For many vacation rental companies, the high season is coming to an end and the prep for the 2015 season is beginning. This is often a slow time of the year for bookings, so it’s more important than ever to remain top-of-mind with vacationers as they make their plans for next year. Doing so can be as simple as staying in touch with your leads and past renters via email throughout the fall and winter. By emailing them helpful content throughout the year, you’ll encourage them to choose your company when they are ready to book again. Vacation rental companies can use marketing automation tactics to achieve this. Not sure how you can use this process to improve your pre-season booking results? Here are some examples your company can implement quickly.

• Provide helpful information about your area. This includes things to do, tips for vacationing and other great content that will keep your company top of mind when it is time to book their vacation.
• Provide proper content to your target audiences. Segmenting your leads based on their interests can be the difference between a booking and the lead going with another company.  If a visitor downloads an eBook focused on family-oriented activities, following up with more family-focused information would be more beneficial than sending information regarding your local nightlife. 
• Provide more detailed information as time goes on. When a visitor downloads content from your website for the first time, it is best to ask for very generalized information in your lead capture form. You want to obtain their name and email, and ask one other qualifying question in exchange for generalized vacation-related content. When you send them follow-up content offers, you can ask more detailed questions in lead capture forms, such as, “Do you prefer a single-family vacation home or a condo?” That way, when you eventually send them an email with your available homes, you know exactly what type of homes to provide.

Using these tips and tactics will help your vacation rental company continue to be top of mind with vacationers and ensure them that you are the expert for vacationing in the area. Nurturing their experience with your company can improve the likelihood of early bookings, allowing you to focus on other marketing needs. Have more questions about how you can improve your vacation rental marketing experience? Check out our blog and learn more tips and tricks to improve today.