Marketing Your Static Caravan as a Holiday Home

Whether you are letting your static caravan for the first time or aiming to land more bookings this time, this guide to marketing your static caravan as a holiday home is designed to help you.

With UK ‘staycation’ holidays being the first option for a lot of people this year, there has never been a better time to think about how you are going to present your static caravan in a changed and competitive market.

The holiday park owner or manager may offer a holiday rental service for your static caravan. However, you may choose to market your static caravan as a holiday home yourself.

Prepare your material when marketing your static caravan
You can have the most comfortable, stylish caravan with the best views. However, if no one knows about it and just how great the experience you offer is, no one benefits from it as they should. It is an obvious thing to say, but preparing great visuals and written material first can really help with the rest of the process.

Make your headline and visual presentation grab attention and target your audience with short snappy messages. For example: ‘ideal for walking’ or ‘romantic and tranquil beaches’. Include all the most relevant information as quickly and clearly as possible. Cover topics such as availability, number of beds, location, a brief description, pricing and wonderful photos, before taking advantage of any more space to sell it more. Don’t forget to sell the area as much as the property.

Notice how other holiday homes like yours are described in advertisements and in reviews and the key words they use. Pay particular attention to phrases like ‘great for walking’ or ‘tranquil views’. This can give you a good handle on what other people think are the attractive features of your static caravan that even you may have not realised.

Marketing your static caravan – photos
Be prepared to spend time and possibly money on attractive photos or even a video tour of the property. People may be surprised just how large or stylish a static caravan can be. Having professional photos taken of your static caravan can really show it off in the best light. You can then be more confident with the words you use to sell it as a place to have an unforgettable holiday. It also helps define in your own mind exactly what it is you are promoting.

Where to market your static caravan online
Now you have your top-quality promotional materials, so where do you put them? When listing your static caravan online as a holiday home, Google the search terms that you would use to find it.

First, it is a good idea to define your target audience or audiences. The turn off any personalisation settings on your web browser and search as if you are a member of that audience. Use search phrases such as “Holiday home for 2 people in Dorset” or “Seaside family holiday home” or “Holiday caravan with swimming pool”. Think of the location and special features that your static caravan offers.

Take a note of the top three sites listed for each search and particularly note any repeat appearances. Make a note of the key words these sites use other than those in your search terms. These will be useful to include in your own written descriptions in advertising or listings for your static caravan.

This will bring up various websites which you can then investigate further. Check out the following:
• Their fees
• Whether they charge per booking or via a subscription
• Customer reviews
• Which services they provide – do they manage the booking process or just send you an email?

Individual holiday home listing sites will perform differently for different people and will vary in their performance over time, because of their own marketing, their profile and other factors. The higher profile websites receive a lot of search traffic but they also have a lot of listings, which means more competition.

Also look at specialist listings for caravans or your local area.

Getting the rental price right for your static caravan
Comparing your static caravan with similar ones on the same holiday park can help you with your pricing. It is an essential part of marketing your static caravan to get the pricing right – too high and you price people out, too low and you gain bookings and all the work that implies but lose out on the revenue. Comparison with other similar caravans or those aimed at a similar market is invaluable here.

Guest feedback when marketing your static caravan
If you are already letting your static caravan, guest feedback is also a great source for your marketing effort. You can directly discover what people really value about the accommodation and experience you offer. A guest book is invaluable for this, as of course are online reviews. Your engagement with customers online, including how you handle complaints is also a valuable and an often overlooked marketing tool. All this feedback can inform you as to how and to whom you should be marketing your static caravan.

With enough research under your belt it is time for trial and error. Decide on two or three websites you think are appropriate for your property and place your static caravan on them. Again, be prepared to begin with, to pay a little in subscriptions to these sites or in commission per booking received. The point now is to analyse the results you get. One or two websites will probably generate most of your bookings. Concentrate on these and don’t hesitate to ditch the rest. Better to be the best on one site than just OK on many for your property to stand out.

Do not be tempted by free websites unless you know they are going to be worth it in terms of bookings.

Using social media when marketing your static caravan
Engaging with social media can be a very hit or miss marketing tool but is great for engaging with previous guests and through that engagement, attracting more new custom. It is also a great place to update and refresh the availability information. Remember it can become a lot of hard work for not much in terms of new or repeat bookings. It is therefore important to think about how much you want to maintain a presence on social media before you wade in. One Facebook page might be appropriate for you rather than a multi-platformed presence. Think about what is the most popular platform among your target audience.

Finally, don’t spread yourself too thin. If one website or listing is working, stick with it.
Ultimately the results from your marketing are judged in terms of securing the largest amount of bookings for the smallest amount of effort and money.

You may also be interested in our article: Marketing Your Holiday Home Online

This is a marketing article from My Holiday Home Insurance, specialist providers of insurance for holiday homes, leisure homes, leisure lodges and static caravans. Our team of experienced advisers are always happy to help, so for more information, call our Northampton office on freephone 0800 988 0890.

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