5 tips for more bookings

You’re the owner or manager of a hotel, vacation park, campground, holiday home, or B&B, and you’ve got everything well organized. The only thing missing is good occupancy. You’re getting some bookings, but you’re still far from fully booked. What now? To help you get more bookings quickly, we’ve put together 5 golden tips just for you as a property owner! Follow these tips, and we’re confident you’ll start receiving more bookings in no time!

The first impression someone gets of your property often determines whether they’ll book or not. The first thing potential main guests look at are the photos. So it’s very important to upload high-quality photos of the interior and exterior of your property to Vipio. The more photos, the better. After all, guests want to know what they’ll be staying in. Be sure to also include photos of the surrounding area. Show them, for example, where they can grab a cup of coffee or enjoy a nice lunch. If you’re not able to take great photos yourself, hire a professional photographer to photograph your accommodation. This investment often pays for itself quickly. Take a look below at a good example of an appealing photo.

Make sure you provide as much information as possible to potential guests. If someone can’t find the information they consider important, there’s a good chance they’ll end up looking at another property instead. In addition to all the basic information—such as the number of guests, the price, and the number of bedrooms—it’s also important to mention whether there’s Wi-Fi, if bed linens and towels are provided, and whether the kitchen has a dishwasher. People also like to know how far it is to a restaurant or to the woods or beach. This can really make the difference between getting booked often or rarely. That’s why at Vipio, we’ll write a beautiful, compelling description containing this information for you—completely free of charge.

In the Netherlands, you can find thousands of places to stay. So the competition is fierce. If you want people to choose your accommodation, it can pay off to offer your guests something extra. For example, if your accommodation has a sauna or hot tub, this can have a positive impact on customers. Allowing pets often leads to more bookings as well. This might take a little extra time to clean up, but it expands your target audience. You could also consider providing free bicycles. All of these things make guests more likely to book your accommodation.

On Vipio, guests who have booked through us can leave a review. Accommodations with good reviews are booked more often on our platform than those with less favorable reviews. That’s why it’s important to ensure guests leave with the best possible experience. For example, have a bottle of wine ready upon arrival or check in with them halfway through their stay to see if everything is still to their liking. It’s often the little things that encourage guests to write positive reviews. And don’t hesitate to ask your satisfied guests directly to leave a positive review.

Before people book, they naturally look at the price of a stay. Setting the right price-to-quality ratio is very important. You need to make sure your price matches the accommodation you’re offering. If you’re getting very few bookings even though you have a beautiful place, your price might be too high. It’s also important to ensure your price is clear. Don’t try to “cleverly” inflate the price of a stay by, for example, charging high cleaning fees. This often has the opposite effect on the number of bookings. What can work well is temporarily lowering your price during periods when you’re not getting as many bookings. At Vipio, owners can list their properties for our special daily deal. This quickly leads to more bookings.

Research shows that overnight stays are increasingly being booked further in advance these days. So make sure your calendar is bookable at least one year in advance. This way, you’ll prevent guests from finding your property unavailable and choosing another host instead.

Do you have a unique place to stay, but it’s not yet bookable through Vipio? Don’t wait any longer—list your property on Vipio today and start receiving more bookings quickly. Click here for more information or contact us at [email protected]