This time of year is not always looking fully booked. Don’t panic! Sometimes that's not a bad thing if you've been really busy over the summer, and you need a bit of a rest or perhaps you're just looking for new ways to get those bookings for this off peak time. So let's talk this through…
Topics discussed:
Marketing when you’re busy
That calendar will not stay fully booked
It’s not too late to get those low season bookings
What not to do
Emailing previous guests
Getting an email list started
Adding extra value for guests
Emailing vs. posting more on social media
Being invited into your ideal guest’s home through their inbox
Ep#17 - From high season to low season – how to increase your bookings
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Or maybe you're just looking for new ways to get those bookings for this peak time. So let's talk it through, okay? What marketing did you do throughout the summer? Were you thinking of these more lean months to come when you were fully booked or were you just too busy to give it much thought?
Now there's no judgment here. None at all. Marketing is something that needs some lead time. It isn't a silver bullet that you can launch at the last minute to save the day. We must remember not to give up marketing when looking at a fully booked calendar. That calendar will not stay fully booked.
I had a client who once came to me asking for help increasing their direct bookings. So we worked together, putting in the foundations of what she needed to do, and the booking started to roll in. Okay. It was working well. However, she was done once the summer calendar had been booked up.
She couldn't see past the fully booked summer months. We stopped working together. Her marketing activity completely dried up, and I bet her next season of bookings did as well. This is definitely what not to do. However, it's not too late if we have taken our eye off the marketing ball during this busy time.
Perhaps you're staring at an empty calendar for the autumn and aren't sure what to do. Now, don't stress, and don't get angry with yourself. You'll know next year not to let your marketing slip. So let's start with what not to do before you panic. Don't discount. Don't post your empty dates on social media.
Don't sit in Facebook groups jumping on any post of somebody wanting to stay in your area. Don't beg for bookings, and don't give nights away for peanuts. If you are tempted to do any of those things, stop. Stop and listen. Those are activities of a business that does not know its worth.
Those are the activities of someone who has no idea what to do next and is just throwing a bunch of mud at the wall, hoping that some of it will stick. Instead, let's look at something that you can be doing. Let's look at your past guests. Now. I'm going to hope you have an email list already started. I'm closing my eyes and crossing my fingers, hoping you have been emailing them regularly.
Okay, I've opened my eyes. If either or both of those things aren't true, don't worry. All you need to get started is a list of your previous guests, email addresses, and some way of emailing them. Let's look at your last guests as fans. They had a great stay. They left beautiful reviews. Now, perhaps they would like to come back.
If you haven't been emailing them, now is the time to start. We want to rekindle that relationship you might have had with them when they stayed. Tell them you were there and how now is the perfect time to return to stay. What can we do about this? Let's look at events on in your area. Look at the seasonal activities guests could do while staying there.
Think about why they would want to come now or when you have these periods of no bookings. And then tell them about it. Look at your calendar and see what's upcoming. Look at what else you could maybe offer them. Something of extra value would you be able to add in an evening meal, a tour of a local area, or maybe just some DVDs and some popcorn for a night in?
Adding extra value could just make that person want to book. If you were already emailing your previous guests regularly, the holes in your calendar would be easier to fill. However, not all hope is lost if you haven't been. Just get on it now. A phrase, A business coach once sent me was imperfect.
Action. This has stuck with me. Just get it done. Don't wait until everything is perfect. Just get it done. I’m perfect. Action. Why am I speaking about emailing your past guests and not posting on social media more? That might be a question you were asking yourself. As you listen to me, think about social media.
Only a fraction of your followers on social media see your posts, and most will be too busy scrolling and looking at cute dog videos to pay attention to what you are posting. Email marketing is so powerful. Email marketing is probably the best form of marketing there is. You are sending an email right to a natural person. Those on your list have asked to hear from you. They want to hear from you. I think of it as being invited into their home through their inbox.
Email is a way that you can build a real relationship with your subscribers. Now I'm not talking about sending sales emails out. Okay? You know, we've had a cancellation book now book. Now here are the dates we're free. Nobody wants those. You probably delete them from your inbox. So let's not put any more sleazy, salesy stuff out there.
If you've been emailing your list for a while and have a cancellation, then your email list should be the first place you go, and you can say, Look, we've had this last-minute cancellation. Does anybody want it? However, if you have not been emailing anyone and suddenly start bombarding them with, you know, this week's free, this week's free, they're going to be hitting unsubscribe fast.
Let's send emails with a value that your guests want to read about instead. Deal. Deal. That's a phrase that my daughter loves. She loves to say Deal, and I have to say deal back. So let's try that. Deal. Deal. I will speak more about email marketing in the next couple of episodes.
Next week I'm going to share why and how you should be building not one but two email lists. So join me for that and don't panic. Just come back and hear more about that next week. In the meantime, come and join my free Facebook group. It is called The Marketing Hub for Holiday and Short-Term Rental.
There are marketing tips there, and it's a friendly group of people all working towards the same goal of more direct bookings. I go live in the group once a month in a sort of like ask me anything type session, and this month we spoke about email marketing, so come and check it out if you'd like. There will be a replay in the group. Just search for the marketing hub for holiday and short-term rentals on Facebook. It is a free group. I'll put a link in the show notes as well.I look forward to seeing you there.
