Does your vacation rental listing pass the skim test?
We are multi-taskers with a VERY limited attention span!
When your potential guest is reading your listing, it's no surprise that they are looking at many others as well!
So, how do you make sure your listing gets the attention it deserves in a very short amount of time?
Your listing needs to pass the skim test.
Your potential guest usually knows a few key things they require in their vacation home. It could be a certain distance from a popular destination, a TV in the bedroom, a large deck, etc.
Everyone's wish list will be different, but you want to make sure your listing doesn't get overlooked because they couldn't easily find the information they were looking for!
This is where the skim test comes into play.
3 ways to pass the skim test:
1. Use headlines
This is where you'll want to breakout your listing into sections that can easily be skimmed so your guest can quickly find what they are looking for.
One example of how you could break up your listing description:
Intro (why is your property unique and what will they love about it)
The Property (break this into sub headers to describe each part of the house)
Amenities (baby items, bikes, kayaks, coffee bar, etc.)
Location (be sure to list out travel times to popular destinations if it applies to your rental)
Additional details (policies, etc.)
2. Be succinct and use space
You don't want to turn your listing description into a novel!
Be sure to address all the great features of your home and the questions you receive most often...but don't get too wordy!
Space is your friend here. Keep the sentences short and sweet and leave some space between the paragraphs.
3. Use caps to highlight important features
If the listing site allows it, using caps is a GREAT way to emphasize important features (...see what I just did there?!).
Next steps:
Take another look at your description and see if it passes the test using these 3 guidelines (headlines, succinct & caps).
It's always nice to get another set of eyes on your description as well!
Find a friend (who isn't very familiar with your vacation home) that can skim your listing and provide feedback on how easily digestible the information was.
*Fully Booked Consulting works with vacation homeowners on marketing their vacation rental
to ensure their listing(s) will rank well on websites like VRBO and AirBnB in order to get more rental bookings.
If you are looking for some help with marketing your vacation rental, we would love to chat with you! Learn more.
