A vacation rental is a system of renting out a furnished house, apartment, resort, etc., to tourists on a temporary basis. The vacation rental system has become a popular choice among travelers from different countries for being a cheaper option than a hotel stay.
The concept of a vacation rental is very simple. People having an empty house or apartment can put it on rent to travelers for a short span of time and gain monetary benefits in terms of the rent. And, tourists can book a house or an apartment online through third-party vacation rental websites. The duration of stay may vary from a few days to a few weeks, and all parties benefit, the rental provider, the guests, and also the third party vacation rental marketplaces.
However, it may not be easy for house owners to directly rent out their space, and they take the help of third-party service providers like a vacation rental website or an app. If you want to launch a business in the vacation rental space, you must start with a vacation rental website design from a reputed web design company that has experience in developing such vacation rental marketplaces.
Vacation rental websites are in demand, especially if the service provider has signed up with many luxurious properties in different locations along with offering good rates to tourists. The vacation rental industry is gaining momentum due to high demand from travelers from across countries, and it will continue to grow in the coming years.
How to Build Vacation Rental Websites
Vacation rental websites, also called home rental sites, can be built easily with the help of professional web developers who have experience and expertise in building such marketplaces. All you need is to have a plan of the kind of business you want to put in place. Then the next step is to hire a website developer who has experience in vacation rental website design and can come up with stunning sites with the best of UI/UX.
As you want to create a foothold in the vacation rental business, the first thing you would require is to develop a website for your business. Having a website will open up many new possibilities and business opportunities for you.
You will have increased brand visibility and more credibility as your website will show up on the Search Engine Results Page. And, travelers will start relying on your company to book their stay. Also, you will not need to rely on third-party websites to get bookings.
Steps To Set Up Your Vacation Rental Website
Register A Domain
The first step towards launching your vacation rental website is registering your company’s domain name. Choose a domain name that resonates well with your business. Maybe you can use your company name in the domain. So, if your company is XYZ, then choose a domain like xyz.com, and if it is available, you should buy it.
Collaborating with a web development company will make this work easier for you, and you will be able to focus on your business operations.
Find A Hosting Server
As you find an available domain, the next step is to have a hosting server. Hosting your website on a good server will ensure faster loading time when page visitors access the website. If your website is being built on WordPress, then choosing WP Engine will be a good option to host the vacation rental website.
Hire a Developer
As they say, it is always best to get things done by an expert. Hire a developer to build the vacation rental website. They can come up with a professional-looking website design and also an outstanding UI/UX. Discuss your vacation rental website design idea with the website development agency and accordingly take things forward.
Design a Logo
A logo plays an important role in reflecting your business vision and its approach. Get a logo designed with a professional so that it speaks about the business, and also the target group can identify your business with the logo. Once your brand’s visuals are ready, you can launch your website.
Things You Must Consider While Building a Vacation Rental Website
Mobile-Friendly Web Design for Vacation Rental
The vacation rental web design should be mobile-friendly. The target audience should be able to open the site conveniently on their mobile phones. As customers, these days prefer to use a mobile device to book vacation rentals, check out rates, property availability, etc. So, your website should perform optimally on mobile phones.
Include Customer Recommendation
Customers these days are very particular about researching the service quality before using it on their own. So, if you include customer recommendations, user feedback, etc., you may also add recommendations from local people about a vacation rental property. It will help new customers to make a positive decision about using your vacation rental services.
Use High-Quality Images and Property Specifications
Including high-quality images of the vacation rental property will help customers decide better on booking your services. You may also take help from a professional photographer and use images that are optimized for mobile devices. Also, images of the property will help prospective renters to analyze their requirements and know for sure about what they are signing up for.
Direct Booking Option
Your website visitors should be able to book a vacation rental directly from the website. You will not have to pay any margin like you do while using third-party websites to get bookings. Also, you may use some coupon codes to give them some discounts to book through your website. Also, you may come up with special offers during the holiday season to attract travelers to book a vacation home through your website.
What All Should You Have in Your Vacation Rental Website:
Functionality
Your vacation rental website should offer its required functionalities, such as giving all relevant information about the vacation properties, having clear and high-resolution images, and a direct booking option from the site. A user should be able to get what they look for on the website in order to make a positive decision about using vacation rental services via your website. So, discuss all the important features that you want to add to the vacation rental website before you decide to hire a website development agency.
Content
Content is of utmost importance in a property listing website. It should have relevant information about all the properties listed on the site. A user should get enough information to understand the amenities they will get when they arrive at the location for their vacation. Keep it relevant than using any flowery language. Taking professional help for getting website content developed would be a good option. Speak to your web development company as they generally have tie-ups with professional content writers.
Page Loading Time
A fast page loading time is very important for having visitors spend time on the site and gain conversions. The ideal page loading time should be less than 2 seconds, irrespective of the network a user has or the kind of device they use to access the website. A faster page load time will have a lesser bounce rate. Discuss this aspect with the web developers before you hire them. Also, check their previous work to see the quality of work they have done in the past before hiring them for developing your business website.
Security
As you would be dealing with a lot of personal data of your customers, it is important that you have an SSL certificate for the website. Customers would feel safe to share their personal information on the website while making a reservation for a property. Choose a web development agency that can offer you the prerequisites for a robust vacation rental website so that your customers can book their favorite vacation rental house without worrying about the safety of their personal information.
Clear Images
Images are very important to attract customers to a specific vacation home. Travelers would like to know what they are signing up for before making the payment. So, add clear images which show everything about the property in detail. You may hire a professional photographer to click pictures of the listed properties so that your customers can get a better idea of what they are going to get when they walk into the house of their choice. Let your page visitors see the property listings and then decide for themselves.
Good Price
Offering a good price for vacation rental properties will have an added advantage, and you will be able to get more conversions. Nicely done up properties if available at an affordable price, customers will grab it soon, and you will have a good business. You may compare the rates offered by your competitors for similar properties and then decide on a rate that is affordable to the customers yet would give you a decent profit. Also, you can come up with special offers and discounts to attract customers. You may also launch a customer referral program to benefit both old and new customers.
Terms and Conditions
Keeping your terms and conditions open is a good way to conduct a vacation rental business. This should detail the cancellation policy, guest default, and all things related to payments. Customers should be able to read and accept the company terms and conditions before making a booking request. Transparent documentation of company terms and conditions will also help you increase the customer reliability of your company and achieve more conversions.
Contact Details
Keep your contact details visible on all pages so that customers can find them easily and can contact you directly by clicking on the phone number mentioned on the site or be able to email you by clicking on the email address mentioned there. Also, you may have a simple contact form that customers would fill with their queries, and you may get back to them with a relevant answer to their questions. Receiving phone calls or emails from the vacation rental company will again increase customer reliability and help you create a strong foothold in the industry.
Hours of Operations
The booking option should be open 24*7. Customers should be able to make a reservation for their favorite holiday home at a time of their convenience and make the payment effortlessly. However, you may mention a specific working hour when customers can call your team for more information on the vacation rental services, pricing, and other information.
Register on Google My Business
You would want your target group to find your website on their search on the internet. So, register the site on Google My Business so that it gets visibility when potential customers search for vacation rental homes.
Optimize Your Website For SEO
Search Engine Optimization is important to increase the rank of your vacation rental website. Choose a good SEO agency that can help you with optimizing the site with the most searched keywords. Remember, improving search engine ranks takes time, so you will need to have some patience to actually see the results.
Conclusion
Every business should have a professional approach and conduct its business with seriousness. And, the target customers should be able to feel that your company is serious about offering the best services to them so that they can live comfortably during their vacation. So, hire web developers with some caution so that they develop a website for you that looks professional and also functions well on the user’s device seamlessly.
The website should have smooth functionality, mobile responsiveness and also have the best UI/UX. Discuss all the requirements of your vacation rental website before collaborating with the web development agency and giving them the talk of developing your business website.
Companies like WebRock Media can help you with stunning vacation rental websites at affordable pricing. Get in touch with our agency and discuss your website development requirements and let us give you a rate quote for the same.