No Jokes About Vacation Rentals
I caused an argument on the laymyhat vacation rental forum yesterday. I’m sorry – it’s my fault for trying to help! I suggested that owners should blog about interesting subjects around their property, including (but not limited to) funny stories about guests.
A couple of people took this the wrong way and said it was inappropriate to poke fun at guests.
That wasn’t the point. Here’s my view:
1. Adding a blog to your vacation rental website is a great way to build interest and personality (and pages) to your website and online presence. You can blog about the area, about tourist attractions, special offers, or updates to your property. Oh, and you could also tell the story about the guest who complained that your Florida place was too hot in the summer.
2. Feel free to be funny anywhere you like on your website. People remember when they laugh. Humor helps to break down barriers and shows you are a real human. Keep it clean and don’t overstep the mark though. If you are not naturally funny, this might be a risky approach.
So which place would you rent? The one with a website with a few pictures and some descriptions of the rooms? Or the one which also had the author’s blog which told you all about the area and some of the great experiences they’d had working with guests?
I know which one I would choose!
You can share a copy of this post on your own website provided you include a link back to the original. Happy reading!
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December 31st, 2008 at 4:40 am
I’m on my way to Lay My Hat right now!
Your idea about having a blog is spot on. I’ve been promoting this thought to my owners for a while. It’s a great opportunity to talk about what’s going on in your location, and to present another perspective on your property. I love the humor idea too. We had a guest who called us after spending an hour looking for the well because he wanted some drinking water. Our cottage guide says that ‘water is drawn from a well and is excellent for drinking’. What we neglected to say was that this water came out of the kitchen faucet! I guess we thought that might be obvious.
December 31st, 2008 at 8:49 am
Hi Heather – I think many owners are put off from adding a blog because they feel it is too complicated. You can go the simple route and just create a separate blog at wordpress.com or at blogger – there’s a good selection of themes but it won’t be integrated into your site. If you want something that fits into your site then the ‘.org’ version of wordpress works really well. I use it on all my blogs, including this one!
May 24th, 2009 at 1:53 am
Dr Richard,
I find that most people at LMH are very sensitive to how things are done and do not want to change. I have been on that forum a few times and either met with total silence or treated as though I was not all there. Sorry this is not a flame against all members of LMH as I know there are a few good people.
You made an excellent point and more gite owners must embrace blogs if there are to stand out and get bookings. So far, most owners have enjoyed good booking rates with out putting in the effort where the web is concerned. However, with the economic climate as it is and more and more escaping to try holiday rentals/vacations businesses, competition is going to be tough.
Cheers – Bob