When it comes to the villa rental market in the Algarve, 2022 will be the year to really make your villa stand out from the crowd. Across many industries, not just travel, we are seeing new and innovative marketing techniques that capture the attention of consumers across the world.
At SandyBlue, we have always tapped into the power of marketing strategy. Every villa we have in our portfolio is unique, which means utilising different channels in different ways is key to our strategy. Deep dive analysis of previous marketing performance is a great way to identify your villa successes and areas where it can gain even more attention.
It also means you can get ahead of the competition – getting SandyBlue’s marketing strategy in place early meant we saw report enquiries up 22%, bookings up by 36% and average booking values up by 32% in 2021. So, what will 2022 bring for marketing in the villa rental space?
Powerful marketing channels
All of the marketing channels we use at SandyBlue have one thing in common – communication needs to be consistent. This is a powerful way to nurture an audience and keep them engaged, even after they have stayed as guests.
Social media continues to be a juggernaut, especially in the travel industry. We saw social media traffic rise 27% as a result of detailed analysis into how audiences were engaging with posts. In 2022, we expect to see the further rise of TikTok. Users are already using the channel to follow certain travel hashtags and plan their next trip. This should definitely not be ignored.
Email marketing remains a mainstay in travel marketing. Engaging, consistent and striking content will help keep audiences interested. This is a great way to also keep in touch with previous guests and build a database of loyal customers. With a database of over 25,000 customers, our team has seen the benefits of focused email campaigns.
Simple yet effective changes
Often, it is easy to assume that marketing campaigns need to be big and bold. While this is certainly a great way to get your villa on the map, there are smaller changes that can still have a huge effect.
At SandyBlue, we understand the importance of a visual impact. Potential guests need to see exactly what the property has to offer, so they can truly imagine themselves staying there. Fantastic property photography is always high on our agenda, so we do recommend villa owners review their own villa photos. Furthermore, the use of lifestyle images on social media further drives encouragement from tourists who are looking for somewhere spectacular to stay.
Across each marketing channel, it is also important to look at the audience demographics. Doing so allows you to adapt your messaging and content to speak to them directly.
Get noticed in 2022
We will certainly be keeping our eyes on the marketing and travel trends in 2022. Villa owners in the Algarve should be taking notes of these, so their villa is the one to watch in the year ahead!
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Joe Mountain is founder of Algarve villa rental specialists SandyBlue.
289 392 236 | www.sandyblue.com
