Securing the bigger, longer bookings for your holiday home.
Did you know that bookings for Christmas and New Year are well underway at Bachcare. Over 1,200 bookings had rolled in by the end of April 2018!
We're seeing people being more organised than ever and booking much further in advance. So what does this mean for you?
If you have been thinking about listing or having your holiday home managed, but haven't had the urge to act, let's consider the below stats:
“Average bookings made for December & January so far are averaging 8 days in duration, and over $3,000 in value. The closer it gets to Christmas, the more this falls back.”
The 7 Key Benefits To Listing Your Holiday Home Early
But the benefits of 'getting ahead of the game' and listing in the winter are far wider than just lucrative Christmas/New Year bookings. Here's 7 of our favourites that we have seen play out year after year.
1. List Early And Your Listing Will Gain More Momentum
Listing your property now and getting it live on our site and across other key channels has huge benefits. Not only does it get it in the mix and known in the marketplace, but you'd be surprised at the number of people who bookmark or favourite your listing, to revisit at a later date or to consider in their shortlist for a Spring or Summer escape. It has a huge effect when our marketing team push certain properties as well, so don't underestimate the benefit of what listing far out from summer can do. Results are always possible listing later in the piece, but we see a far clearer trajectory to success by listing early.
2. SEO Benefits
Through the various activity our marketing team do on our own and other listing channels (and across Instagram and Facebook), there's big search engine optimisation benefits. People who become familiar with the property name and location will benefit far more from the relevance and site traffic that pushes it up Google search rankings over an extended period of time. There is way more benefit to this when listed well in advance.
Typical search terms for Hahei would include 'Hahei holiday homes bachcare' or '[Property Name] bachcare'. As we have been around for 15 years now, many people are using our brand name in their search. Your listing should be in the mix the longer it has been live, and individual listings will finish higher up with the more traffic and relevance they have had over that time.
3. Shoulder/Off Peak - Reviews
And although the main benefit here has been securing those lucrative Christmas and New Year bookings by sharing your space early, the secondary benefit you may also generate is off peak and shoulder bookings in the run-in to summer! You won't get these if you are listing at the last minute in November!
So along with the potential benefit of additional rental income, you'll also get the social proof of reviews and guest surveys. Not only is this a good reference point for you to see how guests are responding to your home (allowing you to make changes ahead of peak times), it also boosts your search ranking on major listing channels. Sites like Airbnb and Booking.com (which we have direct integrations to) have part of their algorithm attached to reviews. It's a major factor for many people!
“It’s no big secret that our overseas friends plan much further in advance for visiting our beautiful country. So as you can guess, international tourists, who on average stay for longer and spend more than domestic guests, book much earlier than us good old kiwis.”
4. International Guests
It's no big secret that our overseas friends plan much further in advance for visiting our beautiful country. So as you can guess, international tourists, who on average stay for longer and spend more than domestic guests, book much earlier than us good old kiwis.
5. Adding Additional Listing Channels
We've touched on it already here, but listing earlier in the year also allows you (and us) to test the right marketing mix for your property. Based on your rental goals you may only need to list on one channel. But the more listing channels you are on with us, the more occupancy you get. Fact. And the good news. We are integrated with all the major listing channels. In just one click we can sync your listing across all the channels you want (including Bookabach, Holiday Houses, Home Away, Booking.com, Airbnb).
6. Optimising Pricing/Rates
Our team of analysts are pretty much spot on with pricing and appraisals given the historic data we have. But there is always room for learning and listing early gives much more time to test the market with the optimal pricing for your property, and your rental goals. Our portfolio managers also pay close attention to see how you are comparing to similar properties in the area.
7. Reducing Minimum Nights
The last minute rush is prevented by a calculated smooth run in to the key times of year. This includes a staggered reduction in minimum night stays to secure the best bookings possible for your property.
So by listing further in advance, there are a huge number of benefits, and who knows, your property may be sitting on a couple of lucrative long bookings over the high peak season.
Get a head start and list early!
Proudly 100% kiwi owned and grown, your holiday home is all taken care of with Bachcare. Stressed out holiday home owners approach us daily, who simply want a calm approach to their holiday home which means all the detail is taken off their hands.
Sound like you, and want to benefit from listing early? Get our free info pack now and have a no-obligation chat with our knowledgeable team.
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