Reasons for Travel: Why the Best Vacation Rental Marketing Starts With Demand, Not Keywords
Updated: 1 day ago
What does birdwatching have to do with growing a vacation rental business?
Quite a bit, actually.
When most vacation rental managers think about marketing, they think about attracting more website traffic, improving search rankings, advertising their properties, or promoting special offers.
Those things matter.
But I believe there's an important question we should be asking before deciding what to market:
Why do people travel to our destination in the first place?
And perhaps more importantly, who travels, when do they travel, and what would motivate them to visit when traditional demand is weaker?
That's the thinking behind a marketing strategy I've been implementing for vacation rental management clients called Reasons for Travel.
It goes well beyond writing blogs about popular attractions or stuffing location keywords into website content.
It's about understanding demand and developing targeted marketing strategies around the people, experiences, seasons, and interests that drive travel.
Example 1: What Birdwatching Can Teach Us About Vacation Rental Marketing
One of our current projects for iTrip Scottsdale is developing a comprehensive destination content library centered around the many reasons people visit Scottsdale, Phoenix, and the surrounding Arizona communities.
One topic we've invested significant attention in is birdwatching.
Why birdwatching?
Because it's a meaningful travel interest with an established audience, seasonal variations, and opportunities to attract visitors throughout the year.
Historical economic research illustrates the scale of the opportunity.
A Tucson Audubon study estimated that wildlife-watching activities contributed approximately $1.4 billion to Arizona's economy in 2011. That figure includes birdwatching and other wildlife activities, along with resident participation and broader economic effects.
But the economic impact wasn't the only thing that caught my attention.
It was the seasonality of the activity.
Different species inhabit or migrate through Arizona during different times of the year.
Winter visitors may be interested in desert birds, raptors, and waterfowl. Spring brings different migration opportunities. Fall offers another changing mix of species and outdoor experiences.
Each season can attract different visitor segments.
And that's where we move from simply creating travel content to developing a targeted marketing strategy.
Instead of writing one generic article about birdwatching in Arizona, we can develop a collection of relevant resources addressing different seasons, locations, species, and traveler interests.
Those articles can then support targeted email campaigns, social media content, search visibility, and even partnerships with local organizations.
More importantly, we can coordinate those campaigns with actual booking demand.
If we identify an upcoming period with weaker occupancy, we can investigate which niche audiences have a reason to visit during those dates and develop content and offers specifically for them.
That's not just SEO.
That's marketing informed by revenue strategy.
Example 2: Breckenridge Uncovered.
Same Place, Completely Different Experience
A different example comes from a campaign concept I previously recommended for a vacation rental management company in Breckenridge, Colorado.
I called it Breckenridge Uncovered.
The idea started with a simple observation.
Many travelers know Breckenridge as a winter ski destination. They recognize the snow-covered mountains, ski slopes, winter activities, and picturesque mountain town. Many have visited there multiple times, and have made great memories in the beautiful mountain town.
But what happens when the snow disappears?
The same destination transforms into something completely different.
The mountains turn green. Hiking and mountain biking trails become destinations themselves. Wildflowers appear. Rivers, lakes, outdoor festivals, fishing, and summer activities introduce an entirely different vacation experience.
My proposed campaign would introduce that side of Breckenridge to people who already knew and loved the destination, but primarily experienced it in winter.
The message would be:
"You've experienced Breckenridge covered in snow. Now discover everything that's been hiding underneath."
We could build an entire series around it.
Breckenridge Uncovered: Discover the Mountains Without the Snow.
Breckenridge Uncovered: Summer Adventures Beyond the Ski Slopes.
Breckenridge Uncovered: Hiking, Biking, Fishing, and Exploring.
Breckenridge Uncovered: Fall Colors and Mountain Getaways.
Breckenridge Uncovered: Shop Historic Main Street - Without the Frostbite.
Each article would introduce a new reason to visit, supported by images showing the dramatic transformation of the destination between seasons.
But what I particularly liked about this concept wasn't just the creative marketing.
It was the audience we could target first.
A vacation rental manager with an established database of winter visitors already has an audience familiar with the destination and potentially the company's properties.
Why not introduce those guests to another season?
Instead of starting from scratch and competing to acquire entirely new customers, we could market an additional vacation experience to travelers who already know the destination.
With an established guest database, targeted email marketing, and compelling content, we could encourage winter visitors to consider returning during summer or fall.
Same destination. Potentially the same vacation rental company. Potentially better rates and smaller crowds. (when visiting anyplace during the offseason vs peak season) An entirely different reason to travel.
That creates opportunities for additional stays, better guest retention, stronger brand relationships, and more repeat or direct bookings.
And depending on the destination's occupancy patterns, it may help fill periods that need additional demand.
The Real Opportunity: Reaching Travelers Before They're Ready to Book
There's another advantage to this strategy that I think is often overlooked.
Most vacation rental marketing focuses on travelers who are already searching for accommodations.
But by then, they're often comparing properties, prices, reviews, and booking platforms. They're already searching the OTAs and your competitors.
What if we reached them earlier?
Someone researching birdwatching destinations, summer hiking opportunities, family activities, or seasonal events may not have selected travel dates or even decided where to stay.
By providing genuinely useful destination information, a vacation rental company has an opportunity to become part of that traveler's planning process long before the reservation decision.
We can introduce our brand, demonstrate local expertise, help them plan a better vacation, and invite them to subscribe to useful travel information.
That creates opportunities to build a relationship independent of the major booking platforms. And over time, those relationships can become part of a much larger marketing asset.
The goal isn't simply to attract another website visitor. It's to create opportunities for a future guest relationship.
Competing in Google Search Without Competing With the Giants
There's another significant advantage to Reasons for Travel marketing that independent vacation rental managers shouldn't overlook: the opportunity to compete in search results without going head-to-head with the industry's largest companies.
Let's face it. Ranking on the first page of Google for searches like "Scottsdale vacation rentals" or "Breckenridge vacation homes" can be extremely difficult.
You're competing against Airbnb, Vrbo, national property management companies, major travel websites, and other businesses with substantial marketing budgets and established search authority.
The answer isn't always spending more money to compete. Sometimes it's finding a smarter place to compete.
For smaller managers, competing directly for those highly competitive keywords may not be the most effective use of limited marketing resources.
But what if we changed the search terms we're competing for?
Instead of focusing exclusively on broad vacation rental searches, we could identify niche travel interests with meaningful demand but less competition.
Consider searches such as:
Best winter birdwatching spots near Scottsdale
Where to see migrating birds in Arizona
Summer activities in Breckenridge beyond skiing
Best fall hiking trails near Breckenridge
Pet-friendly outdoor adventures in Scottsdale
These are examples of more specific searches that may offer opportunities for targeted content. We'd still need to research actual search demand, competition, and relevance before choosing which topics to pursue.
But here's the important distinction.
We don't necessarily need an audience of millions. We need to reach the right travelers, with the right interests, at the right time.
A relatively small audience of highly interested travelers can be extremely valuable, particularly when those travelers match our destination, properties, and periods of available inventory.
And there is another advantage that may be even more important.
When someone searches for vacation rental accommodations, they're already comparing properties, prices, and booking platforms.
But when someone searches for the best winter birdwatching destinations in Arizona, they're searching for information about something they're passionate about.
If our company provides genuinely useful information, we have an opportunity to become a trusted local resource before that traveler even begins looking for accommodations.
We're no longer just another vacation rental company competing for a booking.
We're the local experts helping them discover and plan an experience they're excited about.
And if that traveler chooses to subscribe to our destination updates, travel guides, or other resources, we've created an opportunity to develop an ongoing relationship.
We may have introduced our brand, earned their trust, and begun building a direct relationship before the OTAs or competing vacation rental managers ever enter their booking search.
That's the real power of combining niche search visibility, Marketing Authority, and The Guest Engine.
It's not about beating Airbnb at its own game.
It's about reaching travelers through opportunities Airbnb and the other major competitors may not be pursuing as aggressively.
That's where Reasons for Travel connects directly with what I call The Guest Engine.
Connecting Reasons for Travel to Revenue Management
This is where the Full Spectrum Approach becomes especially important.
The marketing team shouldn't simply publish content based on whatever topics appear popular.
Revenue management should help inform the marketing calendar.
If certain weeks, seasons, or booking windows consistently underperform, that's valuable information.
Rather than immediately lowering rates or increasing advertising spend, we should also investigate whether there are audiences whose travel interests align with those periods. And it doesn't have to be a large audience of millions of people. If we are the only ones marketing to them, or one of just a few, a small niche audience is all we need to boost occupancy in a slow season.
Could birdwatchers help generate demand during a quieter fall period?
Could summer hikers and mountain bikers become repeat visitors to a destination they previously visited only for skiing?
Could fishing enthusiasts, cruise passengers, golfers, festival attendees, or pet owners provide additional demand during particular booking windows?
Not every niche will be large enough to move occupancy, and not every travel interest aligns with the properties we manage.
That's why the research matters.
The objective is to identify audiences with genuine travel motivation, match them to available inventory, and reach them with relevant content when they're making travel decisions.
Then measure whether the strategy actually generates bookings.
How Property Managers Can Apply This Strategy
Before developing a new destination content campaign, I would ask five questions:
Who travels here, and why? Identify meaningful travel segments beyond general tourism.
When do they travel? Research seasonality, events, migration patterns, travel windows, and booking behavior.
Where are our occupancy opportunities? Compare potential audiences with actual property availability and revenue performance.
How can we reach them? Develop useful content, targeted campaigns, local partnerships, search visibility, and permission-based email relationships.
How will we know it works? Measure qualified traffic, audience growth, booking inquiries, direct and repeat reservations, and incremental revenue.
The goal isn't to publish as much content as possible.
It's to create a focused marketing system where every article and campaign has a clear purpose.
The Bigger Picture: Marketing Shouldn't Operate in Isolation
One of the recurring challenges I see in vacation rental management is that revenue management, marketing, guest acquisition, and operations are often treated as separate functions.
Pricing tools adjust rates. Marketing teams publish content. Reservation teams handle bookings. Operations teams service guests.
But the greatest opportunities often emerge when those functions share information and work toward the same objectives.
Reasons for Travel is one example of how those connections can create a stronger strategy.
Revenue management identifies opportunities.
Market research reveals potential audiences.
Marketing Authority helps attract those travelers.
The Guest Engine provides a path to build ongoing relationships.
And strong operations give guests reasons to return.
That's the philosophy behind Legendary's Full Spectrum Approach.
Sometimes the best way to generate more bookings isn't to lower your rates. It's to give people new reasons to visit.
And sometimes the most valuable guest isn't someone who's never visited your destination.
It's someone who already loves it, but hasn't discovered everything it has to offer.
Legendary Consultants helps vacation rental management companies connect revenue strategy, marketing authority, guest relationships, technology, and operational trust into coordinated growth systems.
Explore The Full Spectrum Approach and discover how a more connected strategy can help grow your vacation rental business.
And if you'd like to talk about your strategies and toss around different ideas, let us know.
