As a Vrbo (HomeAway) Preferred Partner, we have a fantastic full feed integration with HomeAway that is available to all clients.
Though Vrbo (HomeAway) require your business to be a UK/EU private or public limited company with a valid VAT registration number OR to have a company registration number.
This is a two-way integration that updates availability, pricing, and listing content from SuperControl to HomeAway (and affiliate sites, such as Owners Direct).
Online bookings
Offering online booking is one of the main factors that influences how high your property ranks on Vrbo (HomeAway) (the higher your rank, the greater your visibility – and that equals more bookings). According to Vrbo (HomeAway), 92% of travellers using their websites expect to be able to book their holiday from a property listing. As a SuperControl customer, you can take online bookings through your property listings on HomeAway. To add this feature to your Vrbo (HomeAway) listings, please contact your Vrbo (HomeAway) Account Manager.
Get UpFront Reviews on your listings
Reviews are one of the main ranking factors that Vrbo (HomeAway) uses and they will become even more important in the new ranking algorithm. If you use UpFront Reviews, these reviews can be automatically pushed from SuperControl to your Vrbo (HomeAway) listings.
Save time with integrated enquiries
Enquiries from HomeAway (and any affiliate site) can be captured automatically within your SuperControl account. This is designed to save you lots of time by not having to manually enter them in yourself.
Tips to make your listings shine - Enabling online booking, collecting reviews, maintaining an integrated calendar and integrating your rates are some of the main elements that affect the search ordering of listings on Vrbo (HomeAway). Your photos and content are also key: which means there are a few easy steps you can take to ensure your listings reach the top.
1. Be specific
Make your listing content as comprehensive as possible. Owner listings typically out-perform those added by agencies because of attention to detail. Tick every amenity that applies to your holiday rental, don’t miss anything out. If there is a box you can tick, make sure you do. It’s worth setting a reminder to check your settings regularly to see if HomeAway has added any new ones since you initially set your property up.
2. List all of your properties
The major players know how many properties you have in your portfolio, and owners and companies that add them all to their channel rank higher.
3. Add your prices way in advance
Make sure you add your prices at least 12-18 months in advance. Don’t get too hung up about what you should be charging, the further ahead you set your prices, the more flexible you can be. Set them high to start with, then adjust them as those dates get closer. The worst that could happen is that someone books and pays a premium price.
4. Respond quickly
Having a good record for prompt resonses will help your property appear higher in the search. Eg. HomeAway states that to be classed as excellent you must respond to an enquiry within 15 minutes .
5. Don’t cancel!
Canceling bookings has a detrimental affect on your listings. Aim to have a cancellation rate that is lower than 10% to help your holiday rentals’ performance on HomeAway. In an ideal world it would be 0%.
6. Ask guests to review their stay
As well as building trust and providing proof, the number of reviews your holiday rental has affects where it appears in searches. Use auto emails in your SuperControl account to send guests review requests on departure.
Give these a go and you will see results. Remember, advertising on the major booking websites gets your self-catering properties seen by a much wider audience. Once you have secured bookings via Homeaway you can build relationships with the guests, and stay in touch to encourage them to return – booking direct with you next time.
To boost your bookings with Vrbo (HomeAway), watch this webinar.
Photos
Photos are a critical component of each listing. The following are guidelines that Vrbo (HomeAway) recommends:
- Each listing must have at least six pictures but you can use up to 24 (more is better).
- The recommended resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels.
- The maximum photo size is 20 MB.
- The first photo serves as a thumbnail so should be the most representative of the property.
You should fill in all captions with information pertinent to each photo.
Listing content
Make sure you meet HomeAway’s minimum content requirements or your listings won’t show:
- Headlines must have at least 20 characters.
- Descriptions must have at least 400 characters.
- Each listing must have at least 6 photos.
- Bedroom and bathroom count should be included for each listing.
- An accurate address and latitude/longitude is required for each property.
- Updated calendar and rates information.
If you’re unsure of any of these points, make sure you log in to your HomeAway dashboard to check how you can improve your listings – or, let us know and we’ll try to help you.
To boost your bookings with HomeAway, watch this webinar.