How can you improve the visibility of your Booking.com ad?

Booking.com is one of the world's leading online booking platforms, attracting millions of visitors every month from all over the world. That's why it's essential to create an ad for your vacation rental on this site, in order to get the maximum number of bookings. But you also need to take certain factors into account to ensure that your property is sufficiently visible. To do this, you need to know Booking's algorithm, and you'll need to devote some time to it. 

What is the Booking.com accommodation ranking?

The order in which the accommodations appear is not random and depends on an algorithm. Obviously, the higher up the list your accommodation appears, the more bookings you'll get, and this means that the score of your site's page is high.

Booking.com chooses which accommodations deserve the top spots based on a complex but effective system for offering travelers the best results first. This intelligent ranking takes into account users' preferences, the filters they have applied, market trends and vacation rental performance. Each user therefore receives different, personalized results to make their search as easy as possible. 

In the following sections, we take a closer look at the factors that influence search results and the strategies you can adopt to attract more visitors. 

Your property's conversion rate

Visit conversion rate represents the percentage of bookings in relation to the number of visits to your ad. It measures the effectiveness of your accommodation page.

Every reservation sends a signal to the Booking.com algorithm. When a reservation is made, the platform understands that your property is popular, and proposes it to others. similar travelers. That's why conversion is such a key factor for the positioning your location. 

You need to make your ad irresistible to maximize your conversion rate. Here's how you can do it: 

• Furnish your home properly to make it Instagrammable;
• Take professional photos of your accommodation touristIt's the first thing Internet users see, and first impressions are always important;
• Write a precise and complete description by noting as much information as possible, including all available facilities (private parking, air conditioning, high-speed WiFi, etc.);
• Offer quality serviceBe responsive and listen carefully to get excellent reviews and a positive rating. Your ad will then be considered reliable and attractive; 
• Set competitive prices by varying them according to changes in demand. You can also offer a wide variety of rate plans to maximize your chances of attracting customers with different priorities. For example, last-minute rates, low-season promotions, discounts for extended stays, special prices for bookings made from a smartphone, and so on.

Booking.com's Genius partner program

By joining the Genius programYou'll greatly increase the visibility of your ad, and it's the best choice for boost your page. In fact, those who sign up for Genius on Booking.com increase their sales by an average of 70 % their search results. What's more, their bookings skyrocket from 45 % and their 40 % !

This is a marketing solution which benefits guests and travelers alike, since they can sometimes benefit from an advantageous discount based on their profile. 

You can be part of this program if you meet a few criteria and receive at least 3 traveler reviews and obtain a minimum score of 7,5. 

Using the visibility gas pedal

Booking.com provides guests with thevisibility gas pedal to improve ad visibility during a propitious period. This tool also offers the possibility of targeting travelers from specific countries at key times, in order to attract an international clientele. Note that when you activate this feature, you slightly vary the commission rate based on the number of views you want to achieve. Booking offers a simulation tool that takes several elements into account to help you adjust this parameter, including the surfing behavior as well as booking trends of the moment. However, we advise you to use this feature sparingly, for example, during off-peak periods.  

Optimum availability on Booking.com

Travelers like to book their stay in advance, so Booking.com recommends opening up dates for reservation. 1 year in advance. In addition, regularly update the availability of your seasonal accommodation to appear in the rankings, especially if you've had a cancellation. By updating your calendar, you avoid losing potential customers. 

Your rental accommodation must be sufficiently available for booking on the dates most sought-after by visitors. Otherwise, Booking will progressively lower your ad in the search results, whereas you want the opposite. gain visibility.

Demonstrate responsiveness

Booking.com focuses on instant reservations and this requires rapid exchanges. Always be ready to respond to new messages and notices. What's more, you can have ready-made responses to frequently asked questions to make your workload easier, while keeping your effective communication. 

Rapid response promotes positive relations with visitors, but also improve theevaluation of your facilitywhich can have a positive impact on your position on the platform. 

Booking.com cancellation policy

Visit short-term rentals with flexible cancellation policies generally obtain more reservations than those who adopt strict conditionswithout refund. In fact, many travelers select from the search filters The "free cancellation" option gives you peace of mind. If you don't offer this option, you'll be missing out on a number of benefits. potential reservationsYou'll also benefit from the fact that your establishment will appear less often in search results. 

Specifically, Booking.com recommends allowing free cancellations up to 1 or 2 days before travelers arrive.

Our Airbnb concierge service for your rental on the Côte d'Azur

If you own a tourist rental on the Côte d'Azur, My Guest Relation can take care of the creating your ads on online platforms such as Booking.com. We take care of every step to optimize your rental performances. Our turnkey service includes regular updates of your booking calendar to maximize availability. The My Guest Relation team to free up your time as soon as you entrust us with the management of your rental property!