No one knows your property better than you do, and the same goes for the surrounding area and what your location has to offer. Assist guests and convince them to book, with recommendations of what they can do, and in turn help to build a more complete holiday experience.
Promote your place
Not every good establishment is well known online. Sometimes business owners don’t see the need to promote themselves (or even know how to), especially if they already receive a steady flow of returning locals. On the other hand, national chains and larger organisations are much more likely to be discoverable, and will generally be more well known.
But regardless of whether you have a world-renown art gallery, or a hidden gem on your doorstep, these attractions are a key reason to why someone would want to visit your local area; and in turn stay at your property. Help make their decision easier, by compiling a list of things to do, all tailored to your location. Share your expertise with a locals guide of activities, places to visit and the best of what there is to offer.
Local Guide
For some a self catering holiday means a visit to the local supermarket to stock up their fridge with food for their stay, whilst for others it means a week of eating out and treating oneselves. Similarly what a family may choose to do whilst on their break, will probably differ to that of a group of 20 something males. It’s worth noting that your customers will vary and will all have their own individual preferences and ideals of what they want to do during their stay. So it’s important that you offer a variety of suggestions that cater for every type of guest.
If you are to start producing your guide, you should make sure that there is a structure or categories. This way your food loving couple can go straight to the ‘Restaurant’ section, or the parents can look up your ideas of what to do for ‘Rainy days’. There are no strict rules or a limit to the number of these topics, simply try to make things as easy as possible for those looking for something to do; and to make your property look as appealing as possible.
Categories
Take a look below at some of our suggestions, feel free to reword, combine and mix together whatever you think works best for you. (If you’ve got any ideas that you can’t see listed, get in touch! We’d love to hear from you and would be more than happy to add it to our article)
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Eating/Restaurants/Food - Why not include a range of eateries that cater for all budgets and times of the day. For instance the best places for breakfast or a Sunday roast.
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Drinking/Bars/Pubs/Clubs - Compile a list of the establishments that stay open late, with those that offer great local beers, ales, ciders and cocktails.
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Kid/Family friendly - Group together attractions that are suitable for younger ones, like your local park, Zoo, Aquarium, Science Museum, Soft play and crazy golf course.
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Pet friendly/Suitable for Dogs - If your property is focused around four legged friends, then maybe a tailored section for dog owners? The best walks, pubs etc.
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Places of interest - List your closest museum, gallery, historical monuments and locations, the landmarks that make up your area and make it unique.
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Outdoor Activities - Dependant on where you’re based, there are likely lots of unique offerings, such as kayaking, mountain biking, archery, quad biking, a driving range etc.
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The Sea/Coast/Beaches - Admittedly not applicable to everyone, but if you are relatively close, even under an hours drive, the sea is a universally appreciated destination for all.
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Leisure/Pampering - A well deserved day at the spa is the perfect way to unwind, swim lengths at a pool, pump iron at a gym, or receive a soothing facial treatment.
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Gardens/Walks - Advise where your guests can best explore, whether this is a large country estate, the local forest or woods, or even great areas in your city or town.
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Shopping/Groceries - You may have a wealth of local suppliers, such as a butcher, bakery, farm shop or even a shopping centre for some retail therapy or a souvenir.
By collating everything your guests could possibly need into one place, you are removing the likelihood of them looking for it elsewhere. It’s even possible that they come across your guide first, when searching for things to do in the area, and then proceed to explore what else you offer, such as your accommodation page… potentially going on to book.
Things to do
At SCRUMPY we provide websites with software for holiday property owners and agencies. Our many years of experience in the industry, combined with insightful guest data, has given us a great understanding as to what does and doesn’t work. We offer users of our platform an intuitive system, complete with an easy to use ‘Things to do’ builder; which allows for the creation of a specialised page, with an interactive map with pinned locations, organised within categories, to visually display your recommendations in proximity to your accommodation.
Why not visit our demo site to see it in action
Why should I put in the work?
It may (or may not) seem like a lot of effort to research, type up and create a guide for your customers. However we promise that it’s worth it.
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Support local - Whilst this may seem small scale, you may be having a direct effect on your local economy, introducing and encouraging money to be spent in your area.
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SEO - A search engine like google will reward a website that generates and produces unique content. (That means no copying and pasting from elsewhere!)
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Competition - Once upon a time, the likes of TripAdvisor were great for recommendations, but nowadays they are your competition, promoting other holiday lets...
In a nutshell, if you are promoting your place, you are more likely to get more direct bookings.
Get in touch if you are interested to find out more about the SCRUMPY platform and how to best build up the content on your website for direct bookings.