Boosting Your Visibility on Booking.com

In a perfect world, we would list our properties on Booking.com and they would rapidly rise to the top of every search return list. In reality, though, keeping your listing visible can be a challenge simply because there are so many listings available on Booking.com. Add in the fact that Booking.com has made it easy for potential renters to tailor their search by specific property features, and it becomes clear that you’ll need to make a concerted effort to boost the visibility of your listings. 

How to Increase Your Visibility on Booking.com

Once your property listing is live on Booking.com, you are officially competing against millions of other listings to catch the eye of potential renters, so you must make your property as catchy as it can be. You can boost the visibility of your listing from the outset by: 

• Highlighting high-quality photos: today’s travelers like to be seduced by sophisticated images during their first impression of a property, so upload only the photos that make your rental look its best. You can also use these images to showcase the amenities that your property offers. A sleek image of the toiletries you provide in the bathroom, for example, or a scintillating view from the terrace can be compelling (even more than if they are also listed in the amenities elsewhere on your property’s page). 
• Tap into tags: ensure your property makes the cut by tagging it in all applicable categories. Travelers savvy in the OTA industry know how to whittle down their searches, so by (honestly) tagging your property for all the categories it fulfills you can help your property to stay in a refined set of options. 
• Don’t be absent-minded about amenities: we mentioned this earlier but it is worth another reminder: showcase everything your property has to offer! It can be easy to overlook even the basics – in a rush, you might forget to include features like an oven or a dishwasher – but these handy conveniences can make or break the views of your property. Always double-check to make sure all of your perks are posted. 
• Perk up your profile: augment your amazing photographs both with a complete list of amenities but also all facilities your guests can access. Booking.com will generate a profile for your property based on the perks you note within the “Facilities and services” tab within the Booking.com extranet, so make sure to brainstorm so that all of the amazing details of your property can be showcased. You should also check for any errors in terms of stated distances to local landmarks or transportation – these changes can be requested via the Booking.com extranet. 
• Rev up your reviews: we’ll deal more with reviews (good and bad) in the next chapter, but it stands prominent here to work to build up your overall number of reviews. Your potential renters have not seen your listing in person, and many don’t want to rely on photographs alone (what if they are outdated or inaccurate?), so the Booking.com reviews are a crucial means by which potential renters select properties. Find ways to encourage your renters to leave reviews once they check out so that these comments stay current. 
• Always be updating: set yourself on a schedule to consistently review your property listings so that they reflect the most up-to-date information and offerings for each space. You don’t want to risk a negative review because something changed about your property but you neglected to update your listing. 
• Go global: Booking.com is available in more than 40 languages, so you can boost the success of your listing by making sure the language you use on your page is relatively easy to translate. Avoid turns of phrase that might not resonate well in another language or that might confuse a potential renter unnecessarily. 
• Use Booking.com’s Opportunity centre: Click on the “Opportunities tab” to see tailored recommendations to improve your property’s performance and guest experience. This feature lists all of the steps you need to take to improve your listing, as well as indicates where you’re outperforming versus your competitors.

What Factors Affect Your Rankings?

In addition to keeping track of these tips to boost your property’s visibility, you’ll also need to manage your ranking, which is a fluid parameter that Booking.com assigns to listings and that impacts the appearance of your property in a potential renter’s search results. 

According to Booking.com, since their ranking algorithm is so fluid there is no set of factors that can be deemed as contributing to your ranking. That being said, one vital factor is your rate of conversions or the number of times your property was viewed in relation to the number of times it was booked. The more bookings your property achieves, the higher this conversion rate will climb, and the greater the chances you will rank higher in a potential renter’s search. 

It is also important to remember that search ranking is dependent on the parameters that the potential renter entered. If that client is seeking a villa with a pool and all you have available for those dates is a chalet with a hot tub, the odds of that client seeing your property are very low. Clients can also filter and sort results on different parameters, like past reviews, so this can further shuffle listings. 

While the ranking system is rather nebulous, you can take advantage of Booking.com’s vast data store and review your results on the “Ranking on Site” dashboard. This will provide you with search results for your listing as well as property views and popularity as compared to others in your vicinity. These factors might not translate directly into your ranking results, but they can be a point to contemplate how you can improve your listing itself.