Holiday Home Marketing Archives - Page 6 of 8 - Holiday Home Insurance - Specialist Holiday Let Insurance

This category is about Holiday Home Marketing and is for UK holiday letting owners looking to improve their marketing and drive more bookings.

Whether you own an individual holiday home, apartment or holiday cottage complex Boshers holiday home marketing posts are for you. As Holiday Home Insurance Specialists Boshers are proud to share many tips, guidance and articles.

Subjects covered include increasing your holiday letting bookings, quality assessment schemes and social media hacks. Check out these posts: Year round holiday let occupancy, Quality assessment schemes for holiday lets, How to increase off peak bookings, Social Media hacks to increase your off peak bookings.

Drone Photography for Holiday Homes

Holiday Home Marketing

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to gain a truly unique view of your holiday home or holiday cottage complex? To take to the skies and give those visiting your website a real feel for the fantastic location in which your cottage nestles?

If a photograph speaks a thousand words, the boundless opportunities aerial video provides cottage owners to illustrate the bigger picture and areas of natural beauty in which so many are situated are limitless.

If you’re considering adding aerial film to your marketing arsenal here are just a few things you’ll need to be aware of…

Drone Photography for Holiday Homes – How does it work?

UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), also known as ‘drones’, have become increasingly popular for producing eye catching promotional videos.

They are commonly able to fly up to 400 meters high, providing you with potential views and film of your holiday cottage from a very rare perspective.

Selecting a Supplier

There are plenty of suppliers on the market so getting the right one for your cottage is essential. Always ensure you gain more than one quote, and all quoting on a like-for-like basis.

A professional drone photographer will be able to show you their portfolio of previous work enabling you to select one who’s eye for a good panoramic will show off your self-catering holiday letting property to it fullest potential.

Your quotes should take into consideration the following areas:

The Permissions you’ll need

As they’re taking to the skies your supplier will need permission from the Civil Aviation Agency (CAA). Permission to fly will be required as they’re flying on a commercial basis, and because the flight will likely be within close distance to people, vehicles and other houses / cottages in the area.

Make sure that your supplier will be sorting out all of the necessary permissions prior to your agreed date for filming. Also that all costs surrounding this are covered in the quote they provide you with. You’ll also need to ensure that they are carrying the correct liability insurance for the photography services they are providing.

The Time of the Year – Battling the Weather

It stands to reason that your holiday cottage is going to be looking it’s best during the summer months. Wind (above 20mph) and rain could put a real dampener on your video and potentially stop a flying day all together.

Make sure you have an agreement with your supplier. It should cover what happens if your flying is interrupted or cancelled due to inclement weather. Ask how quickly they’ll be able to book you in again if the weather does scupper the best laid plans.

Think about editing costs

It’s not just about the flying; the end video will need to be edited and supplied to you. Editing video can be a time consuming process, so make sure your supplier is factoring this into their quote.

It’s also a real talent so take a look at their previous work. Even ask if it’ll be the same person editing and putting yours together. You want your end video to do your cottage justice and this’ll enable you to guarantee the quality you’ll be getting.

Technical Considerations

The first question to ask is how quickly your video will be completed and supplied to you after filming day. The summer months will be busy with bookings so you’ll want it to be completed as soon as possible.

If you’re not a technical wiz kid, will they help you upload it to a player? The two most common players are YouTube or Vimeo, both will be able to be easily embedded on your website for everybody to enjoy.

Here’s a great example of how drone video photography can be combined with still photography to produce stunning results. Click this link to view – Uppermoor Farm Cottages video flythrough.

We wish you every success with your new video!

Do you have any thoughts or experience of using drone photographing for holiday home marketing? Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to holiday letting owners across the UK. Looking for more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business? Please give us a call on 01237 429444.

June 24, 2015/0 Comments/by admin

How to drive repeat holiday let bookings

Holiday Home Marketing

When someone stays at your holiday home and has a great time you want them to return again and again, but with potentially up to a year before they enjoy their next trip, how do you drive repeat holiday let bookings and make sure you’re in their mind when they come to decide whether to return or seek new experiences?

We take a look at how you can encourage and drive repeat bookings for your holiday home.

Gaining contact to drive repeat holiday let bookings

You need to turn your visitor’s romantic weekend or week away into a longer-term relationship and dialogue. If they never hear from you again it’s far less likely they’ll come back.

In order to do that you need to build contact between now and when they next decide to take a holiday. Think of the ways in which you can communicate with visitors once they’ve left; do you send them an email for their arrival home? Do you ask them to leave feedback online or in a guest book? Do you thank them?

There are many ways to gain contact with your visitors once they’ve left; let’s take a look at a few others you can use.

Email Marketing to drive repeat holiday let bookings

Email marketing is a fantastic way of keeping in touch with previous guests.

Do you tell them about the changes you’ve made to your holiday home? Upcoming events in the area? Potential discounts you can offer on local attractions they may be keen to visit?

A monthly newsletter packed full of information that may trigger and encourage a return to your holiday cottage can be worth its weight in gold.

Create Great Content to drive repeat holiday let bookings

You may have heard the words ‘content marketing’ a lot in recent years.

What makes content great? Relevance. The more relevant the content to your visitor the more they’ll engage with it, and the more it’ll encourage them to return to your cottage.

They’ve already visited your holiday home, so what is it that makes your guests tick? Before sending any information to them always think, “Would they be interested in this and would it encourage them to come again?”

Remember, content doesn’t have to be reams and reams of text; many holiday cottages are in areas of natural outstanding beauty so that beautiful photograph of the sun setting over the coast may just be enough to tempt them back (particularly in the darker winter months!)

Keep your site up to date to drive repeat holiday let bookings

It’s unlikely your visitors will want to experience exactly the same holiday as they did last time so your site should be up to date and ready to dazzle.

We’ve already discussed the importance of content above; the site filled regularly to the brim with great content will have far more repeat visitors, and as a consequence, repeat trade.

You’re giving them a reason to return.

Engage with guests on social media to drive repeat holiday let bookings

More and more guests will mention their holiday destination on social media; whether that’s Facebook or Twitter; do you follow and like people that mention you on social media?

These social networks are great tools from where you can continue dialogue.

Remember, social media is supposed to be social, so make sure not all of your tweets or posts are outbound and promotional.

Create dialogue, generate conversation, and encourage engagement.

You’ll then be at the forefront of their mind and in a positive position when it’s time to book.

Make returning as easy as possible to drive repeat holiday let bookings

We all like things to be as easy as possible. Is this the case with booking a stay at your holiday cottage for returning visitors?

Do you have a fast track booking system as you already have their details?

92% of travelers want the option to book online; do you offer this functionality to your guests?

Remember, we’ve said your site should be up to date; is your booking availability calendar too?

Ultimately, if you’re able to combine your great holiday experience with a longer term relationship and regular contact, you’ll find your visitors begin to come back time and again.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to holiday letting owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

May 27, 2015/0 Comments/by admin

Growing your Holiday Cottage Bookings using Facebook

Holiday Home Marketing

One of the most important aspects of successful marketing is identifying where your potential customers can be reached and delivering the right message to them, at the right time, whenever and wherever that may be.

Growing your Holiday Cottage Bookings

With more than 30 million registered users in the United Kingdom there’s little doubt that potential guests for your holiday home are on Facebook in their droves. They’ll also be there regularly; three in four UK adults log on to the social network every single day. So how should you be growing your holiday cottage bookings using Facebook?

So how do you find the ones that are going to be interested in your holiday cottage, and also stand out from the increasing numbers of other businesses trying to do exactly the same?

Where does Facebook currently stand?

The original perception of Facebook saw it as a free tool for businesses.

As time has gone on this has become more problematic; increased competition (there’s more and more content going on to Facebook and they can’t show everything to everybody), and a need for a growing Facebook to derive revenue from their platform, has meant that the reach you can gain without spending your money has diminished.

The average posts, without advertising, will now only reach around 16% of your likes.

So how do you advertise and then engage to gain bookings?

Promoting your Facebook Page

Having a large number of likes is great, but they don’t mean a thing if they’re not going to be interested in what you say or be likely to book with you.

Promoting your page is a great way to initially increase your audience, but the key to success is being as specific as possible with your advertising.

Facebook knows a great deal of information about their users; utilise this information to your advantage and make sure you’re only advertising to the people that are likely to stay with you.

How old are they? Do they live in a specific area? Are they interested in certain things?

200 new likes that meet the demographics of your target market will be much more valuable to you than 2,000 that don’t.

Build on social groups

Facebook is constructed, and bound together, by peer-to-peer interaction and real life connections.

What is it that makes us friends with people? It’s usually similar interests, locations or lifestyles.

This means that if you’ve already got 500 people that like your page and engage with you, it’s a safe bet their friends and family are going to be interested in similar things, such as your holiday cottage and local area.

Once you have a strong base of likes it’s a great idea to advertise to those that are friends on Facebook with the people that already like your page.

This is easy to do within the Facebook advert manager, and your adverts will display the names of their friends that already like the page when it appears on their news feed.

Boost Posts to gain tactical advantage

We’ve already said that posts don’t reach as far as they used to but what you don’t want to be doing is boosting every post with advertising in order to reach everybody.

In order to boost your holiday cottage bookings, use the boosting tool tactically, and only when the post you are making has a distinct call to action.

For example, are you offering a discount for early bookings made in the next week? Do you have some last minute availability you want to promote?

Use advertising on these occasions; the rental reward compared to the potential spend will add up if you target the right people.

Keep learning from your content

Our final thought is one on content. The more successful your content, the more people will like it, the more people you will reach and the more holiday cottage bookings you’ll gain.

Make sure you’re always learning from what’s worked in terms of your content (what gains the most likes and engagement) and also keep an eye on when you’re posting it (the day of the week and time of the day).

Once you know what works, continue to build on it; engagement and bookings will follow.

If you have any thoughts or experience of Growing your Holiday Cottage Bookings using Facebook please leave a comment below.

May 12, 2015/0 Comments/by admin

Key Trends for Holiday Homeowners

Holiday Home Marketing

As specialists in holiday home insurance we’re dedicated to making sure we have our fingers on the pulse of the industry; what’s affecting holiday homeowners, the key trends, and how we can help support you through these.

We take a look at some of the developments and Key Trends for Holiday Homeowners in the past year…

Confidence is high – good news for holiday homeowners

With 86% of holiday homeowners confident about their current performance we enter the busiest period of the year sporting a level of optimism and buoyancy.

A milder winter without the early-year storms which blighted the West Country and other parts of the UK in 2014, combined with rising visitor numbers and stronger off-peak performance have all contributed to this level of confidence.

Visitor levels are on the rise

Last year was a successful one for many holiday homeowners as more and more of us turn to self-catering holiday cottages in the pursuit of the perfect home away from home.

62% of cottage owners indicated visitor numbers had increased from the levels they enjoyed a year before.

Off-peak and shoulder months continue to be an attractive market

Tourism is no longer just about the summer; there has been a 5% increase in visitor numbers during the post-summer months, with the biggest year on year occupancy rise being seen during the months of September and November.

Attracting year round trade continues to be a growing and potentially lucrative market for holiday homeowners.

People are spending more

Holiday homes continue to play a key role in generating revenue not only for the owner but also for the local community and economy.

Overseas visitors spent a record £21.58billion during 2014, up 2% from the previous year. Much of this expenditure will have been on local food and drink, attractions and other service providers.

The year of the staycation?

The renaissance of the ‘staycation’ has been highly publicised in recent times and this now appears to be supported by booking numbers.

38% of accommodation providers indicate there has been an increase in those staying with them from within the UK.

Get them coming back

45% of accommodation providers have seen an increase in the amount of repeat visits they are gaining.

Effective marketing and use of tools such as email and social media are vital in creating longer-term relationships with visitors, and ensuring they are incentivised to return to the same location.

Visitors are checking your site out on their mobile

With ever-increasing numbers of people now looking to find their perfect holiday destination on their smart phone, the importance of having a mobile version of your website increases with each and every day.

Mobile visits now account for 31% of all website traffic and it is estimated that around 27million people in the UK access the internet through their mobile every day.

Google wants your site to have a mobile version

Google has announced it will start penalising websites that are not mobile-friendly from April 21 2015. If you consider that your site could rank much lower than a competitors for 30% of your traffic this move could have a large impact on booking enquiries.

*Tourism Statistics courtesy of Visit England.

If you have any comments to add to our post on Key Trends for Holiday Homeowners please leave a comment below.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to holiday letting owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help provide you peace of mind as a holiday homeowner, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

April 23, 2015/2 Comments/by admin

Ten Event Tourism Tips to increase Holiday Home Bookings

Holiday Home Marketing

Ever wondered how to make more of events and use them to increase bookings? Here are our top ten event tourism tips to increase holiday home bookings by making the most of festivals and cultural events in the locality of your holiday letting property.

Is there a Facebook page or group for the event?

If it’s a large event and you can find an official Facebook page you’ll undoubtedly be on to a winner. It’ll be packed full of people either interesting in, or actively looking to attend the event.

Where will they be staying?

Consider asking the administrators of the group or page if they’re happy for you to promote your accommodation.

Share event content to your own page

Those that have already liked your Facebook page will be interested in your cottage; why not give them another reason to stay by sharing content from local event groups and pages?

It gives you great content and may entice them to make that booking they’ve been thinking about!

It’ll also ensure you never get stuck for content ideas!

Get Re-Tweeting!

The same applies to Twitter. Those following your account are already interested in what you have to offer; could a brilliant event push them from tempted to booking?

Remember that Twitter moves quickly; don’t be afraid to frequently tweet about an event, as if it’s just one tweet, it’s destined to be lost in the Twitter noise!

If the event has a hashtag be sure to include this whenever you’re talking about the event in order to increase your reach even further!

Consider talking to the event organisers

This could potentially open up new promotional avenues by gaining contact with people actively searching for information about the event (if you are able to featured on their website) and by utilising the event’s own database of contacts (if you are able to be included in email marketing or other direct marketing).

A link from their site will also give you targeted traffic and aid your search engine efforts.

Remember that in terms of timing you’ll need to be doing this well in advance of the event itself.

Is there information on your website?

Consider having a page on your website that has information about the event.

Try to make this as informative as possible; how far are you from the event? Will they be able to walk or will they need to drive? Is there parking? What time are things happening and who is appearing?

Also ensure that the page title has the name of the event contained within it; this will help you rank in Google when people are searching for that event.

Maximise the exposure!

Don’t just have a page! Make sure you also include information within your blog; why not give regular updates on local events for your visitors?

Adding relevant, fresh and frequent content to your website will also keep visitors and Google happy. Having this on your blog and a dedicated page will make sure they see it!

Have you included that information in your e-shots?

The only issue with adding great content about events is that you’re relying on people visiting your site in order to find it.

Email marketing is a great way to create year-round contact with potential visitors. Ensure you include your latest event information each time you send your emails; it may be the nudge that someone needs to make a booking.

Email signatures

Email marketing isn’t all about Mail Chimp or sending beautifully branded emails to potential visitors. Many of us will send in excess of 50 standard emails each day.

Do you promote local events in your email signature?

If not you could be missing out on repeat promotion and engagement with potential email enquiries.

Considered advertising?

Have you looked at the potential Cost Per Click (CPC) of advertising to those searching for the event? Researching this is quick, easy and free to do. Simply register for an Adwords account (no cost to register) and then use the Keyword Planner to access how many people are searching and how much it would cost for you to advertise.

Make a week of it!

Many events will take place over a single day. A single night in peak months this will obviously be unappealing to many holiday homes. Make sure you think of ways in which you can integrate the event into their week; could you perhaps team up with event organisers to offer your guests reduced admission?

If you have any advice to add to our top Ten Event Tourism Tips to increase Holiday Home Bookings please leave a comment below.

April 20, 2015/0 Comments/by admin

Film and TV tourism boosting bookings for holiday lets on location

Holiday Home Marketing

When the romantic and swashbuckling television costume drama Poldark returned to our screens not many of the millions of viewers would have been thinking about a 65% spike in visits to the local tourism website, the largest since Cornish sailor Ben Ainsley made his way through the Duchy clasping the Olympic torch a little over three years ago.

It does however add to an ever-growing trend; more and more of us are now visiting the historic sites, stately properties and locations we see on our television screens each and every week.

With many venues now open to the public, filming locations have become a firm favorite with visitors and a driver of tourism; are you taking advantage of these opportunities for Film and TV tourism boosting bookings for holiday lets?

Where is Film and TV tourism boosting bookings for holiday lets on location?

Don’t know where your favorite programmes are filmed?

We take a look at some of the most popular around the country:

Downton Abbey – Highclear Castle – Berkshire

With a global audience in excess of 120 million, Highclear Castle in Kent has seen something of a rebirth since the crew of Downton Abbey arrived on their doorstep in 2010. The castle needed more than £11 million in repairs prior to filming; it now attracts 1,200 visitors a day.

Alnwick Castle – Harry Potter – Northumberland

The worldwide success of the Harry Potter franchise ensured that the young Hogwarts pupil not only wove his magic in the classroom but also on the local tourism industry. Visit Britain estimate an extra £9 million has been pumped into the local economy by visitors to Alnwick Castle, which played host to the Quidditch games.

Broadchurch – Somerset and Dorset

The sight of former time lord David Tennant and critically acclaimed Olivia Coleman solving crime in Clevedon, Portishead and West Bay, has seen searches for accommodation in Somerset and neighboring Dorset soar by more than 200%

Doc Martin – Port Isaac – Cornwall

The picturesque village of Port Isaac in Cornwall was home to the long running Doc Martin series starring Martin Clunes for more than a decade. As a result, many visiting Cornwall now see the location as a key feature on their to-do list.

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens – The Forest Of Dean

Forest scenes for the latest Star Wars blockbuster were shot at Puzzlewood in Coleford. The Forest of Dean and Wye Valley have played a vital role in other major film and TV productions including; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which featured Coppett Hill and Dr Who filmed at Clearwell caves. The Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism Association has devised an online trail with the aim of reeling in an additional £35m of visitor revenue over three years. The interest created by the website visitdeanwyefilm.co.uk will no doubt generate a welcome boost by way of additional holiday cottage bookings in the area.

Various Programmes – The Historic Dockyard – Chatham – Kent

With Meryl Streep becoming the latest in a long list of stars to begin filming in Kent, The Historic Dockyard is perhaps the most prolific venue featured on our list. The location has played host to shows including Mr Selfridge, Les Miserables, Sherlock Holmes and Call the Midwife.

The site now supports more that 500 jobs and contributes in excess of £16 million to the local economy each year.

Are you taking advantage?

If you’re holiday home is situated near a popular filming location, are you marketing it and encouraging these visitors to stay with you?

Here’s our film-set marketing checklist:

Have you got a page on your website dedicated to the local film set? (Top Tip: Ensure you include the television programme name in your page title to increase your search engine visibility).
Do you also add content to your blog about the television programme in order to increase the chances of the information being seen by visitors? (Top tip: Consider phrasing your post as “Where is XX filmed?” – this gains high levels of search volume for television programmes and will bring more traffic to your site)
Do you know when the next series will begin and do you have a plan in place?
Do you tweet about the location and other things to do in your local area?
Do you share information about the location and other things to do in your local area on your Facebook page?
Have you sent information about the local venue and how close you are to previous guests? This can be particularly effective when the series is being shown on television.
Do you have offers or discounts on admission you are able to give guests?
Do you have up to date information on admission, opening dates and times, how to get there, where to eat and how to make a day of it for your guests?

If you have any thoughts or experience of Film and TV tourism boosting bookings for holiday lets please leave a comment below.

March 19, 2015/0 Comments/by admin

Digital Trends and Tips to Increase Holiday Let Bookings

Holiday Home Marketing

The online world never stands still; here’s our top ten digital trends and tips to increase holiday let bookings to help your holiday home business stay ahead of the game in 2015.

Content remains a key to your holiday home marketing

The last few years have seen an explosion in the use of the term ‘content marketing’. What does it really mean to a holiday home? Creating content that your visitors want to hear about, which will engage their interests and encourage them to book with you. The more of this information you’re creating in 2015 the more you’ll be benefiting.

Competing against the noise – building buying personas

The key to great content is creating information that is both relevant and engaging to your visitors. This is inherently linked to understanding whom it is that wants to stay with you, and as a result, the information they need and want to know.

In order to stand out from the increasing amounts of content being generated by your competitors you need to ensure everything you do is relevant.

Write down who it is that stays with you; how old are they, do they have children? what are their interests?

Once you have this, build your content around their needs and interests.

Give them your local knowledge

Not sure what to write about or struggling for content ideas?

48% of visitors will use their phones to find local attractions and restaurants during their stay. Give them that information and let them know everything your local area has to offer.

Mobile continues to grow

25% of all smartphone owners will book using their smartphone in 2015.

50% of all tablet owners will book using their device in 2015.

If your site isn’t responsive or mobile friendly you’re missing out on an increasing number of bookings. It’s a trend that’s here to stay so it may be the time to invest and embrace.

Make sure your site is quick!

If more visitors are booking on mobile, more will also be searching on wireless networks and on 3G or 4G technology. This puts an added emphasis on website speed, particularly when your conversion rate can drop by more than 55% if it takes the page more than 5 seconds to load.

New promotional avenues

The ways in which we promote holiday homes is changing; the static brochure website is now a thing of the past, with 3D Tours, drone photography, video guides and a whole host of other promotional avenues now available.

Remember that your visitors will want to enjoy a blend of content; mix it up and gain some variety in how you showcase your holiday home.

Engage on Social Media

Traditionally social media activity has focused on gaining bookings (before stay) and maintaining relationships (after stay). With 75% of visitors now updating their Facebook profile whilst on holiday there is a growing opportunity to engage with current occupants of your holiday home and to effectively amplify the great time they’re having.

Remember, there is no more credible source of information on your holiday home than the person staying in it. Which brings us on to reviews.

Online reviews continue to get bigger

Love them or loathe them, review sites now play an ever increasing impact on destination decisions; 88% of visitors consult reviews before making a booking and half say that they are the greatest influence on their final booking choice.

Managing your online reviews, using them in marketing and replying diligently and quickly to them will need to be a growing part of your online strategy in 2015.

Remember: 97% of people reading a review will believe it to be valid and accurate.

Is PPC worth it?

Travel accounts for nearly 10% of all Pay Per Click advertising. In an increasingly competitive search engine marketplace advertising still presents a good return on investment. More and more holiday homes and other accommodation providers will turn to advertising in 2015, and many, when implemented correctly and appropriately, will see results.

Email – the year round relationship

There’s a reason that for every £1 spent on email between £10 and £20 is generated in revenue. For holiday homes this will continue to play a big role in gaining year round contact in the most seasonal of businesses.

Use it to your advantage; gain regular contact and encourage repeat visits.

If you have any thoughts or experience of other digital trends and tips to increase holiday let bookings please leave a comment below.

March 10, 2015/0 Comments/by admin

Top tips for photographing your holiday home

Holiday Home Marketing

If a picture really is worth a thousand words, what is your holiday home photography saying about your holiday letting property? In a marketplace in which decisions are increasingly made quickly and online can you afford for those words to be the wrong ones?

We take a look at things to consider when photographing your holiday home, and provide a few top tips along the way.

When was the last time you updated the photography on your holiday home website?

When we’ve got a favorite photo it can sometimes be hard to say goodbye. However, like all of us and as much as we try to resist, photography does age so it’s important to make sure your photos are always up to date, just like the rest of your content. What impression does it give to the person visiting your website if it’s not kept fresh and updated from time to time?

Prepare the room

Preparation is key. Allocate time for preparing your holiday home before you take photos. Plump the cushions, clear the clutter, dust the drawers; whatever it may be your cottage should be looking its best before you start shooting.

Look at the lighting

Lighting; a cameraman’s best friend and the biggest challenge you’ll come up against when photographing inside your holiday home. Get it right and a room remains bright and breezy, get it wrong and that lovely room can quickly descend to dark and dingy.

If you’re taking photos during daylight hours the light inside a room can be anything up to eight times darker than the natural light outside of your holiday home.

There are different views as to whether the best photos are taken with the lights on or the lights off; if you are in a darker room ensure all of the lights in the property are on. This will make the room look inviting and warmer, along with filling in any areas that may be particularly dark, such as corners of your room.

If the room is blessed with natural sunlight try photographing without artificial light; take a look at the results and only then revert to internal lighting if you feel the room looks too dark.

The best time of the day to take your photos

Whilst you’ll want as much light as possible to take your photos, as far as photography is concerned, not all light was created equal. Too much and you’ll risk making the bright areas of your room too bright and the dark areas even darker; this is called over-exposure.

To avoid this issue it is best to steer clear of times of the day when sunlight is shining directly into the room.

Adding photos to your website

The bigger the file size of your photos, the longer it will take for your website pages to load. This can be annoying for visitors, who’ll be left waiting, and is also a ranking factor for Google, meaning it could have a direct impact on where your website appears on the search engine.

When you add photos to your website make sure they’re not too large. If a professional photographer has taken them for you ensure you ask for web ready versions to use on your site.

If you’re unsure of the size your photos need to be, speak with your website developers, who’ll be able to guide you not only on the best size to fit that particular page.

We look forward to seeing your new photos and hope they do your property the justice it deserves!

If you have any thoughts or experience of photographing your holiday home for best effect please feel free to leave a comment below.

February 25, 2015/0 Comments/by admin

How embracing culinary tourism can boost bookings

Holiday Home Marketing

Great food, fine wine, a relaxing atmosphere; these are things that many visitors will be looking to enjoy in local pubs and restaurants during their stay.

The food and drink industry has long been synonymous with tourism and as the burgeoning reputation of British gastronomy continues to rise it’s a synergy that seems certain to stay.

So, are you utilising local eateries to the fullest advantage when looking to secure bookings and add value for your visitors?

If not, we introduce to you the concept of ‘culinary tourism’ and how embracing culinary tourism can boost bookings for your self-catering holiday home, especially in low or off peak seasons.

What is ‘culinary tourism’?

Culinary tourism depicts the rising importance of food and drink to your visitors.

Envisage a nation of food lovers, spurred on by the increased popularity of celebrity master chefs and bake-offs, now actively searching for the vest best food and drink in your area.

They’re not only looking for great food, they want an experience, a memorable meal, a fantastic feast.

Food now plays a vital role in their destination decision; all of your visitors will eat at least three times a day and more often than not, many of these meals will take place away from your holiday home.

Are you promoting the culinary excellence in your area?

The celebrity chefs in town

It’s no coincidence that many celebrity chefs have opened restaurants in popular tourism areas. Here are just a few examples to whet your appetite:

Rick Stein: Padstow, Falmouth, Porthleven, Newquay in Cornwall. Winchester in Hampshire. Sandbanks in Dorset
Nathan Outlaw: Rock and Port Isaac in Cornwall
Mitch Tonks: Dartmouth, Devon
Shaun Hill: Legendary chef at the Walnut Tree Inn, Llanddewi Skirrid on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales
Galton Blackiston: Morston Hall, near Blakeney, Norfolk

If your holiday home is near any of these locations, are they on your website, in your welcome pack, highlighted in your social media activity?

The very best eateries are usually the most popular; if they are likely to need advanced booking do you highlight this during your own booking process to ensure visitors don’t miss out?

Promoting local food and drink – do your research

You’ll always want to be sure of the quality of the food and drink you’re promoting which makes doing your research essential, particularly if you live a good distance from your holiday home and are not familiar with the lay of the local culinary land.

Try visiting a selection, and also ask your guests to recommend and share where they’ve eaten on social media during their stay. Remember, almost 8 out of 10 guests will update their Facebook status during their holiday and this will often be related to food and drink.

It’s not just restaurants and pubs

The fantastic thing about food is that we’ll all want to enjoy something different; and that will change from day to day and even mood to mood.

Highlight a full range of options; from farm shops and family friendly pubs to romantic venues and great gluten free menus. Not forgetting the annual food festivals that are increasing in popularity throughout the UK.

Are there low season promotions?

Teaming up with local eateries can be a great way to get people through the door in the winter and lower occupation periods. Are they able to offer a promotion to people staying in your holiday home? If they are ensure you use all of your promotional tools to make sure potential guests know.

Where to promote?

All of the following should be used in your promotional armory;

Website – consider having a specific section for local food and drink. You can also update your blog with the latest menus (great for special events such as Valentines Day and Easter).
Welcome pack – ensure a good range of options are readily available and that menus and information are kept up to date.
Social media – Promote the local food and drink industry on your Facebook Page and Twitter feed; you’ll find the more you promote them the more this will be potentially reciprocated.

If you have any thoughts or experience of how embracing culinary tourism has boosted bookings for your self-catering holiday home please leave a comment below.

February 19, 2015/0 Comments/by admin

A win-win strategy for entering tourism awards

Holiday Home Marketing

Tourism awards; they come around each and every year, so if you’re yet to enter your holiday home and it could have been a winner do you really know what you’re missing out on?

Here’s our look at some of the ways in which a tourism award submission or win could give your holiday home a valuable boost.

Time to take a step back

No matter which award you’re entering it should be a period of evaluation, reflection and a time to focus.

What is it that makes your holiday home great? What could make it even better?

Life as a holiday homeowner can be a busy one, particularly during peak season. Award submissions should give you the chance to focus your thoughts and do the research that may have otherwise been left to the bottom of the pile. During this process you’ll rediscover what makes your holiday home or cottage special, you will no doubt pick up on aspects that you’ll want to improve for the future, all part of a win-win strategy for entering tourism awards.

Reviewing your current activity, looking at previous winners and thinking about what it is the award judges are looking for and why, should all give you the information from which to make your property even better and more attractive to visitors.

Get great PR

It’s difficult to put a monetary value on appearing in newspapers and magazines but the undeniable fact is that the more people that are aware of your holiday home and it’s pedigree, the better.

An award win or shortlisting will put your property firmly in the shop window.

Get a search engine boost

Your search engine rankings will also stand to gain from your newfound publicity. Links from other websites do still play a role in how your site performs on Google, meaning that when your holiday home is featured on award sites and other publications you’ll be gaining an online advantage over your competitors.

Charge higher rates

It stands to reason that if something is of demonstrable higher quality, we’ll be willing to pay more for it. Think of the impact the ‘award winning’ banner could have on your chargeable rate.

Increase conversion

Award wins are a great source of credibility for your holiday home. If someone visiting your website can see that you’ve won awards for your accommodation they’ll know right off the bat that what they’re getting is good.

If a choice needs to be made between two very similar holiday cottages, the award winner may well get the booking.

Get advice from specialists

Awards will usually be judged by a panel of experts, meaning that entering can provide an opportunity to gain feedback and consultancy advice from specialists in their field.

Whether it’s online marketing, PR, general tourism and destination management or a whole host of other industries, their advice and feedback should give you ideas on where you can further improve.

Speak to others in the industry

Awards give you the opportunity to spend time with others in the industry. This should allow you to share knowledge, to chat with tourism business owners dealing with exactly the same issues that you are, and to find how they have dealt with them.

Knowing and understanding how others have navigated issues and added value to their own business can be a significant asset in developing your own offering. Developing a strategy to enter your holiday home business for tourism awards will be a win-win outcome whatever your final result.

We wish all of our holiday homeowners the very best of luck with their tourism award submissions!

February 2, 2015/0 Comments/by admin