Marketing Luxury Holiday Homes

Marketing luxury holiday homes

Marketing luxury holiday homes requires a distinct set of skills and techniques to marketing other property types. 

Luxury holiday homes span a broad spectrum, with a rich tapestry of luxury accommodations for the discerning guest.

From historic estates nestled in the English countryside, to architecturally designed city apartments, to contemporary coastal retreats overlooking the vast expanse of seas, lakes and lochs. 

However, there is also a growing intensity of competitiveness for guests seeking the epitome of indulgence and relaxation. This raises the bar for marketing effectively to attract the attention of affluent guests. 

Define Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Or quite simply, what makes your stunning home special?

Luxury holiday homes are not merely places to stay; they are immersive experiences curated to fulfil the needs and aspirations of affluent guests. 

The first step is to understand how your luxury home is unique, in comparison to other luxury homes. 

Your competition won’t just be those in your town, or even your county. Due to the uniqueness of your services, and the unique needs of your guests, your competition may be several counties away. 

Unlike many travellers who use accommodation as a base to explore the local area and attractions, your guests may plan to view your holiday home as their entire experience, with no intentions to leave the grounds during their stay.

Take a walk through each of the rooms, and the grounds outdoors. 

Review the furnishings. Is the property historic, modern, traditional, architectural, sensitively upgraded? 

Is the furniture relaxed with large sumptuous sofas or do they take a more formal and traditional approach? 

Do you provide unique services or features, such as a patio leading to the private lake, a boardroom for meetings, or an indoor private pool? 

Looking at what sets your property apart from the competition helps you to identify your potential guest, and the aspects to promote in your marketing messages. 

Consider your guest avatar

Or simply, choose the type of guest that best suits you and your home.

Once you’ve considered the appealing characteristics of your home, plan your ideal guest. 

This ideal guest type would be most attracted to the features and amenities of your home.

Would you be attractive to business travellers, who could use the boardroom facilities during a group planning meeting?

Do your amenities lend themselves to a guest with a disability? Disabilities can range from visibility, hearing or mobility difficulties, to neurodiverse guests with their own set of needs.

Would your home be suitable for groups or extended families, looking for a spacious area to enjoy time together, but with scope for alone time when needed?

Be as specific as you can, as you’ll need to have them in mind when you put together your marketing plans. 

Visual storytelling

In the luxury market, we tend to see professional photos, videos, floor plans and drone footage, and you should ensure your promotion stands out through excellence.

Guests absorb the beauty of your property from your visual stories, and imagine themselves in staying in your holiday home. 

This is the moment to consider how to highlight the aspects that distinguish your services from your competitors for your ideal guests. 

Let’s assume that you’re interested in large groups or extended families who will appreciate the spacious grounds, woodland and patio. Provide material that incorporates those breathtaking elements into your marketing. 

For business groups you’ll need to demonstrate the spaces that enable them to conduct their business exercises and meetings, whilst presenting the private areas where individuals can be alone when needed. 

For guests looking for architectural stays, the visual element should highlight the architectural elements and unique style.

Tailored branding and messaging

As with any serious business, having a strong recognisable brand identity will help you be seen. 

Combining the unique elements of your luxury home and your ideal guest, a designer can build a spectrum of marketing material to use across all aspects of your business, including your logo, colours, voice and style.

This brand identity is vital as you build recognition in areas like your social media, your website, guest messaging and on channels.  

Curated experiences

Your guests have expectations. Now that you know who you will be attracting, take time to consider how you can exceed their expectations. 

In part this will come down to your service. From the moment they discover your brand, how do they feel?

You and your team will need to work together to provide an impeccable guest journey from the first time they see your brand, through booking, their stay and after they leave. 

However, their experiences can be from your collection of curated services.

Working with other companies in your area can bring opportunities for packages providing services including those from private chefs, private tours and chauffeur services. 

These services may be another way that you can set your company ahead of the competition, so consider what would appeal to your guest. 

Reaching your potential guests

With the growth of the online world, there are opportunities to promote your business online.

Online Travel Agents, such as Booking.com and Airbnb are well known globally, and have started to adjust their brand to be more suited for affluent guests seeking opulence and serenity. 

It is also appropriate to identify specialist holiday booking websites that can reach your guests and cater better for their needs.

As these sites have their own standards for homes on their site, it’s important to discuss directly with them to understand how they work and if they are a good fit for you. 

In some cases a member of their team will make an inspection, in other cases they will need 4 or 5 star approval from a National Tourist Board. 

For owners with luxury 4 or 5 star UK homes, Premier Cottages provides a membership that supports your business and promotes your luxury home within their well-established brand. 

For owners and managers with properties in Scotland, you can select to work with the exclusive luxury brands of Adore Scotland and Lettings of Distinction.

If you would like support and guidence on the marketing channels that would suit your holiday home, please contact our specialist connection team for support.

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With growing competition for luxurious holiday homes like yours, there are techniques to follow to ensure you attract your perfect guest.