. Wix, Squarespace) wizards that will lead you by the hand. Direct Bookings: We all know direct bookings are the most profitable for your business. Google currently doesn’t charge for listing your vacation rental website on their site nor do they collect any commission from bookings redirected to your website. HUGE WIN. Put the power of the world’s largest search engine to work for you! Level Playing Field: Since Google doesn’t have any skin in the game (yet), your VR operation can occupy the same screen real estate as flag hotels. Now is the perfect time to get listed and take advantage of the fact that VR is considered a “core accommodation” now. If you are looking to expand onto Google we would love to chat! ATLAS Commerce and Digital Marketing has helped over 350 vacation rental companies, hotels, and resorts with their digital marketing needs and expansion of their business. 

Hospitality professionals generally enjoy creating, and being around the experience of a stay.  You and your guests are a team in this regard because you share the same goal: optimize the end-to-end experience. For the guest, that means planning ahead, coordinating schedules, and the like. But what does it mean for you, exactly? Certainly, it means making sure your properties are in perfect order, but something else is both within your control AND is at least as critical to the overall guest experience. It’s called communication, and doing it well has never been easier. Experiential Marketing and Hospitality Experiential marketing seeks ways to increase the value of an overall experience without adding incremental cost. The more value you build in, the better the customer will feel, and the more enthusiastic they’ll be about your brand. The classic example of experiential marketing done well is Disney. Every aspect of shopping for, booking, and experiencing a Disney vacation is carefully considered and tied to the brand. They know you’re going to spend a lot of money with them, and that you need to receive value at every turn. Among other things, that means making sure that every guest feels special and taken care of — kids and parents alike. You might be thinking, “Okay, but I’m not competing with Disney here.” But in a way, you are. Technology has democratized travel such that your experience is judged against all others, including the very best. You don’t get a pass because you’re small. But modern tools place a thoughtful and orchestrated experience well within reach. Hospitality lends itself perfectly to the Disney mindset. You’re not just renting a room, condo, or home — you’re taking that guest by the hand and leading them down an intentional prepared path that begins the moment they find your properties online and continues beyond their stay. We’ll talk more about experiential marketing in a future article, but for now, let’s focus on the most critical aspect of an overall travel experience: timely, accurate, and on-brand communication. Timeliness: Looking Beyond the What and How  What are the elements of communication? Broadly speaking: The message is the “what” and “why” of your communication. What are you saying and why is it relevant? What action do you want the recipient to take? Tone and voice are the “how” and “who” of your message. How do you want to deliver the message? Who should it sound like? Style is the look and feel of the message, such as grammar, punctuation, and organization. Timeliness is the “when.” When does the recipient need to receive the message? When will they be most receptive to it? All these elements are important, but the hardest to do well is timeliness. Consider an “out of office” email automatic reply. It gets triggered instantly to inform the sender of an email that the recipient isn’t there, but what if it wasn’t? What if it came four hours later or not at all? Suddenly the “what” and “how” don’t really matter. An out-of-office reply is a simple example of a triggered, or automated communication. As long as it’s set up in advance, it will do its thing once or thousands of times, delivering important information exactly when it’s needed without you lifting a finger. Many automations are already built into the travel experience. The email confirmation sent after a confirmed booking, for example. But now that we all have devices that can talk to each other while we sleep, there are an infinite number of possibilities for delivering timely and relevant communications to guests, owners, and staff alike, adding tremendous value to their experiences. With a careful look at your experience and a bit of planning, you can dazzle all your stakeholders and add value without adding cost. Let’s learn how. Automated Communications Done Right Property managers have three main audiences: guests, owners, and staff. Each has their own reasons for wanting (and often needing) timely communication from you. But there are only so many hours in a day, so to ensure timeliness, you need to connect your messaging to the clock or other triggers. Not everyone is comfortable with the idea of automating. For someone in the service business, handing over control to a machine can feel like a big leap of faith. But done right, it can both elevate the experience and make you look awesome. When you use Track to automate, all information is logged and appended to the guest record, making it easy to see where and when all the various touches occurred. That data can be invaluable when evaluating successes and failures. In general, it’s better to over-communicate. A lack of information is usually filled with misinformation or assumptions, neither of which benefit your business. Think through all the current and potential touch points between you and your audiences. How long after X happens should communication Y go out? When do you need information and when does your guest? Make a list and check it twice, then see what you can automate. Examples of automated communication follow: Guests Obviously, this is your most critical audience. Booking a trip can be an exciting, but stressful task. There’s a lot of money involved and, when it comes to time off and such, a lot of planning. Timely and useful communication can reduce that stress and keep guests in a positive frame of mind about their trip. Remember, you’re not limited to just email. Texts are a great way to reach guests on the fly as well. Examples: Booking confirmations (especially booking direct) Waivers Deposit details Contract signatures Collecting other crucial pre-stay information Check-in instructions (door/gate codes, walkthrough checklist, etc.) Surveys Review requests Special offers, event notices, etc. Want more examples? Check out our free eBook, “Automations and Triggers to Create Profitability and Efficiency.” Owners Owner communication is an often overlooked aspect of the business, but you can’t let things slip through the cracks. Being proactive is critical, especially if you’re focused on growth. Property [...]

Today’s Marketing Monday includes a few tips for attracting new owners and growing your vacation rental business. SEO Focused Website: Your website is the front door to your business. It is the first impression your potential owners see. The easier it is for owners to find you, the more likely they will step through your door. You need to make sure your website at least checks the big boxes for SEO (search engine optimization). Fortunately, there is a wealth of information out there, including this handy guide. The SEO rabbit hole is deep, but at a minimum, make certain your site is on Google Search Console, has SSL enabled (https), uses the right tags and keywords in headings, and includes localized contact information. Another tip is to have a property management-specific page with owner-focused keywords to help Google display your site when potential owners search. This helps owners find you and not just guests! Quality Content: Owners have different goals, needs, motivations, and levels of interest. A simple web page with a list of features, an info sheet, or a phone number might have been enough to capture a new owner in the past, but not anymore. Competition is fierce, so you need to develop content that is high quality, consistent, and showcases why you are the best choice for property management companies in your area. Testimonials from current owners are one of many ways to showcase your relationships. Blog posts or landing pages that answer specific queries owners might help bring eyes to your page. This helps with SEO and establishes your business as an authority, which helps generate leads in the long run. Weekly or monthly newsletters help drive traffic to your content. Expand your network: Another way to attract owners is to expand your network, both online and offline. There are plenty of property management groups, associations, forums, and networks online. Not only will they help you keep up with industry news, but you can also contribute to conversations to showcase your industry knowledge. If you are looking to grow your business, we would love to chat! ATLAS Commerce and Digital Marketing has helped over 350 vacation rental companies, hotels, and resorts with their digital marketing needs and expansion of their business. 

As is the lodging industry in general, resorts and vacation rental companies are well aware that direct bookings not only help hold down the “costs of acquisition,” but also increase our guest loyalty to our brands and not to a distribution channel partner. Therefore, it is certainly important to train your team to sell via the voice channel. However, it is also essential to ensure that your team is properly trained on best habits for textual selling via online and digital channels. For one, there is often an interplay of the voice and online bookings. Secondly, many guests first reach out by way of the written word, which still distinctly shows intent. Here are some of the many textual selling opportunities: Turning “I just have a quick question” inquiries that come in by direct email such as reservations@yourbrand.com or info@yourbrand.com into confirmed bookings. Going beyond answering questions on OTA platforms (Expedia, AirBnB, VRBO, and Booking.com); instead, convincing senders to pick your property off the long list they see online. Replying to questions and inquiries that come in by chat. Using personalized email as a proactive retargeting tool for voice inquiries. Some readers may be asking, “Is it really worth the effort to focus on textual inquiries?” If so, you may want to first consider the hidden costs of getting prospective guests to initiate a textual inquiry. If the email or chat message arrives directly, odds are that the sender found you by way of an Internet search and website visit. Therefore, costs of getting written inquiries may include SEO (organic & paid); website development, maintenance and hosting costs; and email campaign fees. If the inquiry is coming in via an OTA, then senders clearly have a list of other options, so personalized responses can help “sell” the sender of the message. I highly recommend that marketing and operations leaders take time to review a random selection of the messages that are coming in by way of the various methods listed above. Certainly, one will see numerous sales inquiries that are directly stated as such, “I’m looking to reserve… What is the next step?” Yet if you look even closer, it is easy to recognize that many leads are disguised as: “I just have a quick question about...” Check-in times. Pandemic era questions (What’s open? Cleaning?) Pets. Parking. Bedding. Consider this: why would prospective guests be asking these questions if they did not have intent to buy? If you take time to also look at the messages your staff is sending back in response to these types of questions, you will probably find that too many only send back a brief reply that simply answers what was asked. Similarly, if you look at the responses being sent to directly-stated reservations sales inquiries, you will probably find that your team simply replies with a template, and often not even the one from your list of templates that best-fits the nature of the inquiry. If this month’s blog topic is hitting home so far, here are some training tips from our new KTN sales training program called Maximizing Sales Through Textual Communications: When senders simply type over a quick question in a chat, email, or in-app message, after answering the question, be sure to always add remarks such as: “Let us know what other questions you have or what else we can do on our end to host you…” When replying to direct reservations inquiry emails, first take a moment to introduce yourself as a “real person,” not an anonymous sender. If you are on-site or in-house, be sure to mention that. Include headshots, direct phone lines, and direct email addresses in auto-signatures. It is fine to use email templates, but provide your team with a selection so they can select the one that best fits the inquiry. (Family vacations, reunions, romance getaways, girlfriends getaways.) Start emails by paraphrasing, restating, and commenting on whatever you have learned from the sender’s written inquiry. Many senders self-reveal quite a few details in the “comments/remarks” boxes, so use this to your advantage. The rest of the responsive message can be a template. For inquiries relating to booking larger groups, longer stays, and/or higher rated accommodations, offer to set a time to talk by phone or Zoom. Include a link to an online scheduling app such as Calendly, making it easy for the sender to set a time to talk. For inquiries that represent significant enough potential revenue, such as long stays, multiple accommodations, and top-tier inventory, include a short, personalized video email message in which you speak directly to the sender. Again, for higher-revenue leads, leave the next step on your to-do list by saying “I will be following up with you in a few days to see what questions you have.” For OTA’s and group booking platforms that restrict replies to being in-app by not revealing the sender’s email, create a trace system to help salespeople track leads for follow-up within the platform. (If you have Track Pulse, be sure to utilize its unique “Unified Inbox” to the fullest extent.) End with a personalized welcoming phrase such as “Let us know what else we can do on our end to secure the opportunity to welcome you…” Regarding the voice channel… when callers are interested, but not quite ready to book, always offer to send a follow-up email with your direct contact information. Put it on your to-do list to follow up at least two additional times. When chat senders have a quick question, it is fine to simply answer via chat. However, when they start to ask for recommendations or ask questions that indicate they are interested in booking, offer to call them right now to assist. You will be surprised how many say “Sure!” Thank you, Doug Kennedy To View Full Webinar Fill Out The Form Below

Airbnb is an important distribution channel for professionally managed, short-term vacation rentals. Recent improvements in Track PMS’ API connection with Airbnb expands a property manager’s revenue-making opportunity and improves guest communications. First, we’ve increased the Length of Stay limits. Now property managers can list and enable booking for longer-term rentals. Several configuration options allow you to control which audiences are able to instantly book these types of stays. This recent release also enhances communications with guests on Airbnb.. We call our unique direct connection with them “secure messaging” for a couple of reasons: Messaging Reliability- Unlike email, communications via our API connection are traceable and easier to ensure receipt for both guests and property managers. Our Airbnb integration records which agents respond to each message including each response in situations where multiple agents work on the same lead. This gives property managers better visibility into guest service successes and training opportunities. TRACK supports multiple Airbnb accounts. This gives the property managers the ability to sync more than 1 account into TRACK vs having to login to multiple accounts or have multiple versions of a PMS to sync accounts. Ease of Communication – Track PMS’ unified inbox helps reservation agents work more effectively and efficiently in a single inbox with all messages documented without the need to login to multiple airbnb accounts. Improved Response Times & Auto-Responders – Responding to inquiries no longer requires logging into Airbnb’s platform directly, minimizing the chances of delayed responses. We give agents more control and simplify how they handle each inquiry, ultimately improving their ability to deliver exceptional guest experiences. TRACK also provides pre-created and configurable Auto-responses and quick responses to speed up communications. If you’re interested in learning more about how Track can help your company make more money and better serve guests via Airbnb,  we’d love to chat and learn how we might help.

Ad campaigns are getting more and more complex which leaves Property Managers having to analyze more data to determine the value of each click. This Marketing Monday walks you through how to assess the value of a click.  We talk to many property managers on a daily basis. Some of the most common questions our digital marketing team gets asked are, “How do I know when to shut off an ad?”.  We wish we could say it was as easy as yes or no, but it isn’t. The value of a click determines where the guest is in their booking journey. Just because a guest doesn’t click on your ad right away doesn’t mean you should shut it off. The ad is still bringing traffic to your website, which is crucial for ramping up direct bookings.   First, determine if the click is a top, middle, or bottom-funnel click. Once you determine where the guest is in their buyer’s journey, you can then assess your Google Analytics account to determine its value.  If you are turning off your ads due to low click rates, those clicks are going somewhere else. Most likely they are landing on an OTA. We know that direct bookings are most profitable for your business, so any chance you have to have your guests book with you is critical. We have helped more than 350 Vacation Rentals, Hotels, and Resorts with their critical digital marketing needs, and would love to give you a free assessment and see how you can improve your campaigns moving forward! 

Cancellations are still happening, even though the vacation rental industry is soaring. TRACK has the feature to add and configure a cancellation reason at the time of the cancellation. The biggest benefit of this, these cancellations will also be synced to your distribution channels as well. Specifically, HomeAway will receive if the cancellation was initiated by the guest or the owner. If the reservation is for Airbnb, they have factory-created reasons and TRACK has pre-mapped reasons that align.  If you are not using TRACK but would like to learn more, we would love to chat.  

At this very moment, pasty, hollow-eyed hermits around the country are emerging like cicadas, ready to slather on some SPF 50 and breathe the sweet air of freedom.  The hospitality industry has never been through anything quite like this. We’ve dealt with explosive demand and high occupancy before, but never after an entire year of uncertainty, extreme cleaning measures, and everything else that went along with the pandemic. All we know for sure is that a tidal wave of guests is headed our way. In this environment, doing more with less takes on a new meaning. Guests don’t care about your staffing shortages, frustrated owners, and cash-flow challenges. But how do you deliver a superior guest experience when you’re spread so thin? By minding the details, especially as it relates to accounting and billing. The More-With-Less Fallacy Pick any business anywhere, and people will tell you they’re doing more with less. Less budget, fewer personnel, less direction, etc. Technology has made it possible for small teams to be insanely productive, and in many ways, that’s a good thing. But in every workflow, there’s a breaking point. As our attention is divided, and divided again, little things start to slip through the cracks. Suddenly, “doing more with less” becomes doing less with less. For decades, we’ve heard that time management is the key to productivity. But a recent article in the New York Times suggested that attention management is where it’s at, defining it as, “the art of focusing on getting things done for the right reasons, in the right places and at the right moments.” Obviously, if your attention is already divided, then making sure the small things get done for the right reasons and at the right time becomes nearly impossible. Sure, you could hire someone to take care of time-sensitive background tasks, but there may be a better way. Automations to the Rescue In 2021 and beyond, the key to making sure routine tasks are done accurately and on time is through automation. Basically, automations use triggers to set one or more actions into motion, sometimes called “if this, then that.” Both OTAs and direct bookings hook into your PMS, so virtually anything that happens in your PMS could be a trigger that instantly generates an email, a work order, a calendar item, and so forth. Taken together, these individual steps form an automated workflow. Many common triggers are related to email marketing, such as a sequence of emails that go out once a user completes a form. But more sophisticated workflows that depend on data from your PMS can be tricky, and often require yet another third-party tool like Zapier or ITTT to work. The idea is to slowly unroll a virtual red carpet for your guest from the moment they book. Let’s take a look at a typical guest journey and how automated workflows can help you stay on top of business-critical activities. Pre Arrival After a guest books, a number of things already happen automatically, such as an e-mail confirmation or “things to do” emails from the OTAs. But there are other opportunities for you to add value and service, such as: Assign specific charges or fees based on reservation type or unit Alert accounting if travel insurance was added or removed Surveys or special requests Security deposit/balance reminders Pre-arrival checklist Guest portal invitations Unit-tailored work orders (e.g. hot tub or grill cleaning) Early check-in upsell opportunities Though it’s never a good idea to inundate your guests with messages, it’s always better to err on the side of overcommunication. Anything that makes your guest feel welcome, informed, and special is going to score you brownie points before they even arrive, setting the stage for a rave-worthy experience. Check In/Post Arrival Once your guest is on-premise, email communications become less useful and immediate. This is why the best post-arrival workflows use texting and other mobile-friendly methods to communicate in real time — all while your focus is elsewhere. Examples of post-arrival automations: “How is everything?” messages with easy response options (which can trigger other automations) and contact info Links to area services, activities, menus, etc. Occupancy notification to housekeeping Updating rates and calendars for early departures or extensions  The key here is to be welcoming, straightforward, and timely. Once they get settled, they don’t want to hear from you for a while — but they may need to reach you, so make it easy for them. Post Departure If you set expectations properly, delivered great value, and communicated well, your guests will be riding a wave of positivity out the door. This is a great time to reach back out and put the final brush-stroke on your guest-service masterpiece: Thank you text or email, perhaps with a final receipt Post-departure survey An invitation to post a review to your best-converting platform Notifications to housekeeping that the property is ready for cleaning The Bottom Line In general, the more automated your accounting and billing system, the better your chances of capturing maximum revenue. Typically, automated workflows won’t be adding or subtracting fees on their own without a living, breathing person involved, so it’s more about timely communication between you, your guests, and your back office. But timely communication is hard when you’re already wondering how you’ll get through the coming busy season — likely one of the busiest in recent memory. It’s hard to overstate the impact that software and automations can have on your efficiency and sanity. Maybe the workflows you could automate don’t seem that time-consuming, but little time savings can really add up, especially if you have dozens or hundreds of properties. Dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s for every guest, every time would be a monumental task for even the most organized person.  Automations like the 1.2 million combinations available through Track help ensure the right boxes are being checked even while you sleep, helping you focus on all the things you wish you had more time for.  

In Triggers and Automations with the object of survey response, there are now conditions for segmenting the surveys based on location, brand, or campaign. If the survey was generated from a reservation the survey response email can be conditioned by unit, unit node, unit role, or campaign. If the survey was generated from a sale the survey response email can be conditioned by sales link, brand, or campaign. Use of this would be when a survey is completed, depending on the location or campaign, then you may want to direct the guest to share that survey in a different location. Learn about the enhancement below! Do you want to see if TRACK is the right fit for your Vacation Rental? Schedule your meeting with a Solutions Consultant here.

Social media has changed the way Vacation Rentals do business. Those who stay on top of the trends can use social networks as a powerful marketing tool, while those who don’t are getting left behind. In this Marketing Monday, we are going to review three ways that social media can influence direct bookings.  Number 1 – Brand Awareness  Social media is a fantastic way to strengthen and promote your brand and build relationships with both past and potential guests. Travelers use social media to find inspiration. Just look at all of the Pinterest boards and Instagram posts regarding travel. If you want to increase your direct bookings, you need to be on the social platforms where travelers are looking. Number 2 – Reviews  93% of consumers say online reviews influence their purchase decisions. Ask previous guests to take a survey or leave a review of their past stay. How was their experience? What activities did they participate in? Not only will this help your online credibility, but you can also gather valuable information about past guests for future marketing use Number 3 – Customer Service  Guests are turning to social media as another form of outreach. Gone are the days where guests have the patience — or desire — to wait on the phone. Having an active social media presence and handling your customer service through this additional channel, shows your guests you care. If they are able to get their questions answered right away they will be more likely to book with you, than search other properties.  Having a well-thought-out social media strategy can directly impact your direct bookings. If you are looking to take your social media strategy to the next level, we would love to chat! ATLAS Commerce has helped over 350 vacation rental companies, hotels, and resorts with their digital marketing needs.