Why Text Marketing For Vacation Rentals
Besides paid search ads (SEM), email marketing has been the primary marketing channel for driving direct bookings in the short-term rental industry. Recent surveys show that email marketing remains the preferred method of marketing communication for almost 50% of consumers. However, text marketing was 2nd with 25% of consumers citing it as their preferred channel of communication. When you take into account the engagement rates of each channel, text message marketing becomes a must-have in any marketing campaign. Email marketing has an average unique open rate of 22% while text marketing messages have an average open rate of 98%.
This is why we decided at StayFi that creating an SMS marketing tool to enable any short-term rental operator to easily start using text message marketing was vital to maximizing the value of the data we collect. StayFi’s text marketing tool first validates and collects phone numbers with text message marketing opt-in. Then StayFi’s vacation rental text marketing tool can send automated guest welcome messages, collect 5 star reviews, and send marketing messages to all subscribers – all including merge fields to personalize the experience based on the property the guest is staying in.
Text Marketing Designed For Vacation Rentals
Unlike generic off-the-shelf text messaging tools you can buy, StayFi has customized the text messaging tool for the vacation rental industry. Based on their feedback during our product beta with customers, we have created the following three types of campaigns:
The Welcome Campaign automatically sends a welcome message to guests right when they submit their phone number with opt-in. These welcome messages can be personalized to include the guest’s names, property name, and links to that home’s specific digital house guide.
The Review Campaign automatically prompt guests to leave a five star review on Google, Facebook, or your website after their stay. StayFi’s review flow will screen for 5 star reviews and allow guests who want to leave less starts to provide feedback.
The Group Text Campaign sends a one time message to all of your text marketing contacts. This is a great way to amplify marketing campaigns like promotions, announcements, and seasonal engagement.
