Email marketing may be considered a classic, old-school tactic. But it is still one of the most effective, if not the most effective, ways of marketing. Utilizing a vacation rental email marketing strategy is key to elevating your success as a host. When you have a guest’s email, you have an intimate, personalized way of communicating with them. You’re no longer depending only on listings through third-party platforms. This blog post discusses the importance of email marketing in your short-term rental business strategy.

Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!

Why is email marketing important for vacation rentals?

As you know, the competition is fierce when it comes to short-term rentals. However, email marketing gives you a direct line to your current and potential guests. It’s a chance to stay on their radar and encourage them to book with you instead of your competitors.

Consider these stats from Campaign Monitor:

• Email marketing has an ROI of $36-$44 for every $1 spent.
• 91% of U.S. adults say they like to receive promotional emails from organizations they conduct business with. (Marketing Sherpa)

Check out this post on How to Grow Your Vacation Rental Email List.

How to use segmentation

Segmenting your emails is extremely important. Why? Not every person on your list should receive the same message. In fact, Campaign Monitor also found that marketers who used email segmentation as a tool saw a 760% increase in revenue. Let’s consider the following situations where you would want to segment your emails:

• If you’re sending a message to a repeat guest. If you want to make a special offer to guests who have already stayed with you, you wouldn’t want to send an email to people who haven’t yet. Therefore, you’d want to segment your email by folks who have already stayed with you.
• Looking to promote a last-minute getaway? Many platforms let you tag your contacts by location. As a result, you can filter email segmentations by the recipient’s provided location.
• If you’ve tracked your business or leisure travelers, you can create emails tailored to their needs. For example, you may offer special discounts for their next business trip, etc.

Tips for writing copy

Here are a few tried and true tips to keep in mind when writing email copy:

• Start with a good subject line. Try to keep it within 30-50 characters.
• Personalize where you can. Many email marketing platforms allow you to use “tags” to personalize the emails with the recipient’s name, as well as other personalization options.
• Don’t hide the good stuff. If you’re offering a discount, make sure that is front and center and at the top of your email campaign. If people are only going to read 1-2 sentences before closing their inbox, you want the important stuff as high up in the message as possible.
• Add urgency where you can with terms like “Last Chance” or “Limited Time!”
• Always include a call to action with phrases like “Book Now” or something similar.

Example email content:

Subject Line:

“🌞 Your Summer Escape Awaits – Special Offer Inside!”

Body:

“Hi [Name],

The sun is shining, and the beach is calling! Book your stay at [Rental Property Name] and receive an exclusive 10% discount. Don’t wait—this offer ends [date]!

Click below to secure your perfect summer escape.

[Book Now]

Warm regards,

[Your Name or Your Brand]”

How to design strong email campaigns

Of course, great content deserves great design. Even if your copy is great, you’re going to want to create a solid design. You don’t need to be a professional email designer to have an appealing layout. Let’s look deeper:

• According to Campaign Monitor, more than 85% of smartphone users use their devices to check their email. Your email may never even be seen on a computer screen. As a result, you need a dynamic, mobile-friendly layout.
• Use high-quality images. A picture can speak 1,000 words. Choose good images (photography or artwork).
• Keep your branding consistent. A user should be able to transition between your email campaigns and your website and feel like they’re navigating within the same brand universe.
• Keep it simple. No need to do a thousand different colors and overly colorful language. Stick to an easy design and clear call to action.

Ideas for automated email campaigns

Platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo have their own systems. However, if you’re taking direct bookings (as you should), consider the below email marketing strategy and have the following vacation rental email templates on hand:

1. Welcome Emails: Send new subscribers a warm welcome along with a discount code or details about your properties.
2. Booking Confirmations: Send details of the booking, along with tips about the destination and stay.
3. Pre-Stay Checklists: Provide guests with helpful tips for their stay, including directions, property address, check-in date, check-out time, and local attractions.
4. Post-Stay Thank You Emails: Show appreciation by thanking guests and inviting them to leave a review.
5. Re-Engagement Campaigns: Offer previous guests exclusive deals or discounts to book again.

How to measure success

To know if your email campaigns are working, pay attention to these key metrics:

• Open Rate: Measures how many people opened your email. Aim for a rate of at least 20-25%.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Measures how many people clicked on links or CTAs. An average CTR is around 2-5%.
• Conversion Rate: Tracks actual bookings or purchases made as a result of your email.
• Unsubscribe Rate: Keeping this below 0.5% indicates your emails are relevant and not overwhelming for your audience.
• Mailchimp or Constant Contact: Both are great options for those new to email marketing, thanks to their intuitive, user-friendly design.

Let Host Tools help

We here at Host Tools are here to help you. We automate the day-to-day tasks so you can focus on the big picture. For example, we offer services like automated guest communication, turnover management, calendar syncing, and a whole lot more. When you integrate your listings with our platform, you’ll save up to 80% of your time.

Final thoughts

Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to attract bookings. It’s an intimate relationship, right to your guests’ personal inbox. While it may seem old school, this old dog remains a consistent, reliable, and effective tool for marketing. Don’t let the flashy new marketing trends of today distract you from the power of email marketing for vacation rentals.

Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!