The Market has Changed…Winging Your Marketing is No Longer an Option

You're listening to Get Fully Booked with Sarah Orchard.

Are you ready to master your marketing so you can ditch your reliance on the online agents and grow your direct bookings?

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Hi, and welcome back to the Get Fully Worked podcast.

I'm your host, Sarah Orchard.

It's great to have you here today.

So if you're a new listener, don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode.

Today we're talking about something that I think every host needs to hear.

Right now.

The market has changed and winging your marketing is no longer an option.

If you've noticed that bookings are coming in later, people seem to have more choice than ever and your usual marketing tactics don't seem to be cutting it.

You're not imagining it.

Today.

So grab a cuppa or listen up if you're out on doing a changeover or walking the dog, and we'll get started.

So, before I get into some sort of practical stuff, I thought it'd be good to share with you some statistics and some sort of data.

Yes, that's 30%.

So what does that mean?

So the booking window is the gap between when they book and when they stay.

And this used to sit typically around about sort of 70 days, but it had shortened as low as the high 40s.

In the UK, it does vary by market, so if you're listening in from another country, the data does vary, but the UK was actually one of the worst affected markets.

And why is that?

Well, obviously, post Covid, there's been a lot of uncertainty and I think economic uncertainty.

So guests are sitting, sitting on their hands a bit, so they're waiting longer than ever to book their stays and they're also browsing more options before making a decision.

So, you know, think about that for a second.

I mean, they're saying in the 50s but actually it's one to three weeks out from their stay, particularly for, you know, weekend breaks.

Now we typically with the hideout, with our tree house, we tend to find bookings coming in three to six months in advance.

But even we've noticed a shift in people's booking patterns.

So though we've got special occasions and people are coming, you know, to celebrate something special where they tend to book out a bit longer in advance.

Another exception to that rule is like people that are booking groups.

So if you've got a groups audience, have a listen to my episode, I think, think from memory it was 32 actually, where we talk about group bookings and you know, typically they can book up to, you know, nine to 12 months in advance because obviously they're coordinating a bigger group of people to get together to come away and that, and that does involve a bit more pre planning, so people are less sort of leaving it to the last minute.

But it does mean that the one big thing I think for you as a host is that you can't rely on just setting and forgetting your marketing or doing it on the fly.

You know, the game has changed and you know, to be successful you've got to be adapt too.

So we've got to change too.

So let's start with, you know, sort of the elephant in the room, I suppose, which is, which is the market itself.

And since the pandemic, we have seen a massive growth in accommodation supply, particularly in the US and the uk.

There's new Airbnbs, glamping sites, cabins, bell tents popping up like mushrooms.

Everyone's jumped in.

But that means that your potential guests have way more choice than ever before.

So people talk a lot about the market being saturated.

The data that I've seen from Key Data was suggesting that the US market was, was sort of fairly reaching saturation.

But the UK market and most of Europe, actually all of Europe that they report back on was not.

So I think I do tend to get a little bit upset when I see people talking, particularly maybe in the glamping sector where people talk about the fact that the market is saturated and, you know, there's no room for anyone else to come into the market.

Whether that's scare tactics to keep people out from setting up their businesses, I don't know.

But that's definitely not true based on the data.

But there is no denying that since the pandemic and in the last two to three years there has been a, you know, a massive growth in the supply of short term rental accommodation.

So that does mean that potential guests, you know, do have a lot more choice.

So what does that mean?

Well, it means they can be pickier, so they can spend more time comparing, looking at lots of different listings, scrolling through Instagram for inspiration.

They're going to check out reviews.

They're waiting often for deals because obviously consumers mind is that if there is more supply, that potentially they might be able to wait and get a discounted deal at the end.

And they delay their booking because they know they can know.

During the pandemic and that sort of 18 months after the pandemic, there was a real, like, when people weren't flying as much and they weren't traveling abroad, there was that real sense of people feeling like they had to book quickly, otherwise they were going to miss out.

Whereas now they don't feel that.

They know there's no rush and they have more than, you know, like maybe 10 beautiful places to choose from.

So there are still places that are maybe in higher demand and they get booked out further in advance.

But generally people feel like they can take their time.

So if your marketing still looks like it did two or three years ago with the same social posts, the same website content, and your approach really is that I'll post something when we have time, you're simply going to be invisible when it matters most.

So I think my key takeaway for you today is guests now take their time.

They shop around, they need to be nurtured and convinced.

And that means that your marketing has to be intentional, consistent and strategic.

You know, not on a whim, not when you get round to it because you're too busy.

So I want you to ask yourself and be really honest, are you showing up where those guests are looking?

So are you appearing in Google organic search results and obviously AI results now as well?

Because obviously Google has its AI generated answers.

And also there's loads of evidence that people are using more AI tools.

So have you gone on and seen, whether you come up in Claude or Gemini or ChatGPT, are you coming up in their inbox, Are you appearing in their social feeds or maybe as ads on their social platforms, are you getting in front of them?

And if you're honest, when did you last update your website?

Because Google and the AI tools will notice if you're putting fresh content on there, it gives them a reason to come back.

It gives them a reason to show, you know, have confidence in what they're presenting in search results or AI search results.

And are you giving them reasons to book now rather than later?

So are you making it imperative maybe with incentives or not so much financial incentives, but even like time incentives that they get something or, or they get some perk if they sign, you know, actually book by a certain date rather than just leaving it open ended.

You can use those techniques to not create FOMO but to create action.

Because people are always better at taking action when there is actually a deadline.

We're all, we're all the same.

It's like if it's open ended, we start looking.

And then I was doing this the other day, I was looking for some holiday stuff and then I got sidetracked and I've now forgotten what I was doing and I need to pick it up and go back to it.

So you know, we're all the same.

But if there had been an offer or some booking deadline, which is why if you look at some of the booking platforms, they'll say things like on booking.com or on.

I was on.

I think it was secret escapes and it was like literally like last two of these rooms available.

EasyJet do it with their flights.

There are so many people looking at this flight at this time or it was last booked within the so many hours that is creating fomo.

It's giving you a nudge to make you actually take action and book.

Now let's go on to my second point and let's talk about the sort of, we talked about the market, let's talk about the sort of late booking trend.

So if guests are booking closer to their stay dates, then your marketing needs to be working all the time, you know, not just when you remember to post or when you panic because you've spotted some gaps in your calendar and you've realized that it's two weeks out and you need to do something about it.

Too many hosts take a stop start approach to their marketing.

It's like, oh, I've got a few cancellations, I better post on Instagram.

Or like I said, I've spotted some gaps in my calendar or I better send out an email campaign because that reactive style just doesn't cut it anymore.

By the time you're scrambling to post, your ideal guests have already booked with someone else.

It's too late, you've missed the boat.

So instead you need an always on marketing system.

One that keeps you visible, nurtures interest and converts those lookers into bookers.

So how might that look for your marketing activity?

Well, you need to have email marketing.

This builds a relationship all year round.

You know, I talk about email marketing a lot.

If you check out some previous episodes in this podcast, you'll hear me talking about email marketing.

It is not dead.

It's definitely a very effective strategy of keeping you front of mind and it isn't for just when you need booking.

So send out that campaign monthly.

Make sure you're creating SEO friendly blogs that bring in steady traffic month after month.

Keep up that consistent social media presence with stories, reels and updates showing life and behind the scenes at your place or actually selling the guest experience and showing it.

And actually it was interesting.

We had some training in my membership, the Fully Book business club and we were looking at what's working on Instagram and how to measure the performance.

And the expert who I'd invited to come along was saying that, yeah, you just need to keep reposting the same stuff.

And I think we always feel like we need to keep creating fresh content, but it's not necessarily always different fresh content.

It exists even repurposing and reposting the same messages and the same content because people don't see it all the time.

We get bored with it far quicker than, than our audience does.

And we often forget because we're like, well, we need fresh stuff so we then don't get round to.

Or we do get around to doing it, but we possibly don't get around to doing it because we feel the pressure of like, well, I haven't got anything new to say, I haven't got any fresh images, so therefore I can't post on socials.

And actually, you know, we found, I found for the hideout that actually there's one or two elements of the experience that is our sweet spot and there's a few pieces of content that really sells that like our hero shots and video clips.

And actually it's a case of just keep on reusing that and it's performing really well.

And lastly, having a clear direct booking website that creates connection with your ideal guests and gives them both the confidence and an urgency to book.

So I mentioned about that if you've got limited number of rooms left or cottages left or bell tents left, you know, actually being able to sort of show them that like potentially they need to book now, otherwise they're going to miss out.

So you need to think of it like this.

If your marketing stops, you know, your visibility just drops immediately.

Marketing is, I always describe it as like the constant dripping tap and it fills your bucket.

And it's so true.

You know, marketing is it has to be consistent, but it also has to be constant.

And that doesn't mean that you have to have like A constant, huge workload.

It's just that small actions that drip feed.

And because, you know, with guests deciding in shorter time frames, you really cannot afford to disappear and go off of the radar.

They need to be prompted.

You know, they need to be reminded that you exist and that there's a great reason why they should come back and stay with you or stay with you for the first time.

So my advice is, if you've been winging it and only posting, say, like on social, when you get inspiration, it's time to get us a marketing strategy and an action plan and not just be crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.

My last point is that, let's face it, the truth is that many hosts have built their business in a completely different market.

Times have changed.

You know, competition is now fierce.

You know, maybe you launched during that post Covid staycation boom when, I mean, let's face it, bookings flew in like magic with minimal effort.

And you didn't need a polished brand, you didn't need an email list.

Probably nobody had a marketing plan.

You just needed to show off on Airbnb and the algorithm did its bit and you got bookings.

But, you know, the sad reality is that, you know, now that is over and, you know, even those hosts and businesses that had done very well on the Airbnb platform or other OTAs are finding it really tough.

So the hosts that will thrive in this sort of next phase really are the ones who treat their businesses like a proper business.

And that means that you do need to have a marketing plan.

You know, you do need to plan out what you're going to do, because if you don't plan, you know, a goal without a plan is just a wish.

And that is so true.

You know, if you think that you want your business to turn over X amount or you want to make so much profit and that's your goal, but you don't have a plan.

It is just a wish.

You know, you've got to actually make it happen.

And that means having a marketing plan so there's no longer winging it.

You need to build a brand that stands out, you know, not blending in with every other cabin, cottage or cute little hut.

You know, there is a lot more competition.

So you do need to invest in creating a branded guest experience.

And you also need to know what's working and Then make sure you repeat it.

And it's amazing the number of members and clients I talk to who hopefully when they're in my membership, actually, they, they this isn't the case.

But, you know, generally people that I speak to do not track or know what's working.

They don't know what marketing is working.

They don't know how much web traffic they're getting.

They don't know the sources of their bookings and particularly which ones are the top converting ones.

So you have no knowledge on which to base.

You know what you should be doing.

So maybe we just keep repeating the same things and getting the same results and wondering why it's because, you know, we need to know what's working so we can ditch the stuff that isn't serving you and actually keep repeating the stuff that's working really well.

So I think my biggest takeaway for you today is you don't need to do more marketing.

You just need to do the right marketing and have a strategy and a plan and be consistent.

But that's the exciting part because when you get strategic, you stop guessing and you start getting the results that you can actually predict and you can rely on.

So let's just do a quick recap of today's episode.

I hope you found it useful.

So the market has changed, guests have more choice and they're booking later.

That is the sad reality.

You need, number two, you need always on marketing that consistently and constantly builds relationships and trust.

And number three, you can't wing this anymore.

The future does belong to hosts with a marketing strategy and an action plan.

They are the ones that are going to be successful and also they're going to feel a lot less stressed because they know exactly what they're focusing on and what they're trying to deliver.

So if this episode has hit home for you today, it's a bit more of a downer one, really.

You know, I try and keep them upbeat, but you know, the market has changed and our guests have changed, so we need to change.

So if this episode has hit home with you and you're ready to stop guessing and start getting fully booked with a little more ease in your business and you'd like to find out how ready you are, I have a free quiz for you, the Direct Booking roadmap quiz.

So if you head to my website, get fully booked.com quiz or I'll put a link in the show notes, you can take the quiz.

You will get an immediate score of how your business stacks up and you'll also get a video report from me with some tips to help you improve and fix some of those leaks and gaps in your business.

So thanks for tuning in today.

I'll be back next week with my final solo episode of this season four.

I can't believe that the podcast episodes, we're just flying through them and I'll be looking at whether you should actually give that influencer a free stay, which is a really hot topic.

As always.

If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could leave me a review.

You know how much us hosts love those five star reviews.

I'll see you next week.

Thank you for listening to Get Fully Booked with Sarah Orchard.

If you want to see if you are ready to ditch the likes of Airbnb and grow your direct bookings, put your business to the test with my free Direct Booking Roadmap quiz.

Head to my website get fully booked.com quiz and let's get you more direct bookings and more profit in your pocket.

Sam.