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Key Takeaways
Google captures demand; Facebook creates it: Think of a jewelry store: Google is the customer walking in and asking for a princess-cut engagement ring — they tell you exactly what they want. Facebook is you tapping passersby on the shoulder while they scroll photos of friends and family. That’s why a search like ’Miami Beach vacation rentals’ converts so much better: you’re meeting demand exactly where it already exists.
Put 60 to 80 percent of your budget into Google search: Across the 60-plus vacation rental websites Conrad’s agency has data on, Google is king for conversions. You’ll typically pay more per visitor, but it works out much better on ROI. Treat Facebook and Instagram as the 20-30% supplement that helps guests move from interest to booking — not your primary channel.
You can win without Facebook entirely: One client shut down their Facebook page completely during COVID — nobody to manage the comments — and went on to do more bookings from Google than any year in company history. Both platforms are not required to see success. Plenty of managers spend little or nothing on Facebook and put everything into search.
Retargeting is Facebook’s strongest use case: Almost nobody books a vacation rental on the first visit — the common path runs 7 to 21 days from first visit to booking, and in between guests shop you against Vrbo, Airbnb, and your competitors. Retargeting ads that only show to people who have already been on your website keep your brand in front of them through that window, which is exactly when it matters.
Use Facebook to create demand when nobody’s searching: A Google ad does nothing if people aren’t searching your destination right now. When you have shoulder-season gaps or a package to push, Facebook can put a specific offer in front of people who would love to visit but haven’t thought about it this week. Specials, packages, and last-minute availability are where interruption advertising earns its keep.
Warm audiences beat cold interest targeting: The best-performing Facebook audiences already know you. Lookalike targeting is the closest thing to buying referrals — you’re reaching people who resemble the guests who already stayed with you. Cold destination-interest audiences can work too, but those people are further from converting and need more convincing.
- Website visitors — retargeting is the top performer
- Past guests uploaded as a custom audience
- Lookalikes built from your guest list
- People who engaged with your page or posts
- Destination interest audiences — colder, but workable
Extend retargeting to Google Display and YouTube: Google runs the biggest display network on the internet, so past visitors can see your banner ads on the news and content sites they already read. On YouTube, a short pre-roll spot — logo early, one scenic shot of the destination — builds brand recall with people who have browsed your properties. If you want to be everywhere during that 7-to-21-day booking window, layer these on top of Facebook retargeting.
Cold Facebook traffic needs a funnel, not a booking ad: Someone who has never heard of you won’t jump from one ad to a reservation. Build a small sequence: get them engaging with a great photo or video of the destination first, get them to your website second, then hit the movers with a specific property, special, or discount. Facebook can do all of it — but only if your campaigns respect the order.
What We Cover In This Episode
Conrad breaks down the real differences between Google search ads and Facebook ads for vacation rentals — demand capture versus demand creation — and shares the budget split his agency uses across 60-plus vacation rental sites.
