We're starting something new here at the HomeAway Owner Community-- Listings 101: How to Build a Better Listing. Our goal is to educate vacation rental owners as to how to maximize the efficiency and appeal of their HomeAway Network advertisement. First up is The Riverhouse: http://www.homeaway.com/104903

PROPERTY HEADLINE & PROPERTY ACCOMMODATION SUMMARY

"The Riverhouse" is a great name for a property, but not really descriptive enough to standout as a property headline. The property headline is your first chance to grab a renter's attention and needs to be as specific as possible (this helps for search engine rankings as well). Your property headline/one-line description should be changed regularly to reflect upcoming seasonal/holiday opportunities. Try instead: Riverfront Cape Cod-Style Home in Historic Orland Maine Affordable Riverfront, Great Views, Private Setting, Fall Foliage Book Now for 2007, Riverfront, Private, Cape-Cod Style Home Good choice for a thumbnail photo. It showcases the house and the area. However, the photograph needs more color in order to stand out amongst the competition.

 PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS

The home looks very charming and I don't think that the photographs do it justice. The pictures are overexposed and colorless. I'd recommend replacing them with high quality digital photographs. Read 11 Steps to Staging Great Photos for suggestions. When choosing how to best present your property, consider hiring a professional photographer or better yet, offer a trade! Allow them to stay at your home for a weekend (that is not usually booked) in exchange for 12 awesome photos of your home.   A subscription to the HomeAway Network allows you twelve photos-- and I would recommend putting up the maximum. Most renters want to have as much information as possible available to them instantaneously. They want to know: What do the bedrooms look like? How about the kitchen? How far to the water? Maine is a summer and fall foliage destination, it'd be a good idea to show photos for both seasons. I'd recommend having at least a photo of: The exterior of the house The view The kitchen The living area The bedrooms

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTY

This description is very straight-forward, but does not paint a picture of the experience that a renter would enjoy staying at this property. It is important to put as much information in the description as possible because there are three types of shoppers. One that only looks at photos, one that only looks at the written description and the last might only look at your bullet-pointed items. It is best to optimize all of the areas of your advertisement. Write everything that a renter would want to know about your home. So even if you have an amenity listed in the amenities table, go ahead and highlight it in your description as well. Good use of key landmarks. Consider adding more information about the house itself and the location. What is the setup of beds? How many full bathrooms? How many steps to the river? How far is the beach? How far to the boat anchorage? What is a “Cape”? Do you have something that you know renters visiting your area are looking for? For instance, if nearly every renter asks if you have a lobster pot, then be sure to incorporate it into your description. Something along the lines of “Fully-equipped kitchen with lobster pot and claw crackers so you can cook up a lobster feast!” HomeAway also allows you to enter a text description for your location in this section. This is a good place to talk about the local area and landmarks as well as local art, music, or festivals that you think potential renters might enjoy while staying at your property. Remember, each thing you enter will not only inform and attract renters, but you also may be optimizing your property page for the search engines like Yahoo! and Google. For instance if you know that most of your renters ask you how far your property is from Acadia National Park or how far to Bar Harbor, be sure to fully describe these details in your advertisement.

 AVAILABILITY CALENDAR

Good choice in using the availabilty calendar, though I'd recommend updating it more regularly. This is one of the first things that a potential renter will look at when scanning an ad.  By updating your calendar weekly your listing may appear higher in the HomeAway search results.

 RENTAL RATE & FEE TABLE

To make the rental rates easier to comprehend at first glance, put all of the rates into the table. Consider running a special offer during the off-season to attract more renters to your ad. Re-evaluate your six-night minimum stay for weeks when you might otherwise go unbooked. Perhaps a special for $165/night; rent 3 nights get the 4th night free would attract more off-season travelers (which still yields a full-week rate for only 4 nights). Keeping in mind that many people who travel during the off-season do not always stay a full week. This will attract travelers looking to come for a long weekend.  Good choice in including the tax rate.  It's always good to let renters know ahead of time about any additional fees: No one likes to be nickel-and-dimed at the last minute.

 BASIC PROPERTY FEATURES

The phrase “excepting size of actual room” is unclear. Consider adding a sofa bed or air mattress to allow for parties of 5-6. Or add a portacrib to allow for families with infants. The "location type" category is important because it also appears in your listing summary and in search results and can be used by renters to find your property when narrowing their search. This property could fit into several of the categories and choosing two is difficult. Do “beach” and “near the ocean” evoke the property experience? Or would “river” and “rural” do better? When looking at the photographs, I can see “historic”, but not “luxury." Take photos of what makes your property luxurious compared to other homes in your area, or change your theme descriptor.

AMENITIES & ATTRACTIONS

Consider accepting credit cards. One thing that renters definitely look for in this section is whether or not you accept credit cards. Many will dismiss your property right away if you do not. Good choice in having a lobster pot. That is a must for Maine vacation rentals. No oven? No freezer? Consider adding a highchair to accommodate families with infants.  Highlight that you allow long-term renters in the rental rate table as well.  HomeAway allows you to input your own customized local activities in addition to the ones above. Take advantage of this and highlight activities that are special to your area.  The notes area is good for clearing up anything that may not be clear from the tables alone. Tours and chauffeuring by who?

Great idea linking to a guestbook. Potential renters would definitely like to read the feedback of past renters. You can also use this section to link to your personal website (though all links must be approved by our team).  Equally important is having past renters complete reviews for your property.  This will ease the minds of future renters by letting them know that what your ad shows is what they will get. Good choice providing a local telephone number. You might also want to provide your cell phone number. The Diagnosis: This property has tons of potential and absolutely no reason for ever sitting empty during the peak seasons. With a little bit of color and care, this ad should be generating more inquiries in no time. Do you have additional suggestions for this ad? Email us.