As savvy, Inbound Marketing professionals, we love personas. They represent different versions of your ideal customer, personifying them and giving them a story so that you can put yourself in their position. In doing this, you can provide the best customer experience possible, whether in person or on the web.

For vacation rentals, this is especially important. After all, it’s your destination they chose to create a special memory at with their loved ones. However, not all travelers are created equally. Not only do demographics play a part in your buyer’s decisions, but so do their personalities. A recent TripAdvisor study revealed the 4 most common booking behaviors:

Flight Bookers usually take longer vacations because they are destination oriented. They travel because they want a cultural experience. This being said, they are usually inclined to spend a little more money.

Hotel Bookers are family-centered and internet savvy, typically researching a hotel online based on guest reviews and ratings. They want a great experience at a good value and usually are only looking for a weekend escape.

Mavericks are habitual creatures. Ratings and prices aren’t typically a priority, as they just want to get booking over with – this is because their trip is for business instead of pleasure. Since their trips are made consistently, they prefer finding a destination, and sticking to it if it suits their needs.

Balanced Bookers make up the smallest percentage of travelers in this group. They do an equal amount of planning and browsing. They’re willing to do extra research to make sure they get the most out of their trip, which can last anywhere from a weekend to a week.

So what does this mean for your personas we mentioned earlier?

Chances are, your vacation rental personas fit into one of the prior categories. Once you discover what kind of traveler your persona is, you can then find out what kind of person they are. After all, Inbound Marketing is all about content that’s personable. This mean discovering the specifics of your persona, such as their attitude, booking preferences, age and income.

Related: Do I Have To Have A Google Plus Page For My Hotel?

We created brief personas based on TripAdvisor’s 2016 TripBarometer report to get you started:

• Value Seeker Valerie: Valerie is a mother of two young boys, ages four and three. Her boys love spending time at the beach, so she tries to make a trip to the Florida Coast at least once a year. She’s looking for a rental that offers seasonal deals and babysitting so her and her husband can have a little quality time on their trip.
• Luxury Traveler Lucas: When Lucas plans a trip, he goes all out. He’s a wealthy businessman and husband, looking to treat himself and his wife to an island getaway. He wants to make sure his destination is top notch, and usually looks to reviews and ratings for making a final decision.
• Social Traveler Sam: Sam believes in sharing a great experience with loved ones. Time spent with his family and friends is important, so he wants to make sure there’s an activity for everyone to enjoy. Word-of-mouth recommendations are a big booking influencer and he has a healthy income to make the trip worthwhile.
• Independent Traveler Isaac: Isaac is a freelance photographer, eager to discover new places. He prefers to go at his own pace and travel light. He’s fresh out of college, but makes a modest living doing photojournalism work. He wants to see the world before he settles down.
• Researcher Rebecca: Rebecca is a perfectionist. She browses the internet in search of the perfect restaurants, attractions and resorts in just the right place. Because she wants her trip to be perfect, she’s willing to spend a little extra to make it special. She’s typically in her 30’s and traveling with her partner, looking for a romantic getaway.
• Habitual Traveler Harry: Harry works for a firm that requires him to attend many training trips and networking events. Because he’s so busy with work, Harry doesn’t like to spend a lot of time on research and only needs the basic amenities. On his free time, he simply wants to relax.

Hopefully these short descriptions help to get you started creating amazing personas of your own! Still having trouble connecting with potential guests? Contact us for a free consultation, and we’ll work with you to create your ideal persona and get more heads in beds.