Social media can be a powerful channel for vacation rental marketing—or a significant time sink with little return. Success requires understanding which platforms matter for your property, creating content that converts, and maintaining sustainable effort.
This guide covers practical social media strategies for vacation rental owners.
Why Social Media Matters for Vacation Rentals
Discovery and Awareness
Where travelers research:
- Instagram for visual inspiration
- Pinterest for trip planning
- Facebook for recommendations
- TikTok for destination ideas
Social media’s role:
- Introduces your property to potential guests
- Showcases experience beyond listing photos
- Builds connection before booking
- Supports direct booking strategy
Trust and Credibility
Social proof provides:
- Evidence the property exists
- Real guest experiences
- Behind-the-scenes authenticity
- Personality and brand identity
Direct Booking Support
Social media drives:
- Traffic to your direct booking site
- Repeat guest engagement
- Referral bookings
- Email list growth
Choosing Your Platforms
Best for:
- Visual-focused properties
- Experience-driven rentals
- Younger demographics
- Lifestyle positioning
Content that works:
- Beautiful property photos
- Area attraction highlights
- Guest experience stories
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Local recommendations
Effort level: Medium-high (consistent visual content needed)
Best for:
- Older demographics
- Group/family travel market
- Community building
- Local engagement
Content that works:
- Property updates
- Local event sharing
- Guest reviews/testimonials
- Special offers
- Interactive posts
Effort level: Medium (regular posting, community management)
Best for:
- Trip planning inspiration
- Long-term content value
- Driving website traffic
- Wedding/event properties
Content that works:
- Beautiful property images
- Area guides and inspiration
- Travel planning resources
- Seasonal content
- DIY and tips (for broad appeal)
Effort level: Low-medium (pins have long shelf life)
TikTok
Best for:
- Unique or unusual properties
- Younger demographics
- Viral potential
- Personality-driven brands
Content that works:
- Property tours
- Behind-the-scenes
- Transformations
- Local secrets
- Humor and personality
Effort level: High (frequent video content)
YouTube
Best for:
- Property tours
- Area guides
- Long-form content
- SEO value
Content that works:
- Virtual property tours
- Area activity guides
- How-to content
- Guest testimonials
Effort level: High (video production)
Recommended Focus
For most vacation rental owners:
| Property Type | Primary Platform | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Luxury/unique | ||
| Family-focused | ||
| Adventure/outdoor | TikTok | |
| Romantic getaway | ||
| Business travelers |
Rule: Better to do one platform well than three poorly.
Content Strategy
Content Pillars
Build content around 4-5 themes:
-
Property showcase (30%)
- Beautiful photos
- Amenity highlights
- Seasonal views
- Details and features
-
Area attractions (30%)
- Local activities
- Restaurants and shops
- Hidden gems
- Seasonal events
-
Guest experience (20%)
- Reviews and testimonials
- Guest photos (with permission)
- Stories and memories
- Thank yous
-
Behind-the-scenes (10%)
- Preparation and care
- Updates and improvements
- Team introduction
- Authenticity moments
-
Calls to action (10%)
- Booking reminders
- Special offers
- Availability alerts
- Direct booking links
Content Calendar
Planning approach:
- Batch create content
- Plan 2-4 weeks ahead
- Balance content types
- Leave room for timely posts
Sample weekly schedule:
- Monday: Property feature
- Wednesday: Area highlight
- Friday: Guest testimonial or weekend inspiration
- Stories: Daily or multiple times per week
Photography Tips
For social media success:
- Natural lighting whenever possible
- Horizontal AND vertical formats
- Detail shots and wide angles
- People add scale and life
- Consistent editing style
What to capture:
- Golden hour light
- Seasonal changes
- Lifestyle moments
- Local character
- Authentic details
Captions That Convert
Effective caption formula:
- Hook (first line matters)
- Story or value
- Engagement prompt
- Call to action
- Relevant hashtags
Example: “That moment when you realize your morning coffee comes with this view ☕️
Our guests tell us their favorite memory is waking up to the lake. Whether you’re an early riser catching sunrise or sleeping in with the curtains open, this view is always here.
What’s your perfect morning routine on vacation?
📍 Beaver Lake, Arkansas 🔗 Link in bio to book your lake getaway
#BeaverLake #ArkansasTravel #LakeLife”
Hashtag Strategy
Approach:
- Mix of sizes (popular to niche)
- Location-specific tags
- Activity and interest tags
- Avoid banned or overused
Example mix:
- Large: #vacation #travelgram
- Medium: #arkansastravel #familygetaway
- Niche: #beaverlake #nwarkansas
- Location: #bentonvillear #visitarkansas
Building Engagement
Responding to Comments
Best practices:
- Respond within 24 hours
- Personalize responses
- Ask follow-up questions
- Show genuine interest
Why it matters:
- Builds relationship
- Shows active management
- Encourages more engagement
- Algorithm benefits
User-Generated Content
Encouraging guest content:
- Create Instagram-worthy moments
- Provide property hashtag
- Share and credit guest posts
- Create photo opportunities
Using guest content:
- Always ask permission
- Credit the creator
- Share to Stories
- Save to highlights
Community Engagement
Don’t just post—participate:
- Follow local businesses
- Engage with area accounts
- Share relevant content
- Build relationships
Collaborations
Partnership opportunities:
- Local businesses cross-promotion
- Area influencer stays
- Tourism board features
- Other STR owners (different markets)
Converting Followers to Guests
Link Strategy
Make booking easy:
- Link in bio to booking page
- Story links when available
- Link tree for multiple options
- Track with UTM parameters
Direct Booking Promotion
How to promote without being pushy:
- Availability updates (“Labor Day weekend just opened!”)
- Last-minute deals
- Seasonal highlights
- New feature announcements
Email List Building
Use social to build email list:
- Lead magnets (area guides, packing lists)
- Exclusive content offers
- Newsletter promotion
- Landing page links
Retargeting
For paid advertising:
- Facebook pixel on website
- Retarget engaged followers
- Lookalike audiences
- Seasonal campaigns
Time Management
Realistic Time Investment
Sustainable approach:
- 30-60 minutes daily OR
- 2-3 hours weekly batch
- Focus on one platform
- Quality over quantity
Batching Content
Efficient workflow:
- Monthly photo/video session
- Weekly content planning
- Batch caption writing
- Schedule posts in advance
- Daily engagement (10-15 min)
Tools to Save Time
Scheduling:
- Later
- Planoly
- Meta Business Suite (Facebook/Instagram)
- Tailwind (Pinterest)
Design:
- Canva (templates and graphics)
- Lightroom (photo editing)
- CapCut (video editing)
Analytics:
- Native platform insights
- Third-party analytics
- Track what works
Measuring Success
Metrics That Matter
Engagement metrics:
- Engagement rate (likes + comments / followers)
- Story views and responses
- Saves and shares
- Comment quality
Business metrics:
- Website clicks
- Direct messages asking about booking
- Booking source attribution
- Email signups from social
What to Track
Monthly review:
- Follower growth
- Best performing content
- Website traffic from social
- Bookings attributed to social
- Time invested vs. return
Realistic Expectations
Timeline:
- 3-6 months to build momentum
- Slow, steady growth is normal
- Quality followers > quantity
- ROI improves over time
Warning signs:
- Spending hours with no results
- Follower counts without engagement
- Stress outweighing benefits
- Taking time from operations
Common Mistakes
Inconsistency
Problem: Posting daily for a week, then disappearing for a month.
Solution: Sustainable schedule you can maintain long-term.
Over-Promotion
Problem: Every post is “Book now!”
Solution: Follow the 80/20 rule—80% value, 20% promotion.
Ignoring Analytics
Problem: Guessing what works instead of knowing.
Solution: Monthly review of what performs, adjust accordingly.
Trying to Be Everywhere
Problem: Mediocre presence on five platforms.
Solution: Excellent presence on one or two.
Buying Followers
Problem: High follower count, no engagement or bookings.
Solution: Organic growth only—quality over quantity.
Social media amplifies great properties. Learn how our approach helps owners build their brand and attract direct bookings.
