4 Marketing Options That Work. Pick 1

You don't need to be the worlds most interesting airbnb or hotel to make money. You just need to be found by the right people.

Some short term rentals can make $32M from a social media audience the size of Boston.

Others are silent killers who become secretly famous on Airbnb with guests coming back year after year.

I'll admit, I definitely talk about social media and ads a lot. That's what we love.

But, social isn't the best marketing option for everybody. It's simply one channel.

In order to make money from marketing, you must pick the right channel.

We'll start with the big 4.

• OTAs

• Search

• Social

• Referrals

Next you need to know...

• Which channel is best for you

• Pros and cons

• How to dominate it

Let's begin:

Channel #1: OTAs (Airbnb, VRBO, etc...)

How it works:

People are already searching for a place to stay. They pick their favorite Online Travel Agency (OTA) and choose whatever stay fits their needs best.

Pros:

• Maintaining this channel is easy. Update the listing, hit submit.

• You ride the coat tails of an OTAs marketing.

• Guests trust the brand and don't fear that they'll get screwed.

Cons:

• You're competing against thousands of other stays.

• If you're in a less traveled area, people won't search there. I.e. you won't get found or booked.

• The 15-20% fee is what you pay OTAs for marketing. Whether you're having a good run or not.

How to dominate:

Know what guests in your area want and give them that.

Usually it's only 1-3 things.

Then, mention it all over your listing.

Channel #2: Search (SEO, Google Ads)

How it works:

Similar to OTAs. People use Google and other search engines to find stays. There are two ways to do search marketing.

1. Search Ads

2. SEO

Both make your website get found for things people are searching.

Ads are paid. SEO is not.

Pros:

• Lower competition compared to OTAs.

• Less expensive than other off-OTA marketing channels.

• Some people don't like to book through OTAs. You can find them this way.

Cons:

• If no one is searching for stays in your area, you'll get nothing.

• SEO takes forever to work.

How to dominate:

Don't try to beat Airbnb, VRBO or large hotel brands at this channel.

Instead,

1. Find what people are searching (specific to what you offer).

2. Create as much SEO content as you can around those topics.

3. Then run Google Ads for those same terms.

Channel #3: Social (Meta Ads, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)

How it works:

Social algorithms know what people like based on their previous interests. This means your content will hit frequent travelers who aren't searching for places to stay but are always on the lookout.

Pros:

• You find guests vs the other way around.

• There are more ways for someone to interact with you so they never forget (follow, comment, share, etc...).

• One post can get thousands or millions of views. Fo free.

Cons:

• Video dominates social. Video is expensive to produce.

• The cost from ads to get a booking at the start is high.

• You're competing on looks. You're stay has to look better than anyone else in the area.

How to dominate:

Create content that connects with people.

• Don't watch an HGTV house tour and make that kinda stuff.

• Instead, capture humans living the most desirable experience at your stay.

• Then, take the best content and runs those as ads.

Channel #4: Referrals

How it works:

Create an agreement with other businesses or people to refer each other.

Pros:

• People who are referred don't need to be sold. They just book.

• No upfront marketing cost.

• Referred guests often become recurring guests and tell their friends.

Cons:

• Zero control. What gets said, gets said.

• If people don't talk, you don't grow.

How to dominate:

I'm a big "cast a wide net" guy. Create relationships with every somewhat-travel-related business in your area plus the place people are traveling from.

Then, encourage past guests to refer a friend. Offer a reward like "free night when you book two," in exchange for their kind words.

Which channel is for you?

This all depends on your type of stay.

1. OTAs - If you have 1-5 properties that are in a popular area. Pick this.

2. Search - If you have 5+ properties in a popular area. Pick this.

3. Social - If your stay(s) is not in a popular area and visually looks good. Pick this.

4. Referral - If you have a low marketing budget, pick this.

Still don't know? Take this quiz. I think it will be helpful.

Defining "popular area." There are two types:

1. Nationally popular: big cities, national parks, major attractions.

2. Regionally popular: Answer this, "are people in your nearest big city looking for things to do within 30 minutes of your stay?"

Take action

Each channel serves a different person with different booking habits.

Hack: Dominate one channel before you do a second.

That's all for today. I'll see you in the next article.

P.S. Writing this from Boston. I went for a run the other day and found this dock on the river. I’m originally from the midwest so sitting on docks in the summer time is second nature. Heading to the store today for lawn chairs. You can take a guy out of the midwest, but you can’t take the midwest out of a guy. #YeahYouBetcha

Before you go

I spend about 10 hours writing this newsletter each week. The rest of my time is spent running Lodge Social.

Our marketing team will help you get more guests to like, share and book.

Work with me and my team here.

Links you might like:

1. How a treehouse rental turned into $32M in 4 years (Deal Machine)

2. Do this. Get direct bookings (The Lodge Social)

3. The story of Arizona’s first wellness resort (LinkedIn)

4. If we haven’t met, let me introduce myself (The Lodge Social)