Author:
Bea Generalo
If you manage vacation rentals, you already know this, social media isn’t just about posting pretty photos anymore. It’s now a direct driver of bookings, guest engagement, and brand credibility.
Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok have become the new search engines for travelers. In fact, most guests now discover vacation homes through social media before they ever visit an OTA. For short-term rental (STR) owners and property managers, this shift is a massive opportunity, if you know how to play it right.
Here’s a practical, eight-step strategy to help your STR business thrive online, especially as the holiday season rush approaches.
Let’s start with the obvious: travelers today shop experiences, not listings. They don’t just want to see your property, they want to feel what it’s like to stay there.
A strong social media presence helps you:
Drive direct bookings and reduce OTA fees.
Build trust with guests before they ever book.
Showcase your property’s personality through photos, videos, and authentic guest stories.
Stay top-of-mind during travel planning season, especially before the holidays.
Properties with consistent, well-managed social media accounts see up to 25–40% more direct booking inquiries than those without one.
You don’t need to be everywhere, you just need to be where your guests are.
Here’s how to think about it:
Instagram: Perfect for visuals. Show off interiors, amenities, and behind-the-scenes clips. Reels perform best here.
TikTok: Ideal for quick, creative videos, room tours, transformation clips, or local highlights.
Facebook: Great for community building, guest updates, and sharing longer-form content.
Pinterest: Highly underrated for vacation planning. Travelers use it to bookmark trip ideas and “dream stays.”
LinkedIn: If you cater to business travelers or corporate stays, this platform can help attract professionals seeking short-term housing.
Focus on 2–3 platforms that best match your property type and audience. Then, show up consistently.
Beautiful content builds interest but strategic content builds bookings.
Here’s what works:
Professional photography — Show natural light, clean compositions, and real guest moments.
Video tours — Quick, authentic walk-throughs perform far better than static images.
Guest testimonials — Real reviews and stories build social proof faster than any ad.
Local spotlights — Share nearby restaurants, activities, and hidden gems. It turns your feed into a mini travel guide.
Behind-the-scenes clips — Show your team preparing the space, decorating for the holidays, or improving the guest experience.
Content doesn’t have to be complicated but it has to be intentional. Every post should either inspire, inform, or invite bookings.
Social media rewards consistency. As the holiday season approaches, guests are actively searching for stays, and the properties posting regularly are the ones they’ll see first.
Post at least 3–5 times per week, mixing photos, videos, and stories. Use a content calendar to plan seasonal promos or local events, and make sure your contact links and booking pages are always up to date.
If that sounds like a lot, this is exactly where a social media virtual assistant (VA) can step in, handling scheduling, captions, engagement, and even reporting, so you can focus on operations.
Social media is a two-way street. Replying to comments, answering DMs, and engaging with guests’ posts builds a personal connection, which often turns into a booking.
A few simple habits go a long way:
Respond to inquiries within a few hours.
Use warm, conversational language, like how you’d talk to a guest in person.
Comment on posts about your area or events to build visibility.
Re-share guest photos or tag them when they post about their stay.
These personal touches build trust and trust drives bookings.
Even with great organic content, a small ad budget can make a big impact. Platforms like Meta and TikTok allow you to target travelers based on location, interests, and travel dates, perfect for filling last-minute holiday vacancies.
Collaborating with micro-influencers (those with 10K–50K followers) is another powerful, cost-efficient way to boost visibility. Their content tends to feel more authentic and authenticity sells.
You can’t improve what you don’t measure.
Track metrics like:
Direct inquiries or clicks to your booking page
Engagement rates (likes, shares, saves, comments)
Audience growth
Conversion from social to actual bookings
If you’re not sure how to analyze these metrics, a VA trained in social media analytics can easily handle this, providing you with reports that show what’s actually driving results.
The last quarter of the year is the most crucial for short-term rentals. Travelers are searching, planning, and booking in bulk.
Now’s the time to:
Run early bird promotions.
Post holiday-themed visuals (tree decor, cozy corners, winter city views).
Highlight group stays or family-friendly amenities.
Keep your response times short to capture fast-moving guests.
Managing social media for multiple properties takes time, creativity, and consistency. But you don’t have to do it all yourself.
At Delegate, we connect short-term rental businesses with full-time Social Media Virtual Assistants from the Philippines, highly trained to manage your online presence, grow engagement, and convert followers into guests.
They handle everything: from content creation and scheduling to community engagement and analytics, all for a fraction of the cost of in-house staff.
So as the holiday rush approaches, don’t let your social media sit idle.
Let a trained professional manage your brand while you focus on what you do best, hosting.
Learn more at Delegate.co and discover how a social media VA can help your short-term rental business scale faster, smarter, and stress-free. Get started at www.delegate.co.
© 2024 Delegate BPO LLC All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy
For Clients
For Top Talents
