Blog

If someone asked you, “Want to make your life easier?” or, “Want to make more money?” no one in their right mind would say no, yet so many hosts forget to do these very things! What if we told you it was possible to do both at the same time? 

Why optimize your listing?

Simply put, you need to stay competitive in today’s confusing and saturated vacation rental market. In Eagle-Vail alone there are a few hundred active listings with some producing over $60,000 a year! Think optimization doesn’t apply to these hosts who are successful? Wrong. Those same successful hosts still could be missing out on serious revenue every single month. Even with a pretty listing, there are many operational aspects to any listing that can be improved or even automated. Wondering how? Let’s dive into some of the most effective ways.

How to optimize for VRBO

Optimization can be defined as, “the action of making the best or most effective use of a situation or resource.” (Merriam). In any host’s case, this really comes down to saving time and potentially even operating expenses. Luckily, as technology evolves year after year consumers are provided with more options to achieve the golden standard of performance. Some of these technologies could include using smart home tech, property management software, high resolution DSLRs, and more. Ultimately, these new options provide hosts with higher listing quality, automation, and cost cutting.

1. Listing Quality

The first optimization piece to focus on would be the quality of your VRBO listings! Have you ever gone to book a hotel or buy something but the pictures are blurry or pixelated? Often enough, hosts let good pictures slip by, leaving potential guests on the fence about the quality you provide. One of the easiest fixes is to take pictures with a good smartphone! A majority of phones in today’s market shoot pictures at 12 megapixels which is VRBO’s optimum resolution. If you want something even better, opt for a DSLR which often shoots 20-24 megapixels.

Although a picture is worth 1000 words, not everyone likes to pretend they know what those words are. Make sure all of your description fields are filled out with as much detail and character as possible! For example, rather than creating a description stating, “This one bedroom house is located in Eagle-Vail” opt for one with some emotion. Try something along the lines of, “This modern one bedroom home is situated in the beautiful foothills of Eagle-Vail”. In addition to good descriptions, make sure you have your amenities selected within VRBO as they will help you rank higher.

2. Automation

Now that your listing is the best in Eagle-Vail, you don’t want to spend all of your time managing it (especially if this is your side gig)! Some of the most time-consuming activities for hosts can be messaging guests and cleaners, but these actions can be automated. VRBO is supported by our favorite property management software (PMS) called Guesty. Once you sync your listings, Guesty gives you the ability to create message templates and automatically send them to guests! It even allows for custom fields and provides different options for when you want them to send. Still worrying about cleaners? Guesty also allows you to “assign” roles to anyone you import to your account so they can take care of everything for you.

3. Cost Cutting

Sure, time is money (so automation should already be saving you money) but your expenses can be reduced even further! Smart home tech is a great way to make sure your units are running as efficiently as possible. If your guests turn up the heat, turn it back down to a reasonable level with a smart thermostat like Nest. Did they leave the lights on? Install some Philips Hue lights and control them from your phone! The options are endless. 

Did you know Away Agents can do all of these and more for you? Visit our website or call 612.246.4942 today to get started!