How to know if your luxury holiday property needs a brand?

Every business needs a brand, but is it beneficial to turn your holiday rental property into a hospitality brand? Should you create a luxury villa brand or partner with a holiday rental or property management company?

Find our easy 3-questions test, to know if it will work for you!

Today a villa for rent, can’t just be a space with facilities to be popular. A holiday villa rental should be a whole experience for the guests. Nowadays the market offers many property management and holiday rental companies, that are doing a nice job. Many of them have a brand and implement their standards of service.

Online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Airbnb, Booking.com, and Agoda have made holiday rentals a common choice for travelers. More tourists prefer private properties over crowded hotels. This shift in travel preferences has created a high demand for holiday properties in resort locations.

With the demand and market oversaturation came the need to be different, or to search for special ways to be noticed for example a unique branding strategy.

With increased demand and market saturation, it's crucial to stand out, perhaps through a unique branding strategy. The recent pandemic has intensified competition in the hospitality industry. The availability of private villas serviced by resorts is rapidly increasing.

Starting as an independent property brand today is more viable than ever. However, creating an independent brand isn't the only way to profit from a rental property. A unique brand caters to a specific type of property.

Here are the most effective strategies for villa owners to secure bookings for their holiday rental properties:

Personally manage the Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), or hire an assistant to handle the OTAs for you.
Collaborate with a holiday rental or property management company and grant them full authority to operate your property.
Establish a unique brand and manage the property independently. You can engage a marketing agency like FAMEsolutely and form your own in-villa staff team, including a villa manager.

Each of these options is suitable for different types of properties. Below, you'll find a simple test to determine if becoming an independent brand could increase your holiday rental revenue.

Test: The three simple questions to define a Luxury Villa brand's potential

Does the property consist of more than 2 villas?
Do you have an in-villa staff team? (Like a villa manager, maids, chef, gardener etc.)
Do you charge more than 1'000 USD/night on average for 3 bedrooms?

Result: All Yes

If you answered 'Yes' to all three questions, consider turning your property into a Hospitality brand. You meet all criteria to elevate your business.

Feel free to contact us and let's discuss how to make your property absolutely famous!

Result: Two Yes

If you answered 'Yes' to two questions, it could work for you if you plan to make future changes.

We recommend beginning with a logo, brand identity, and collateral marketing material to display within the villa. Then, consider working with holiday rental agencies, or advertising with OTAs.

A brand can work for you, but it will depend on other details. Don't hesitate to contact us, and let's chat about how we can make your property absolutely famous!

Result: One Yes, or less

If you answered 'Yes' to just one question or less, it's preferable for you to work with a property management company or holiday rental agency.

Tell me WHY?

Why more than two villas?

Having more villas makes it easier to secure bookings. If one villa is not available on certain dates, you can offer another one.

Another factor to consider is the revenue a property can generate and whether it can cover the costs of an in-house team and marketing support.

Additionally, if you have one villa with 8 bedrooms that can be rented separately, it could potentially be equivalent to having 2-3 separate villas.

Why in-house staff?

A brand is primarily defined by its service standards and the consistency of these standards. This can be achieved by a team that works strictly according to these standards. While it's possible to work with third-party companies, they will likely follow their own company rules, limiting your control over them compared to an in-house team.

Therefore, if you don't have an in-house staff team and don't intend to hire one, it's more advantageous to collaborate with a managing company.

Why a minimum rate per night?

Businesses depend on revenue. With lower rates, it becomes challenging to make a profit, maintain an in-house team, or retrieve the investment made in brand creation, launching, and marketing support fees.

However, if you have eight 2-bedroom villas priced at $500 per night, this model could still be profitable.