The psychology of vacation rental bookings

Place ideas in their heads

When you prepare a house or a condo for listing on Airbnb, Vrbo, or Booking.com, you can “stage” it ahead of time. Staging is a technique used in the real estate sales industry to make a property look great in photos. As an interior design consultant, I really enjoy staging vacation rental properties, because the before-and-after results are so striking.

Staging a short-term rental is all about creating “scenes” for potential clients. You’re telling them, “This is how your vacation is going to go if you stay here.”

Find out what your ideal customer wants to experience. Then build the scenes around those concepts. Here are some scene ideas:

• A stack of board games on the kitchen table.
• Wine glasses on display.
• A cup of hot coffee next to a magazine.
• A video game system in the children’s room.
• A basket full of beach towels in front of a sign that says “Lake Life”
  
  

You’re presenting “moments” in photos. You’re planting an idea in the person’s head that says, “That’s what I’m going to do when I’m there. This is how it’s going to be.”

If your property is in a wilderness area, people are likely trying to find a vacation rental in that area because of that wilderness environment. So you can set the scene by implying all the things they might do in a wilderness setting:

• Marshmallow roasting sticks near the firepit.
• Hiking sticks and binoculars.
• Books and magazines about nature in the living room.
  
  

They might not actually get around to using these features, but the fact that those amenities are available could increase your chance of getting bookings.

Include an “Instagram Wall”

People want to get great photos of themselves while on a trip. I typically design a permanent photo backdrop into a short-term rental property.

For example, in Branson, Missouri, I could include a large “Table Rock Lake” sign on an interior wall. This can create a focal wall, sometimes called an “Instagram wall,” where people can take a family photo or a selfie (and post it to a social media site like Instagram or Facebook).

This focal wall – themed around the destination –  really grabs people’s attention, even on a rental listing webpage. Potential renters envision themselves in front of that wall getting exciting photos and making great memories. 

This helps your listing stand out from the competition. If they like the mental image your listing conveys, they are more likely to click your “book now” button quickly!

How I use psychology to help you reach vacation rental success