How to Attract Large Groups to Your Vacation Home

 

How to Market Your Vacation Home to Large Groups

Don't miss out by forgetting large groups when equip ping your home and creating your ads.
 

Part of the appeal of vacation homes is the great value for the space. Many travelers will also look to vacation rentals so that they can travel with a larger group, especially since many hotels are less-than-reliable when it comes to booking rooms near one another. So, if you own a large property, you might be able to increase bookings by targeting larger groups or families traveling together.


To catch more bookings from large groups in your rental net:

• Include some wording in your headline that'll make your home stand out to these types of travelers. Phrases like "Perfect for Large Groups" or "Ideal for Family Reunions" might jump out to renters that are trying to find homes that meet those needs.   

• Make sure that you have ample seating in your living area, dining room, and outdoors. Extra folding chairs are also a plus.

   

• Offer a mixture of bed setups in your various rooms to accommodate different combinations of children and adults.

   

• Highlight the value of your home by featuring the added space and amenities over hotels. You should also compare your rates to the prices of hotels in your area. If your home sleeps 12, be sure to consider how many hotel rooms 12 people would require and price your home accordingly.

• Feature great photographs of your home. The larger the group, the more people you have to sell on your property. Photos are the easiest way to convey all that your property has to offer.

  

• Stock your home with a variety of extras like DVDs, books, and board games. Groups that gather for family reunions may spend more time in your home than your typical guests.

 

• Provide amenities for small children. Consider adding a portable crib, a high chair, and a few toys for both indoors and outdoors.

 

• Solicit reviews from past guests, especially those that visited as part of a large group or family reunion. Nothing will convince a prospective large group booking like an unbiased review from a member of a large group that has stayed in the past.

  

•  Allow your guests to hold events. If your property is large enough to accommodate gatherings like weddings, rehearsal dinners or family reunions, highlight this bonus feature in your advertisements. Plus, charging an event fee can help boost your bottom line. For more information, see our article on Weddings and Events.

Although you may have to handle a large group a little bit differently than your average family booking, don't let the idea of a larger group scare you away. If you are concerned with increased risk of damage with more people, you can likely charge a higher security deposit. You can still require the names of all guests on your rental agreements, and some owners also choose to add per-person fees after a certain number of guests. Just be sure to clearly communicate your maximum occupancy and any penalties for exceeding that number.

When creating your listings and equipping a large vacation home, you should definitely consider targeting large families or groups traveling together. Reaching out to larger groups for your vacation rental can place your home in an important niche and could end up helping your bottom line.

Why Would a Large Group Want to Rent My Small Property?

Choosing to market to large groups, even if you have a small home

Many large groups find appeal in staying in the same complex, but not in close quarters with their relatives.

Large groups are typically looking for one place to congregate during the day (like a clubhouse or common area), but that doesn't mean that they want to be sharing a wall with snore-y Uncle Joe or their sister's crying newborn come sundown. By staying in separate units, your guests get the benefit of vacationing together as an extended family, but also get the privacy of their own retreat at the end of the day.

Another benefit of a large family staying in separate homes/units is that one person won't get saddled with the entire expense. By renting out separate homes, each family unit is responsible for paying for their own space.

How to Market Your Small Property to Large Groups

Network with your neighbors. By working together, you can accommodate a larger number of guests looking to stay at the same time. You can even take out another ad on sites like VRBO or HomeAway to advertise your group of properties. For example: Say you have 4 homeowners all in the same condo complex, and each have a two-bedroom condos, you could advertise it as 8 bedrooms.

The Downsides of Renting to a Large Group as a Single Small Unit Owner

Availability could be tough to pin down.

If you're the first person that they call, you could be in for a lot of work trying to coordinate with other owners to accommodate the group. You could put in a lot of time and effort and the family could decide not to rent.

It could be a challenge to keep the calendar up-to-date.

Your stuff (pots, pans, bowls, etc) could get mixed up with that of other owners' as your guests migrate from unit to unit.

The Bottom Line: While it may be a little work, if you own a smaller property, don't limit yourself by not targeting larger groups.

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What accommodations do you find large groups prefer the most?