If you want to grow your short-term rental business but feel confined to the limits of the Airbnb platform, you need an Airbnb host website. For a thriving Airbnb business, vacation rental marketing outside of the platform is a must!
There is no denying the colossal size and growing success of Airbnb. At the end of 2015, around 35% of consumers had heard of the popular home-sharing website.
According to experts, around 190 to 200 million nights will be booked on the platform in 2017, to the booking value of around $18 million – and this isn’t likely to decline anytime soon.
After travelers have tried a site like this once, their preference for hotels decreases by almost 50%. And when hosts started jumping on, they just published their listings on Airbnb. It was simple, and they didn’t think about needing an Airbnb host website.
The one problem with Airbnb
While Airbnb opens up endless possibilities for your rental to be seen by millions of users around the globe each day. However, it also inevitably pits you against your direct competition in your area or city.
That’s why besides being an Airbnb host, vacation rental owners should be thinking carefully about their overall Airbnb marketing strategy. Having an Airbnb host website is a great one.
Sure, you can play around with the Airbnb SEO and Airbnb personalization. But you’re still confined to Airbnb when there’s so much more opportunity.
Related Post: Rankbreeze Review: Optimize Your Airbnb Rankings & Search Visibility
Other opportunities for Airbnb hosts
Without a doubt, the biggest mistake Airbnb hosts make is limiting themselves and solely relying on this platform. In the long run, Airbnb fees can take their toll – those 3% (+VAT) host service fees start to add up, and there’s no knowing if these fees will increase as the site grows even bigger. Why stick to only one platform when you can have your own Airbnb host website?
Cutting out the “Airbnb middleman” can present successful hosts with a great business opportunity which will help them become more independent, establish their brand and diversify their booking channels.
But, how can they do this?
That’s where a little something called a professional Airbnb host website comes in.
I grew my Airbnb business to 6 figures using these 6 tools.
Why do you need an Airbnb host website?
Airbnb is a fantastic channel to use to acquire bookings. But it doesn’t have to be the “be-all and end-all” of your business. Having your own Airbnb host website can give you a lot of freedom to run your vacation rental your own way – with your rules, no one else’s.
1. An Airbnb host website is an online business card
Imagine you’ve struck up a conversation with a stranger and the topic moves to what you do for a living. Once you’ve explained you’re a vacation rental owner and the locations of your properties, it turns out they’re actually interested in staying in your cabin in Vermont.
They want to take your business card to check out more details online, but you don’t have one handy. What URL are you going to give them? A website is a perfect place to direct interested guests. It’s much more preferable than a generic Airbnb URL with all those numbers that could easily be mistyped. You can create a custom Airbnb web address to send them to your specific website.
2. It creates credibility and reputation
In 2020, businesses have websites – period. So if you’re a serious rental host, a professional website is a must to build up an online reputation and credibility for your company.
On your website, not only can you show off your reviews from platforms like Airbnb, but you can also list your other awards and achievements with ease, such as Superhost, TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, expert endorsements or any media mentions. All of these features build credibility.
3. It gets you more bookings
These days, guests compare prices across a lot of websites. If you’ve mentioned your brand name on Airbnb, then a guest types it into Google and can’t find your Airbnb host website, you could lose the booking.
If they find it and see your rates are even just a teeny tiny bit cheaper because it’s away from Airbnb, however, that’s another story!
Additionally, what about guests who want to go back to your place for a repeat visit? Giving them your Airbnb custom URL will prevent them from paying extra Airbnb fees. That’s an even bigger incentive to solidify the booking!
4. It gives you total freedom
Airbnb is great for listing the basics – amenities, a few photos and a description of your home. But there’s no customization factor, so your personality and brand can’t shine through its standardized template.
However, with your own website, you can add as many photos and as much text you like. Plus as many extras you feel are necessary (guest books, local guides, extra services, partnerships and so on). What’s more, you can completely personalize the colors and fonts to match the branding of your rental company – a feature that listing sites don’t yet provide.
Why Lodgify is the perfect vacation rental website builder for your Airbnb host website
There are plenty of things to think about before choosing one vacation rental website builder or another. You’ll want to compare the costs you’ll incur, the features it has and how easy it is to use.
Costs
With software like Lodgify, the only payment you have to worry about is your monthly or yearly subscription fee. That means no extra booking charges, commissions, one-off set-up fees or software update costs. The contract can be canceled at any time if no longer needed. Plus, there is a special offer of 20% off yearly subscriptions or 25% off biyearly plans. Single property plans start from just $22 per month.
Features
The main features and functions your vacation rental website builder needs are:
- A booking engine
- Ability to accept credit card payments
- Mobile-friendliness
- SEO and social media integration
- Edit anytime capability
- Review showcasing
- A reservation system
- A central inbox to manage inquiries and bookings
- Payment scheduling and management
- Good and reliable customer support.
Lodgify has all these features and much more. You can even try it for free for 14 days.
Ease of use
Creating a website is no longer a complicated ordeal. Lodgify has 30+ ready-made mobile-responsive templates. It’s literally just three steps to make your website.
Creating your own website using a specialized vacation rental software makes your business more enjoyable. Lodgify’s innovative website builder, reservation system and channel manager have been designed to work together. They give you the freedom to run your vacation rental business exactly the way you want.
Special offer: Try Lodgify for free or get 10% off your subscription
I grew my Airbnb business to 6 figures using these 6 tools.
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