Storytelling: how to pull the travelers in

As a vacation rental professional, you might consider the writing of the rental listing as just another step of the renting process.

Yet, focusing on that step is very important. Ask yourself this question:

“If I had to talk about that apartment or house to a friend, what would I tell them to make them want to spend their holidays there?”

Just like your friend, the user who will read your listing needs to dream and be appealed. Taking some holidays and budgeting for it needs some preparation, to spend some good time and live something different than the everyday life.

Is it a nice duplex apartment, downtown, with a terrace?

It may have character, a view, direct access to nearby typical shops… This property will interest customers who are looking for a city trip, as they could take an aperitif there or enjoy the terrace while eating

You’ll need to start building your catchphrase from the highlighted words. This will be the first sentence to be read by the potential customer:

Amazing duplex with patio, downtown Aix-en-Provence. Live the Provence experience during a week, at the heart of the “1,000 fountains city”. Drink a coffee and eat a croissant on a typical street, in the shade of a plane tree. During the day, walk the streets discovering Cézanne’s trail, and when the night comes, enjoy an aperitif on the patio while contemplating the sun going down on the city roofs.

When reading this kind of listing, a foreign traveler knows they will experience a true stay in Provence. Thanks to this apartment, they will live typical moments of life in Provence.

Peter Mayle: a year in Provence

Do you know Peter Mayle ? Peter Mayle, a British former executive in the advertisement sector, fell in love with Provence and settled in Ménerbes, where he wrote his bestseller: A Year in Provence. The book was then translated into 17 languages; but past being a bookshops hit, it really transformed local tourism, particularly in Ménerbes.

How come?

Because the readers were pulled in, they got to dream in Provence during 245 pages. They put themselves in Peter Mayle’s shoes:

• Sipping some rosé wine while listening to the singing of the cicadas
• Watching a pétanque match and hearing chats worthy of a Marcel Pagnol movie
• And many more moments of a typical Provence life

This example works for any destination; every region of the world, every city has its own specifics.

Think about the clichés, about what people ask the most and turn them into attractive features to rent your property and above all: give them the opportunity to live an experience.