6 Secrets for more bookings on Booking

With over 700 million total hits, Booking.com is one of the largest online travel agencies ( OTA – Online Travel Agency ) in the world. Founded in 1996 based in Amsterdam and initially focused on hotels, but since then it has turned into a global platform, particularly popular among European users, offering an ever-expanding selection of vacation rental rooms.

In today's increasingly competitive tourism industry , listing your Short Term Rental Property on the Booking.com platform has become vital.

Read also : How to List Your Property in Booking

However, just your property listing, it does not mean reservations. Due to the ever increasing competition, most, you will have to resort to specialized Marketing and Sales techniques, even on the Booking platform.

To really succeed on the platform, you also need to ensure a prominent position in the search results.

Although the Booking.com algorithm always aims to match each guest with the ideal, for him, short term rental property, there are some techniques, that you can apply to increase your property's visibility and rank at the top of search results.

So what can you do to improve your ranking on Booking.com;

1. High quality photos

Good or bad, photography plays a very important role in the decision a traveler makes, when he is to choose the property for his holidays. And may your property be close to the best in the area and provide all the amenities, but this has no value, if your photos do not represent reality.

Travelers want to visualize and imagine themselves in the property, and your photos serve as a medium to convey what they can expect. Hence, it is vital to have high quality images in your listings, emphasizing the most attractive aspects of your property, to its strengths. For example, if you have a pool, make sure there are lots of pictures of her from different angles. Include a comprehensive image gallery, covering all your rooms, the exterior and surrounding areas, the amenities and any special touches. Offer a cot or provide a welcome gift; What about guest toiletries; Present all the unique offers of your property.

Pay close attention to the main photo of your listing, as well as on 7 first photos to follow. It's the first impression someone gets when they land on your listing page.

2. Calendar Availability

If your property listing has no openings / available dates, when guests are searching to book their vacation, it will not appear in their search results. To improve the visibility of your accommodation, make sure you have availability for at least a year ahead!

Having availability well in advance not only encourages repeat bookings from happy guests, but it also attracts visitors who like to plan their holidays very early.

It is also important to adjust your minimum stay requirements. If your minimum length of stay is too high, guests searching for shorter stays will not see your listing in search results.

caution!!

When there are bookings from other channels, ensure proper calendar synchronization to avoid double bookings!

3. Dynamic Pricing

Frequently adjusting your prices based on demand is crucial to increasing your bookings.

It is important to adjust your prices during different periods (high-medium-low) traffic and/or when events occur in the area of the property.

Stay alert to what your competitors are doing and make price adjustments accordingly. In this industry, always being one step ahead and adapting to market trends is a wise strategy. Price adjustments should be a top priority, if you aim to outperform your competition and secure more bookings.

4. Updated Benefits

In the main menu , under category “Accommodation” you will find the option “Room amenities”. Be sure to include all the amenities included in your vacation rental. Be as specific as you can in your benefits, the better.

Usually, the top amenities that users consider are parking spaces, the swimming pools, the private bathrooms, the Wi-Fi and free breakfast offers. You can also mention the little details that can make your accommodation more welcoming or stand out from the competition (e.g, board games, ping pong table, coke)

A tactical strategy would be to take a look at your competitor's listings in your area and see what they are offering. You can take, so, and ideas what your property is missing ,to be the first choice in visitors' search.

5. Detailed Property Description

Since property descriptions on booking.com are automatically generated by the platform, it is very important that you create your property description yourself. Highlight the special features of the property and what makes it stand out from the competition. Your description should not only be comprehensive but also clear and concise, with the aim of attracting the interest of your visitors and at the same time meeting their expectations.

To create an attractive description, think about what would attract you as a guest to a vacation rental and think about any questions potential guests might have for the host. Answer these questions while focusing on the basic amenities and services your property can provide, to enhance the guest's overall vacation experience.

6. Grades of Honor

booking.com allows us to choose between different price categories, depending on the target audience of the property, the season and general market conditions.

In the main menu, under category ” Calendar & prices” you can choose which pricing strategy best suits and meets the needs of prospective visitors :

Flexible – providing free cancellation within a certain period of time before arrival
non refundable price – provision % discount , but no refund in case of cancellation
Weekly rates – in some properties it is appropriate to provide it % discount for stays longer than 7 days
Monthly prices – in case you want and can rent it for a period longer than a month (28+ days), here you can configure the price
Early booking – if we want to provide special rates to guests who plan their holidays very early

For even more advanced booking.com offers the possibility to set special prices by country of origin or if the reservation is made through the use of a mobile phone (* according to the platform “by creating a mobile price you can increase mobile bookings 22% average.“).

End, you can set additional charges per person. For example, you can set the fixed value for e.g. 2 individuals, but your property can sleep up to 4 people on an extra sofa bed. In this case, you can (if you deem it necessary, based on the market analysis you have done) charge the 3rd and 4th person, only if a reservation has been made 3 the 4 persons. This way you keep prices competitive in booking searches 2 persons (in this particular example).

But if you want them to choose your property first against the Competition

There is only one solution. Contact e-bnb.gr, which in addition to registering your property, offers you :

property registration on the appropriate platforms
booking management with zero risk of double booking
customer communication before and after their stay
free online promotion with e-bnb tools
strong presence and visibility on Social Media
developing the right clientele
more bookings
increased profits up to +60%

How e-bnb.gr can help you

We take care of everything for you,what does your property need for increase occupancy and short-term rental profit : registration and management of platforms such as Booking, Airbnb, construction and management of a website for direct bookings, Social Media (Facebook & Instagram), communication with customers before booking / during their stay and after their departure and specialized Marketing and Sales techniques for maximum results in occupancy and profitability.

Web page & Social Media

Your property gets a presentation website and direct booking channel. We create and manage Social Media for greater visibility.

Real Estate Registration

on all short-term rental platforms, that are suitable for your property and special presentation on Google, for maximum visibility of the property

Reservation management

We support all booking channels with a single management system. Automatic price and availability update, zero risk of double bookings.

Communication with customers

We fully handle the communication with your customers, before - during - and after their departure. We maintain contacts using email marketing

Indicative Example

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