Email Marketing for Vacation Rentals
September 26, 2022

4 Ways Vacation Rental Managers Can Grow Their Email List Through Value Exchanges

We’re big fans of using email marketing in the vacation rental industry (hear what our friends at StayFi had to say about it). They’re easy to build and automate, making them a fairly hands-off marketing tool. It’s more immediately actionable than direct mail. You can access a broader audience, yet you can make your emails highly personalized to capture clicks. And email marketing remains a relatively inexpensive tool for a high ROI—Hubspot recently reported that short-term rental managers could earn roughly $36 on every $1 spent. 

Now, capturing emails and building a list is a little bit trickier. People are very particular about who they share their email with and the amount of email they receive. One of the best ways to entice guests to share their email with you is to offer something of value that they can’t get anywhere else. 

Here’s how to use value exchanges to build your vacation rental email list.  

Offer Useful, Interesting Content

One of the easiest ways to capture guests’ email addresses is through the booking process. But how do you keep them engaged, even after their trip? 

Nurture relationships with past guests through a regular stream of helpful content. There are a couple of different ways you can do this while incorporating a request for email addresses. 

  • A newsletter. A quarterly newsletter might cover upcoming events in your area, highlights of each season, and promotions of new listings.
  • A blog. Blog content can be beneficial and incorporated into the welcome series for guests as they prepare for their vacation or in tandem with special offers for returning guests. Do a little research into your immediate competitions’ content and content about your market in general to identify specific gaps. and use that as a launching point. 
  • Gated content. Use this tactic for extra-high-value pieces of content, like a complete guidebook to your town or a regional cookbook featuring recipes from your team.

Ask for Their Email in Exchange for WiFi Access 

It’s a little sneaky, but asking for an email address to use the property’s WiFi is a great way to get multiple emails, as each guest will need to “sign in” to use the WiFi themselves. It will automatically add them to your nurture stream for future marketing efforts!

Drive Email Sign-ups on Social Media 

Social media is another excellent marketing tool for vacation rental managers. You can use it to promote your listings, special deals, or events, and share your brand story. You can also use social media as a way to capture email addresses for your email list: 

  • Drive to your booking platforms. Use social posts to encourage guests to book one of your properties as a way to capture an email. 
  • Create social posts promoting your content. Invite guests to read your blogs by posting about them on social media. 
  • Require email addresses to participate in social media giveaways. Guests will fork over their email addresses if you offer something interesting, like a special deal at a new property or for a particular weekend. 

Build a Loyalty Program

Designing and inviting guests to participate in a guest loyalty program is another easy way to build your vacation rental email list while providing value to your guests. A loyalty program helps to nurture a relationship with guests by encouraging them to return. Incentive guests to provide their email address with bonus points or a similar gift to make it worth their while. 

 

A Few Additional Email Tips

Email marketing is a straightforward means of attracting new guests and building relationships with past guests. Here are a few tips to ensure you get the most out of it. 

1.Follow the Standard Email Marketing Rules

Design your emails around beautiful images or videos, and draw guests in with catchy subject lines. Keep any copy short and scannable, and your tone warm and inviting. Ensure emails are clickable and direct guests to relevant portions of your website or your OTA listing site. 

2.Make it Easy to Unsubscribe

Some people are just not into emails. Give your guests an easy way to opt out or update their communication preferences (maybe offer alternatives, like text messages or fewer emails). Allowing guests to make these kinds of choices shows you respect their needs. It may even draw them back for another visit. 

3.Design Emails Based On Engagement Metrics

Regularly review engagement data to determine which of your emails are gaining the most traction. And don’t be afraid to run tests on subject lines, email designs, or email types.

By offering an exchange of value for their email address, you’re more likely to build an email list of guests genuinely interested in what you offer.

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