How to Attract International Travelers to Your U.S. Vacation Home

Vacationing in the United States has become increasingly more popular and affordable for international travelers. One upside of this trend for owners is that many of these vacationers are accustomed to staying in vacation homes when they travel. So here's a rundown on marketing to international travelers.

Know Where They Come From

Most inbound tourists hail from Canada and Mexico, but the US is attracting a significant number of tourists from other countries as well. The top ten countries sending over tourists (after Canada and Mexico) are:

1. United Kingdom  
2. Japan
3. Germany
4. France
5. Australia
6. South Korea
7. Italy
8. The Netherlands
9. Brazil
10. Venezuela

Source: OTTI/Mintel

Learn Where & When They Go

For many international travelers, geography greatly influences where they vacation. For instance, many Asian travelers go to Hawaii because of its relative proximity. That being said, sometimes international travelers want to hit US hotspots even if this means traveling across the globe. As a general rule, international tourists travel to:

• Well-known beach destinations, like Sanibel, Florida and Waikiki, Hawaii

• Natural wonders, such as the Colorado Rockies, the Grand Canyon, the Smoky Mountains, or other national parks

• Major cities, including New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC

This shouldn't discourage you if your home is located elsewhere, because with the decreased cost of travel to the US, many international travelers are visiting other destinations around the country. What's more, they are a good target market for your off-season because many of them vacation during our slow seasons. And, with different school schedules and typically more vacation time, their trips could extend your rental season.

Advertise Strategically

When creating your marketing plan, try to keep these pointers in mind:

• List on global sites like HomeAway, VRBO and VacationRentals.com to help reach travelers in many different countries.

• Advertise on European sites such as HolidayRentals.co.uk, Homelidays.co.uk, Fewo-direkt.de, and Abritel.fr to improve your exposure overseas.

• Incorporate area-specific verbiage for vacation rentals where you can to help minimize miscommunication. For example:

          o “holiday home” or “holiday rental” for “vacation rental”
          o “self-catering” for “rent by owner”

• Include specific location information in your ad to describe and promote your area to travelers unfamiliar with your market.

• Accept a broad range of payment methods if possible, such as traceable bank-to-bank transfers, to help attract travelers accustomed to different payment practices.

• Consider promoting shopping centers and restaurants in your area since these are the two most common leisure activities of international tourists.

Communicate Effectively

Managing inquiries from foreign travelers (sometimes written in less-than-perfect English) is a fine balancing act between protecting yourself from potential scammers and welcoming foreign guests. Once you start inviting international travelers to your home, you may want to take notice of the following:

• If you receive a foreign language inquiry, an online translation service like GoogleTranslate can provide a rough translation of the inquiry for you.

• An inquiry in broken-English is not necessarily a scam, but you should look for red flags like a request for cash back. This is not really a standard practice anywhere.

• You may want to test the waters first with an email conversation before calling, but you should talk to every renter on the phone before booking.

• You can screen your renters over the phone, but remember that your potential renter may not speak English as well as you do.

• If you and your potential renter are on a Voice-Over-IP service, such as Skype, you could possibly talk to each other for free.

Accept Payments Safely

Due to different cultural practices, flexibility is the name of the game for bookings and deposits with international guests. Here are some pointers…

• Credit cards are the easiest and safest way to accept payment from renters because they simplify the hassle of currency exchange rates.
• Most merchant credit card accounts will automatically calculate currency differences for you.
• PayPal accepts transactions in 17 currencies.
• Traceable bank-to-bank transfers are common practice for European travelers.
• It is acceptable to collect and return deposits in your currency.
• Frauds and scammers use untraceable wire transfers, cashier/certified checks, and money orders, so do not accept these payment methods.

Create Appeal

Expectations vary from renter to renter, but the variation may be more dramatic between American and international renters. For example, some properties in foreign countries require renters to pay for power, while that is not as common in the US. Whether you are dealing with domestic or international travelers, you might address the following topics to avoid misunderstandings.

• International travelers may use the metric system, so try to give distances in both miles and kilometers.
• They may be used to towns where everything is close together, so include approximate distances and travel time to attractions and nearby cities.
• They might come from sprawling metropolises with extensive public transportation, so explain the local public transportation systems in detail.
• Sometimes vacationers come to the US without realizing the actual size of the country or the importance of having a car to get around, so clarify whether or not a car is a necessity in your area.

Go the Distance

If you've noticed that many of your renters are from foreign countries, or if you live in a market frequented by international travelers, it could be well worth your while to put up a listing on a European site. With a few small considerations, such as currency conversion and the possibility of communication adventures, you could significantly expand your rental season and increase bookings by reaching out to vacationers overseas.

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How do you handle bookings for international guests?