Furniture and towels are in place, the cleaning is done, and your A‌i‌r‌b‌n‌b‌ profile is complete. Your rental property is ready to accept reservations -- but you're limited to whatever information the rental service allows you to share with prospective guests.

When you list a property to attract guests, you're selling an experience. You want to convey a feeling that is often hard to channel within the confines of an application or third-party service.

Let's review how keeping a property rental website to complement an Airbnb listing can support your vacation home by providing more images and information that set you apart as a host. Your website can play a significant role in convincing prospective guests to rule out competing listings and book their stays with you.

Receive more views with a property rental website

You may be thinking, "If I'm already listed on Airbnb, why is creating a separate property rental website necessary?"

Having a website to share your rental property with prospective renters can add to (or even replace) those services by empowering you to provide more detailed information about your place, including maps, additional images, and resources that your guests might find extremely useful, like a contact form that allows them to reach out directly if they have specific questions or concerns.

Helpful hosts get favorable reviews

The best way to get and maintain five-star ratings on rental websites is to be a reliable host. Being attentive and keeping your property in good shape is just the beginning. Be proactive by providing any information that your temporary tenants might need. When you do that, you show that you're an approachable host who is there to answer questions and support guests.

A website is a great place to house and manage all of this information. While many rental properties share instructions and house rules via email prior to guests' arrival, the very best hosts also share website URLs for their properties. By providing guests with a website full of resources, they can address the most frequently asked questions and supply far more than a list of rules. Going above and beyond with a website will set the tone for your guests' experience, and might reflect even better on you once it's time for them to leave reviews.

Build out your listing with thoughtful details

Besides house rules and the always-crucial Wi-Fi password, consider building out the character of your listing by adding a few extra touches.

  • Are you renting out a historic or interesting property? Include an "About Our House" page that explains what makes your property unique.
  • Guests might be interested in learning about your story as well -- so introduce yourself and provide some fun facts about your background. This is where you can go beyond the two-line introduction that a third-party rental service allows.
  • Add a guestbook plugin to let guests share experiences and tell stories about the good times they had at your property. This simultaneously provides you with useful testimonials to feature on your site down the road (with permission from the authors) and convinces future prospective guests to make reservations.
  • Share additional photos so your listing stands out. The orange sunset falling below the mountains, a historic hiking route, or even the cocktail lounge a few blocks away — many properties' biggest selling point is their proximity to other attractions. Rental services prefer that you only share photos of your listing, but with your own website, you can share as many additional photos as you want. When you show them to visitors through a powerful content delivery network like Jetpack's, your site will stay lightning-fast.
  • Share exciting local events with prospective renters. The farmer's market held every Thursday afternoon might not be news to you, but it'll be a first for your guests -- so be sure to tell them about it. You can display any local events worth sharing with the Upcoming Events Widget.
  • Showcase popular local destinations -- list your favorite hangouts, the best cafe in town, or a legendary brunch spot. Is there a scenic beach nearby that nobody knows about? Use a map block so your guests can plan their trips.

Websites are the perfect platforms to organize and present this wealth of information. As an added bonus, your posts can double as advertisements if you share them to your social media channels with Publicize.

Better ratings, more reservations, increased revenue

At the end of the day, having your own property rental website positions you to achieve one very important thing: providing superior guest experiences. Better experiences lead to positive ratings for your property, which bring in more reservations. If every weekend is booked months in advance, you earn that much more income.