How to Get More Repeat Bookings for your Holiday Rental
Discover our tips on how to retain your holiday rental guests
April 2025
Every holiday rental host should see repeat bookings as a goal. They’re a great way to boost your revenue without the need for expensive marketing campaigns. Encouraging guests to come back and rent your holiday home again will really help your business — and with the new Holidu Host Website, it couldn’t be easier.
Why are repeat bookings so important?
As a holiday rental owner, you want people to rent your holiday apartment or home as frequently as possible. Speaking broadly, there are two ways to achieve that. Firstly, you can try to bring in more holiday rental guests, and secondly, you can appeal to repeat customers.
It can be tricky to attract holiday rental guests, particularly if you’re just starting out in the business. You’ll need to advertise your holiday home effectively, often by using strategies like SEO, social media campaigns, marketing, and so on. What’s more, you don’t know how the guests will behave until they’re on your property — will they be respectful, or will they cause problems?
On the other hand, hosts who retain holiday rental guests often find that it’s an easier way to keep their holiday rental business going strong. For one thing, you don’t need to grab their attention because they already know you. That means fewer costly, time-consuming advertising campaigns. Furthermore, you know what to expect. Guests who are clean, tidy and well-behaved are always welcome back, and you can rest easy when there are trustworthy guests in your property rental.
How to retain your holiday rental guests
It’s a good idea to take guests’ contact details whilst they are staying with you. You may need to ask guests for their email addresses or phone numbers, as many holiday rental portals do not share this information.
Don’t spam your guests, but do send them occasional offers to encourage them to book. You can also announce your repeat customer deals on social media.
Here are some strategies you can use to encourage guests to return to your property:
- A lower price for returning customers. This will still be affordable, as you don’t need to spend money on advertising.
- Special deals such as a free night (if they are booking a midweek stay), a welcome gift basket, or a discount on tours and local activities.
- A loyalty scheme. Some guests, particularly those who travel for business, come back to the same location again and again. You could offer them a deal worth one free night if they collect ten stamps, for example.
Organising and managing repeat guests for your holiday rental
Getting repeat customers is great for your business, but it can come with some challenges.
Some of the issues you may have to face when you are dealing with repeat guests include:
- Price negotiations. You’ll need to keep track of any special prices that you offer repeat guests. Look for host tools for a holiday rental that will allow you to easily add a discount for just one customer.
- Calendar issues. Repeat guests often prefer to book with you directly rather than going through a large holiday rental website. This can be a good thing, as you make more profit, but it can also lead to problems with double-booking dates.
- Payment. Again, repeat guests may have their own preferences. Some will want to pay you in person instead of going through a portal, while others want the trust that comes from an established industry website without paying any extra charges. You’ll need a good system to help manage this.
- Retaining guest information. It’s tedious for both you and the guest if you need to collect their personal data every time they come to stay.
- Policies. This can be a sticky situation. You want to treat returning guests with a special touch so that they keep coming back — but at the end of the day, your policies are still very important. What will you do if they cancel a booking without sufficient notice?
- Ongoing repeat bookings. In some cases, a guest might want to come back, say, every six weeks while they work on a business project in the area. It helps if you have a tool that will block these bookings out in your calendar well in advance.
Holiday rental tools for managing repeat guests
Luckily, there’s a great tool that will make organising repeat guests a breeze. The Holidu Host Website, a new initiative from Holidu, allows you to manage repeat bookings in just a few clicks. You can activate the Host Website by logging into your Holidu account and navigating to “Distribution channels”.
Some of the advantages of using the Holidu Host Website for repeat customers include:
1. A direct booking option
Essentially, guests can book with you directly. That’s great from their point of view, as they don’t need to go through a middleman. They already know that they want to stay in your property, and in just a few clicks, they’ll have it sorted. Also, you avoid the extra commission from OTAs, meaning you keep more money from your direct bookings.
2. Trustworthy policies
Even if you and your guests have developed a good relationship, you still need clear policies. While they can book directly through the Holidu Host Website, they’ll also benefit from Holidu’s well-established policies on matters like cancellation and payment. That keeps both parties happy.
3. Calendar sync
This is an absolutely essential tool when it comes to organising repeat bookings. The Holidu Host Website effortlessly syncs your calendar across platforms, cutting down on the potential for double-booking.
4. Secure payments
Guests can also pay via secure payment methods. This is great for them, as they won’t feel like they’re going through a middleman that takes unnecessary fees — but at the same time, they’ll have the security and trust that comes from a well-known platform such as Holidu.
How to use the Holidu Host Website
The Holidu Host Website includes a website builder tool, allowing you to create your own new holiday rental website. However, if you’re already happy with your existing website, you can just integrate it into the Holidu booking system instead via our booking widget. Either way, you’ll soon have access to a powerful suite of tools. No advanced technological skills are needed!
You can fully customise your Holidu Host website with the different themes and colors available, and upload the photos you want to use so you can make it fit your brand and style. Plus, add information about you as a host to help guests get to know you and your vacation rental business.
Activate the Host website today, and soon, you’ll be benefiting from a wealth of handy tools to attract new and repeat guests to your vacation rental.