How to Make Your Short Term Rentals Less Vanilla

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Hello.

Hello and welcome to the Get Fully Booked podcast.

I'm your host, Sarah Orchard.

So is your short term rental or Glampsite a little bit, shall we say, vanilla?

You know what I mean?

Nice, but a bit like everyone else.

So not memorable, not shareable, and not the kind of place that jumps out when someone's scrolling Airbnb with 27 tabs open.

So today we're diving into how to sprinkle in some flavour, personality and your own sort of oomph so that your place becomes the one that they can't stop thinking about.

So, for my first tip, I think I would look at wanting to create your own signature style.

So if you want to be more than just another lovely stay, you've got to give your place an identity.

So, you know, I am not an interior designer, I am not a stylist, but I do see a lot of the neutral everything, IKEA basics, and this even comes through to marketing.

Safe copy and paste captions.

Probably something that's been created by ChatGPT, so it just sounds like everyone else.

But what actually stands out for your guests?

It's quirky styling details.

Like, hello.

Some hot pink flamingo wallpaper in the bathroom.

That's always a surprise when you open the door.

I know that when we painted the back wall of our treehouse a really shocking shade of teal, and I think a lot of people thought we were a little bit mad, but it works and it's memorable and it creates really strong imagery.

We have a strong color palette or theme.

If you've got a theme, try and stick to it so that you're not completely eclectic and all over the place.

Also, think about the story behind your space, so people want to know why you do what you do, the story about how it came about.

So think of your short term rental or your glamping business like a boutique brand.

You're not a generic Hilton hotel room and this is how you really, really sort of stand out.

So, you know, think about some ideas of how you can bring that signature style to life.

If your place is, say, like a converted barn, you know, lean into that rustic luxe.

If you've got a beachside cabin, create that coastal retreat vibe.

If you're hosting in a city play with bold urban touches.

So this doesn't mean that you have to spend thousands on your interiors, but you.

You just need to be quite intentional about the direction that you take it and making sure that it aligns with your overall brand.

So, because your brand is not just about a logo, it's far more than that.

It goes into everything across the guest experience.

So, you know, everything from styling sense, sounds, storytelling.

There's so many different ways that we can create a strong branded guest experience.

Guests remember places that feel like someone has thought it through with a bit of creativity.

If it looks like you've just done a Dunelm or an Ikea dash, you know, it doesn't stand out.

And people do notice the details.

One of the things that we always get comments at the Hideout is the attention to detail.

And they know that we've tried to think of everything that they might possibly need in that particular space, and that's going to be particular to your particular type of property and your space.

But guests notice it and it goes a long way.

So I've got a bit of a fun stat for you.

Airbnb did a trends report, I think this was in 20, 23 or 24, and they commented that properties with strong design elements or themed interiors were booked up up to 40% more often than those without.

40% is a huge figure and it obviously, you know, it makes a difference.

So whether, you know, there's lots of different trends, but whether it's like cottage core with a twist or the Scandi Spa escape, we describe ours as Scandi luxe.

We also lent into the North American cabin because obviously there's a lot of a frame cabin.

So we tried to take it all the way through.

And obviously we're a hideout as well.

So we wanted everything to be a little bit more like seclusion, edgy.

We wanted to try and pull all that all the way through from.

From our branding to the interiors and the guest experience, and also, you know, the language that we use and how we talk to our guests.

So these things really do impact on your.

On your bottom line.

Second thing I'd say is about upgrading the guest experience.

So, you know, the visual vibe that you give out can get people to book, but ultimately, when they come and stay with you, it's the experience that gets them to, you know, leave reviews, recommend you to friends, decide to come back and stay again.

And here's where the sort of vanilla might creep in.

So you might have bland welcome packs, you might still be using like an old fashioned welcome package.

You're not giving personal recommendations in your own, like local insider, you know, knowledge and your own personality.

Into the recommendations that you give to your guests, you're sort of leaving them with a bit of a sort of figure it out for themselves.

So instead, try to think about a warm personal welcome message and you'll definitely get a bonus point if you write something handwritten for your guests, whether that's a chalkboard, a postcard, we have like branded greetings cards.

It gets noticed.

Do you have a physical or an interactive digital guest book which you've taken time and energy to put together your local tips?

Again, that really adds to the guest experience.

Are you leaving little surprises for them?

Maybe local treats, a mini cocktail kit?

I think I'd like to go and stay with you if you're doing that.

Or some local chocolate treats.

Doesn't have to be like high priced things, but those little surprises, those moments of delight that you have with guests do actually go a long way.

And also think about, you know, when the guests are with you, what will make their experience deeper and more, I suppose, special.

So like, if you've got an amazing deck with sunrises at your glamping site, you know, morning coffee on the deck with cosy throws.

It's amazing actually the number of glamping sites that I look at, it's mainly glamping sites, but they always have like amazing photography with all these lovely props and all these lovely throws and cushions and stuff.

And I've actually gone to stay in a few tree houses and other cabins to sort of look at how they do things.

And it's amazing the number of ones that we've stayed with that when you get there, none of that stuff's there.

And we make a real point of all of the stuff that features in our photography is actually in the hideout.

You know, cosy sheepskins and throws for the fire pit and cushions for the hammock and cushions to sit on on the outdoor chairs.

Even the like sheepskin rounds that go on the logs by the fire pit, you know, all of the accessories and styling things.

Obviously maybe not the food that was in the, you know, the styled shoot, but the glasses, all of the little details are actually in the hideout.

We didn't just put them in there for the photography.

So think about things like hot tub, can you add like fairy lights and maybe a branded, your own brand Spotify playlist and some and twinkly candles board games by the fire with hot chocolate and marshmallows.

We actually provide complimentary marshmallows because obviously.

And hot chocolate, you know, toasting marshmallows around the campfire, ideally not on my indoor bioethanol fireplace, which we encourage them not to do.

That actually is part of the experience.

We have vintage board games, so we've made a point of seeking things out that add to the guest experience.

So create moments that make guests feel special.

And I know it's easy to say that, but make them feel like that was so them, like so us.

That's what they want to be saying.

That's how you can shift from being sort of a bit vanilla to unforgettable.

And my last point is about speaking with your brand voice.

And this is where you can make a real shift from bland to what I might call grand.

Try and avoid the cliched messages.

If I've read Relax and Recharge on one glamping site, I've read it on like zillions.

And if I read it one more time, I'm going to scream.

Honestly, I see it so many times and it's just like everyone is saying the same thing.

There are different ways of saying it.

If you're struggling with this, take a listen to episode 10 where I I had a guest, Claire Robinson from Weekend Candy, and we debated the whole thing around brand and branding, but also how you create a branded guest experience.

So that that episode I think you'll find really interesting, but you definitely need to stand out and not blend in.

So if you're using language that everyone else is using, you are just going to look like everyone else.

Own it.

You know, own your messaging with your own personality and your brand voice and also speak to your ideal guest with the language that you use.

You know, I find that actually the Guestbook can be a really good source for finding the tone and the language that your guests use.

And that can be really interesting to play that back to them because the more you play that back to people in your marketing messaging, the more connection you're going to make with those ideal guests and you'll attract more of them and you'll attract them more easily as well, which is the key thing.

So just to wrap up, if you're, you know, worried that your short term rental or glamping business is a bit beige, I don't want you to panic.

So I want to give you this invitation to really like I love color.

So I want you to turn up the color dial and you've got my permission to do that.

It's like try not to just blend in with everyone else.

So a quick recap.

Think about picking a signature style or a story that runs through your short term rental and commit to it and be really focused on keeping consistent so that you're not too eclectic or erratic.

Upgrade the guest experience with thoughtful little touches.

You know, think about how you can align that, that style, that story and your brand all the way through the guest experience.

And lastly, own your brand tone of voice.

You know, definitely use different messaging.

Avoid the cliched expressions.

Try and avoid ChatGPT if you can.

It can be good for idea generation, but it's a great way of just sounding like everyone else and just blending in.

Remember, vanilla is fine, but you're not here to be bland.

You're here to be desirable by your ideal guests and booked.

Thanks for tuning in today.

That's all I've got for you today.

It's a short and sweet solo episode, but I'll be back with the last episode in series three.

I can't believe we're already at the end of series three.

And I have another amazing host, a lady called Charlotte Taylor from Secret Bolthole who came along and was sharing her experiences with me of coming off of Airbnb and growing her direct bookings to 100%.

So I hope you'll join me for that episode.

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 time.

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.

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