Invite More Bookings by Writing “Stellar” Property Descriptions

Writing a good and thorough property description not only helps to rent your vacation rental properties but it can give your SEO (search engine optimization) a boost.  In the online world, it’s all about content, high quality and relevant content. Your rental property descriptions are a great place to start creating that content. At Virtual Resort Manager, our vacation rental software does not limit the amount of words you can use in your description, so take advantage of that. And because our software is completely integrated into the website any changes you make to your property description in the software system are instantly updated on your website.

Follow the STELLAR tips below to garner more attention for your vacation rental properties and for your website as a whole.

• Start with a headline. This is the first impression so make it count. Include your main selling point if possible and avoid generic headlines. Make each property headline unique.
• Take an organized approach - Put your main selling points first. Then describe your beds and bedrooms next. Sleeping arrangements are critical for many parties so don’t just list the number of bedrooms and beds. Describe the features and sleeping arrangements within each room. Use numbers to help the reader find what they are looking for. 1 bedroom is better than one bedroom. Then describe the common areas such as kitchen, dining and living areas and be sure to include all the features to each room, including the television, internet and other entertainment amenities. Be specific and include the details, making it easier for vacationers to plan what items they need to bring.
• Eliminate abbreviations - The web gives you virtually unlimited space to write the description of your vacation rentals, so lose those abbreviations that you’ve been using for years in the printed brochure. When writing a property description, take the time to form complete sentences using proper grammar.  Aim for at least 300 words and up to 500.
• Let your words paint a picture (to go along with those high quality photos that you will upload.) Emphasize those features that make the rental unique.  Don’t settle for using the old, tired and worn clichés. Take out a thesaurus and see what words sound more enticing when you are describing your view or the surrounding area. Briefly mention the location of the unit. Is it close to the beach, right on the beach? Close to shopping and restaurants?
• Lose outdated announcements - Keep descriptions up to date. If you announce that the parking lot is being repaved June 1st 2010 and its December 1st 2010, well it looks like you aren’t on top of things. When you put an announcement like that in, mark your calendar to let you know when to take it back out again.
• Add a call to action – the reader has seen the pictures and read the description, and they like the property. Help them make a decision by directing them to the next step. Tell them exactly what you want them to do.
• Read it out loud - it is the most simple, and yet underused way to make sure your description reads well and is effective. If you don’t like how it sounds out loud neither will the reader.

Taking the time to write a good and accurate property description for your vacation rentals is worth the effort if you want to improve your search engine visibility and increase your bookings. Using Virtual Resort Manager for your vacation property management software makes updating your descriptions for the web very easy to do. Visit www.VirtualResortManager.com to learn more about our management software and marketing services or call 866-721-6642 to speak to a sales representative.