With over 1.4 billion users as of 2024, the power of Instagram for vacation rentals cannot be underestimated. The platform is a treasure trove of potential guests looking for their next vacation, offering your short-term rentals a chance to catch their eye.

Instagram is more than just pretty pictures. It’s an opportunity to connect with prospective guests worldwide. A well-maintained Instagram account can transform how property managers interact with visitors, showcase their rentals, and attract more bookings.

Although influencers make it look so easy, a lot goes into a compelling business account that inspires guests to book. The platform can quickly become overwhelming with so many features and moving parts.
In this guide, we’ve rounded our top reasons for investing in Instagram for vacation rentals and our favorite hacks to make the most of the platform. Let’s dive in!

Why every vacation rental manager needs an Instagram business account

• Increase visibility:
  Instagram is a visual platform ideal for showcasing your properties and enticing guests. With billions of active users scrolling through the app daily, you can tap into a vast market and spread the word about your rentals.
• Build your online brand:
  A solid vacation rental brand is necessary to stay competitive in the short-term rental industry. From aesthetics to tone of voice and captions to imagery, everything counts toward maintaining a consistent digital presence that will attract more followers.
• Encourage direct communication with guests:
  Thanks to Instagram’s direct messages, vacation rental managers can interact with users and build connections. Whether answering questions, providing recommendations, or addressing concerns, this immediate communication can lead to more conversions.
• Showcase unique features and experiences:
  Does your rental offer stunning views, luxurious amenities, or local experiences? Display your best assets in your posts through high-quality visuals and give potential guests a glimpse of what they can expect. Have them daydream about their stay, and you’ll reap the benefits in revenue.
• Drive direct bookings:
  By leveraging direct messages and links to your direct booking website, you increase your chances of getting more bookings. Plus, you’ll save on fees from large OTAs, ensuring a more personalized experience without middlemen.
• Build social proof and authority:
  Your brand’s longevity is directly connected to your reputation. Instagram can help you generate positive client testimonials and real-life experiences from satisfied guests as powerful endorsements that influence future guests’ decisions.

What are Instagram’s key features for vacation rental hosts

Here are the essential Instagram tools you should leverage in your social media marketing strategy:

• Display your best features with posts:
  Posts are the most basic type of content that appears in users’ newsfeeds. High-quality photos of your rentals are a must here, as these pictures will be your online portfolio that inspires guests to visit. Well-crafted posts tell a compelling story, helping guests envision their stay.
• Share the BTS with Instagram Stories:
  Have you recently renovated your rentals? Are there any local events taking place in your neighborhood? Perhaps you’re preparing your vacation home for the summer? Instagram Stories is the perfect place to show guests behind the scenes what it takes to run a vacation rental business. That’s why they don’t have to be top-tier—photos taken with your phone will suffice, as Stories last only 24 hours.
• Keep your audience engaged with Reels:
  Reels are short, engaging videos with the potential to reach wider audiences as they appear on Instagram’s Explore page. This feature is ideal for showcasing quick property tours, sharing travel tips with guests, or highlighting local attractions. They might require a bit more effort to put together, but the results are worth it.
• Create instant connections with Lives:
  Instagram Live lets you broadcast videos to your followers in real-time. Answer frequently asked questions, do a virtual tour of your vacation rental property, interact with your audience, and build personal rapport. Lives can be saved and later shared to your account to extend their reach beyond the initial broadcast.
• Communicate with prospects through DMs:
  One of Instagram’s most valuable features is its direct messages, allowing vacation rental owners and guests to communicate immediately. Use the DMs to answer inquiries, provide a personalized service, or handle bookings. Prompt and friendly responses can enhance guest satisfaction and increase returning customers.

Tips to skyrocket your Instagram account as a vacation rental business

Navigating Instagram for vacation rentals can be overwhelming. Here are the top hacks to skyrocket your account:

• Create a compelling bio: your Instagram bio is one of the first things users who visit your page will see. Clearly describe your property and its key features and include a call to action. Use emojis to make your bio visually appealing and add personality.
• Post high-quality photos: quality matters on Instagram. We recommend investing in professional photography for your rentals and tossing pixelated photos. Alternatively, learn to take high-quality pictures with your smartphone and use lighting and composition to your advantage.
• Write captivating captions: your captions should aim to tell the story of your vacation rental business. Set a friendly tone that answers people’s questions, encourages interactions, and educates on your destination. Emojis and hashtags can make your captions more relatable.
• Be consistent with your posting schedule: posting once and disappearing from the face of the earth won’t bring you success in the long run. Create a content calendar and stick to your posting schedule. Decide if you’ll post daily or weekly and stay consistent to maintain an engaged audience.
• Repost user-generated content: people tend to trust others’ real-life experiences more than they trust ads. Encourage guests to share photos of their stay and tag you. With their permission, repost their content to your account to spread social proof and create a sense of community and authenticity.
• Leverage the power of hashtags to attract your ideal guests: hashtags boost your posts’ discoverability. Research and include a mix of popular and niche hashtags relevant to your property type and location. Keep your target audience in mind and consider what they will search for.
• Get social and interact with others: the point of social media is, well, being social! Engage with other users by liking, commenting, sharing their posts, or answering their DMs. Participate in conversations, follow local brands, and collaborate with influencers to expand your reach.

In conclusion, Instagram for vacation rentals is a powerful tool and a must-have for your marketing arsenal. From increasing reach and building a solid brand identity to encouraging direct communication and generating more bookings, the benefits are substantial.
Hopefully, these tips will encourage you to hop on the platform and leverage its free features.

For optimal property management for busy hosts, at Hosthub, we offer an all-in-one channel manager and PMS to run your properties hassle-free. Free up your time from manual tasks, invest it in your marketing efforts, and take your business to the next level. Register today for a free trial or book a demo!