COVID-19 has redefined the travel industry. As borders are closed and people really are uncertain about when flights will start taking off, visiting far off places to spend holidays will definitely be shelved.
But the option of taking a vacation in your own country is wide open and travellers who have always put it for a later date can utilize this time to explore the destinations near to their native.
In this article, we will take a look at how property managers can adjust their mode of business for the benefits of domestic travellers as domestic destination travels are going to become the next big thing for the travel industry.
Domestic travellers are people who explore destinations within their country. With the option of the staycation, they can explore places by staying close to their home.
The advantages of a staycation are that only very little travel time is required, you can quickly enter the vacation mode and also you can save a lot of money. Sounds interesting, isn’t it?
Property owners can concentrate on what domestic travellers are looking for through research to understand their requirements better and provide them with the best services. Here are some of the tips for property owners to help them modify their rental business to suit domestic travellers.
Try to market your property that suits a single group of guests. These adjustments can include
Now as most people are working from home, your guests must be thinking of a change of scenery while carrying on with their work. So providing them with features like uninterrupted internet connectivity, office desk, chair and separate rooms for privacy are things that you should consider implementing at your property
Make your place ideal for families by allocating swings to the sprawling backyard so that children can play in them and also a big living room for family members to spend time together.
A dog house in the yard and more resilient flooring that can tackle stains and odours are some measures that you can take so that guests don’t feel that their pets are missing out on their vacations.
Providing a plethora of leisure options can add more value to your vacation package. These can include Board games, Barbecues, Televisions, gaming consoles etc
The threat of COVID-19 is still at large and therefore making your property extra safe is very important
You can consider implementing measures like a smart lock, restricting the entry to common areas, making your cleanliness regime absolutely tight and also introducing cashless payments.
You can also implement managing your property remotely so that you add that extra security to your guests by not coming in direct contact with them
As a result of the current situation, the market requirements have changed. Therefore it is necessary that you tweak your rental business accordingly. For instance
You need to adopt a customer-friendly cancellation policy as guests might be forced to abandon their booking due to flight cancellations. You should consider providing them with a partial or full refund due to the current volatile situation. This will surely increase your reputation and your guests will always remember your kind gesture.
Another thing is to add the option of instant bookings to reduce the difficulties of booking for guests
Also, consider reducing your rent and making it more affordable to guests
Forget about the minimum stay criteria till we are done with the pandemic
In the different rental listings and websites make sure to update your property with all the tweaks that you have made to tackle the COVID-19 situation and to encourage domestic travellers. You can also highlight the cleanliness measures and safety precautions that you have taken to fight the spread of the virus and keep your guests well informed so that they can book your property without any doubts.
Also, don’t forget to mention how pet-friendly your property is so that domestic travellers can confidently bring along their pets while vacationing.
You are all equipped to receive your guests now but still, you feel there is not much movement with your bookings. Well, it is definitely the time to concentrate on your marketing tactics.Learn how to market your vacation rentals for post pandemic business
You can take the help of advertising campaigns locally by tying up with small businesses, shops and the local tourist boards. You can also utilize the power of social media to market your property.
We are collectively navigating through very tough times but changing your rental property functions to the present guest demands can definitely aid in recovering your business. It is time-consuming and also lots of efforts are required but still property managers who are ready to embrace themselves with the change are sure to come out of this pandemic with minimum damages.